On the Forefront of Healthcare Research and Value-based Care

Healthcare research plays an indispensable role in advancing medical knowledge and improving health outcomes. It is the backbone of medical progress, offering innovation crucial to whole person health and advancing research to support more efficient and effective healthcare systems.

Humana Healthcare Research (HHR) partners with Humana Pharmacy Solutions and a variety of external research entities, including academic institutions and biotech companies, to develop a broad portfolio of studies that focus on topics in treatment effectiveness, drug safety, adherence, medical and pharmacy benefit design, pragmatic trials and recruitment, health-related social needs, and many others.

HHR researchers publish extensively in peer-reviewed journals and often present their findings at international and national conferences, such as the recent American Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Nexus conference where the HHR team earned top honors.

“Collaboration fuels innovation in research, and the AMCP Nexus conference provides a platform to connect with diverse stakeholders,” said Insiya Poonawalla, Director, Humana Healthcare Research. “Engaging with internal Humana partners strengthens existing relationships and allows us to align our research with internal goals, while connecting with industry experts and peer-researchers fosters exchange of new ideas and partnerships that drive real-world impact in managed care pharmacy.”

Invited to present his research during a podium session at the conference, Brandon Suehs, Director, Humana Healthcare Research, spoke to audience of life science partners, pharmacists and academic institutions. His presentation shared Humana’s experience with a value-based agreement based on clinical performance for treatment of prostate cancer in a patient population with Humana Medicare Advantage Part D plan coverage.

Additional abstracts earning top honors for the HHR team include:

• “Experience with an outcomes-based rebate agreement for apalutamide in the treatment of prostate cancer.” Authors: Brandon T. Suehs, Bart Brown. Selected for Platinum ribbon and podium presentation at the conference.

• “Health related social needs and quality measure attainment among dual-eligible Medicare Advantage beneficiaries.” Authors: Brandon T. Suehs, Melanie Canterberry, Kaylyn Swankoski, Jeremiah S. Rastegar, Stephanie M. Franklin. Selected for a Silver ribbon at the conference and conducted in collaboration between HHR and Humana’s health equity and social impact team.  This work was supported by a grant from the Johnson & Johnson Our Race to Health Equity (ORTHE) program.

• “Impact of Social Risk Factors on First Line Treatment Patterns Among Medicare Advantage Members with Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma.” Authors: Alexjandro Daviano, Yihua Xu, Brandon T. Suehs, Susan Wojcicki. Selected for a Bronze ribbon at the conference. The study was conducted in partnership with Janssen Scientific Affairs. 

• “Impact of maximum out-of-pocket spending on affordability of high-cost treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.” Authors: Alexandra G. Hames, Kemi Ibrahim, Insiya B. Poonawalla, Jon Rosen, Kelsey Lee. Selected for a Bronze ribbon at the conference.

For more information about Humana Healthcare Research and their extensive portfolio of studies, visit research.humana.com.