Pharmacy-Based Models Help to Increase Care Management Effectiveness BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Sept. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and DST Health Solutions, Inc. today announced the availability of ACG Rx-PM, new predictive modeling software based on retail pharmacy claims information. DST Health Solutions has exclusively distributed the Johns Hopkins ACG System since 1992. ACG Rx-PM is the latest addition to the suite of ACG Predictive Models and complements ACG Dx-PM, the existing predictive model based on diagnosis information from medical claims. Both Rx-PM and Dx-PM have excellent performance statistics for identifying high-risk cases for care management and underwriting. Pharmacy-based predictive modeling software has advantages over more traditional predictions based on age, gender and prior cost because pharmacy data is timelier, more complete, and communicates more clinical information. "Rx-PM represents a wonderful complement to the ACG System," said Jonathan Weiner, co-developer of the original ACG system and leader of the ACG research and development team at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "It affords us the opportunity to integrate new data sources into our predictive models for greater statistical performance and more clinical texture. The combination of pharmacy-based predictive models with diagnosis- based predictive models will lead to greater insights into patient quality and population health." Health plans, state Medicaid agencies and pharmacy benefit managers require precise prediction tools, such as ACG Rx-PM, to help them intervene earlier to reduce costs and improve quality. In addition, ACG Rx-PM provides more accurate forecast support for Medicare Part D pharmacy prescription drug plans. "We've seen significant interest in predictive modeling," said Steve Sabino, president of DST Health Solutions. "This new module of the Johns Hopkins ACG software will enable organizations to be more agile in identifying patients at risk and improving outcomes." About DST Health Solutions, Inc. DST Health Solutions, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of DST Systems, Inc., delivers applications and outsourcing services that help health plans, TPAs and physician practices improve efficiency, reduce operational costs, increase speed to market and improve customer service and care management. DST Health Solutions' enterprise applications, and ASP and BPO services support 340 healthcare clients, representing 30 million covered lives, 230 million health plan claims and 30 million physician business transactions annually. For more information about DST Health Solutions, visit http://www.dsthealthsolutions.com/ . The ACG System is the most widely used risk-adjustment system in the world. For more information, please visit http://www.acg.jhsph.edu/ . DATASOURCE: DST Health Solutions, Inc. CONTACT: Chris Goldman, DST Health Solutions, +1-816-843-9087 Web site: http://www.dsthealthsolutions.com/ http://www.acg.jhsph.edu/

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