Patients diagnosed with breast cancer or depression who are seeking a medical expert in their own community to guide them through treatment now have a place to start. Qforma, an advanced analytics and predictive modeling company, today introduced the new phase of its first-of-its-kind healthcare database "Most Influential Doctors," or MID, presented by USA TODAY. The online database provides consumers with information about the physicians in their communities who are local leaders in the management of the most prevalent, serious illnesses affecting patients today.
The new MID rosters highlight the top three to five physicians in virtually every U.S. metropolitan area for the treatment of four challenging diseases - breast cancer, depression, COPD and osteoarthritis. The MID database, available at www.influentialdoctors.usatoday.com, gives consumers the power to easily identify local medical experts whom other physicians seek out for insight and counsel on these widespread conditions. The initial MID rosters, released earlier this year, focused on diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
"Breast cancer, depression, COPD and osteoarthritis are four life-altering diseases that impact millions of patients and their families," said Kelly D. Myers, CEO of Qforma. "Patients diagnosed with these conditions are seeking the most informed health providers and effective treatment strategies to improve their outcomes, and the new MID rosters provide them with a first step in the right direction."
October marks the 25th annual National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and is also National Depression Month. Breast cancer affects one in eight women in the U.S. today, and depression affects one in five. Additionally, osteoarthritis has been conservatively estimated to affect nearly 27 million Americans, while COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.
The MID database is built upon Qforma's advanced analytic capabilities. Qforma's proprietary technology - developed by some of the country's top physicists, scientists and mathematicians - recognizes patterns in human interactions and reveals the most influential physicians in a given disease state or condition by geographic location. As opposed to using subjective surveys or opinion research, Qforma's approach identifies the regional medical leaders highlighted by the MID lists through the objective analysis of millions of data points that reflect important collaborative indicators such as referral networks, practice patterns, publication history and leadership positions in professional associations.
Qforma is an advanced analytics and predictive modeling company with deep roots in understanding complex problems. Drawn from physics and developed in defense-related applications at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the company's analytical techniques recognize patterns in human interactions and deliver new insights from those findings. Qforma is headquartered in Santa Fe, NM, with offices in Princeton, NJ. More information is located at http://www.qforma.com/.
The data that Qforma analyzes are generated by Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry. More information is located at http://www.wkhealth.com/.
Copyright 2009, Oncology Business Week via NewsRx.com.
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