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SharedClarity Awards First Contracts

UNH

SharedClarity announced today its first contract awards, with Medtronic and Abbott chosen to provide bare metal and drug-eluting stents to SharedClarity’s members and customers.

The contract awards are a major milestone for SharedClarity, a startup conducting independent studies to determine the most effective medical devices to improve patient outcomes and reduce readmissions. SharedClarity members will receive preferred pricing for stents aimed at generating significant savings during the three-year contract term.

SharedClarity’s membership includes Illinois-based Advocate Health Care, Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health, San Francisco-based Dignity Health, Michigan-based McLaren Health Care and health benefits provider UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealthcare Group (NYSE: UNH) company. SharedClarity, based in Phoenix, launched in April 2013.

“These contracts are the next major step in the evolution of our company,” said SharedClarity President Mark West. “We are showing how our model improves affordability for our members, while providing them with the most effective medical devices.”

Physicians from each of SharedClarity’s members formed a clinical team to review bare metal and drug-eluting stents literature and participated in clinical surveys of these devices. If needed, the clinical review team looks at data from member hospitals and claims information from UnitedHealthcare, which provides benefits to more than 40 million Americans. The goal of the clinical review team is to understand what level of review is necessary for each of the medical devices to determine the most effective implants to improve patient outcomes.

SharedClarity’s primary goal is better results for patients, so the contract award was based on effectiveness first, then financial savings for members. Bare metal and drug-eluting stents were a $2.04 billion market in the U.S. in 2011, with a large percentage being the drug-eluting variety.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the most common cardiovascular diseases in the world, killing more than 7 million people each year worldwide. CAD occurs when arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart become narrowed, often due to the buildup of fat (cholesterol) and calcium inside the walls of the arteries. A stent is a tiny, expandable and flesh mesh tube that opens blocked arteries. Stents help prevent arteries from renarrowing (also known as restenosis) or becoming blocked in the months or years after treatment with angioplasty.

“Medtronic’s aim has always been to ensure that patients receive high quality, clinically effective outcomes at the right cost. Our stent technologies have been rigorously studied and have demonstrated their value in treating patients with coronary artery disease. We are pleased that the patients served by the SharedClarity member systems will receive this important treatment option,” said Sean Salmon, SVP and President, Medtronic Coronary and Renal Denervation.

SharedClarity improves patient outcomes by identifying the most effective medical devices in a number of categories, including stents, defibrillators, pacemakers, knee and hip implants, and heart valves.

SharedClarity conducts independent studies to determine the most effective implants for patients and negotiates market-leading purchasing agreements with device manufacturers. U.S. hospitals spend more than $30 billion annually on the 30 most frequently used categories of devices, according to industry reports.

In addition to market-leading pricing for implants, SharedClarity helps health care systems lower costs by reducing readmissions, an increased concern for health care officials under the Affordable Care Act.

SharedClarity is currently meeting with other health care systems that could become member-owners.

“The contract awards are a huge step forward for SharedClarity,” said Mr. West. “We’re anxious to complete the next round of clinical studies and award the next round of contracts.”

About SharedClarity

SharedClarity is a unique joint effort between health care systems and UnitedHealthcare to use data from tens of millions of patients to study the long-term effectiveness of high-technology medical devices that have a high impact on patients. SharedClarity will use the results of the studies to select the most effective medical devices for patients and negotiate affordable purchasing agreements with manufacturers. For more information, please visit www.SharedClarity.net.



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