In this thINc360 interview, Host Mabel Jong speaks with Gavin Quinnies, CEO of U.S. HealthCenter, about their innovative approaches in predictive healthcare. Gavin shares insights into how AI and holistic coaching are transforming the industry. Discover how U.S. Health Center is pioneering data-driven healthcare solutions.
You can view the full video interview here.
Key Takeaways
- Predictive Healthcare: U.S. Health Center is the only validated company to predict who will get sick with which disease, using advanced AI technology.
- Holistic Coaching: Combining science, technology, and advocacy, their holistic coaching helps individuals prevent diseases effectively.
- Data Integration: They gather diverse data sources, including claims, DNA, and wearable data, to provide a comprehensive health assessment.
- Behavior Change: The focus is on creating an incentive engagement model, motivating people to adopt healthier behaviors by understanding their personal health risks.
Exploring Predictive Healthcare Technology and Validation with Gavin Quinnies
Host Mabel Jong – thINc360:
“Thanks for watching. I’m Mabel Jong, and I’m here now with Gavin Quinnies, who is CEO of the U.S. HealthCenter. Gavin, great to see you.”
Gavin Quinnies:
“Pleased to meet you, Mabel. Thank you.”
Host Mabel Jong – thINc360:
“First of all, what sort of messages are you sharing with the audience during your visit to thINc360?”
Gavin Quinnies:
“Well, we’re one of the proud first jumpers on the bandwagon of getting validated. We think it’s really important to have organizations take a look at you from the outside in and give their opinion. So we’re here to talk a little bit about evangelizing that idea.”
You may also like: U.S. HealthCenter – Validated Program Report
Host Mabel Jong – thINc360:
“Terrific. And tell me about the work of the U.S. Health Center.”
Gavin Quinnies:
“We are a healthcare management organization. We’ve been in AI for 20 years. What makes us unique is we’re the only validated company to predict who’s going to get sick with what disease.
We are validated for that. We can know within a given population who’s going to get cancers of all different kinds, metabolics, musculoskeletal, mental nervous, and also hold a validation for predicting how much that is going to cost a given risk taker, whether it’s a captive, an employer, or an insurer.
Both of those are within a 90 percent amount of reasonable doubt. That’s pretty landmark. We’ve been at this for 20 years. We’ve managed over a million individuals under that.
We also participate in the Health Value Award. The first two of them were open competitions for organizations or providers like us. We don’t just find the folks that are about to have a problem, but we also prevent it.
We competed in the Care Navigation Program and competition, which is really helping individuals not get what we predict they’re going to get. We won that two years in a row, the only two years that it was offered.”
Unveiling the Methodology Behind Predictive Healthcare Technology with Gavin Quinnies
Host Mabel Jong – thINc360:
“Let’s go back to how you make your predictions. What sort of methodology, what sort of things lead to you believing that this population of people will get this in what number of years?”
Gavin Quinnies:
“It starts with a question. The question is, what causes X disease? There’s a great variety of opinions about that, and those are founded in studies that are traditionally supported by either academic institutions, industry, or governments.
We know what those studies say. They tell us what causes certain conditions. We have knitted together the variety of opinions across the planet to represent what we think is the world view of what causes a given condition, whether it’s breast cancer, heart disease, depression, or back problems, as an example.
We gather whatever data we can electronically about the member. It could be claims, DNA, biomarkers, pharmaceutical data, wearable data, payroll data, whatever demographic information we can.
We present in front of the member, and they fill in the blanks. We could start with nothing. The member could simply tell us through what most people call a traditional health survey, health risk assessment, and out comes the result of that, which displays on their app.
In the old days, it was just a web view. Today, it’s an app, and it says these are the conditions you’ve had, this is where you’re going, and this is what you can do about it. The data comes from decades of research that we’ve done on top of the decades of research that other organizations have done.”
The Impact of Predictive Healthcare on Behavior Change with Gavin Quinnies
Host Mabel Jong – thINc360:
“How impactful is that information to helping people change behaviors?”
Gavin Quinnies:
“To me, it’s remarkably stunning how easy it is to prevent disease. We are caught in a world of risk factors: don’t drink this, don’t eat that, do this kind of exercise. That’s nonsense because everyone’s different.
What you might hear from a nutritionist might be different than a dietitian, different than a diabetic educator, as an example. We combine the science, which is what we just talked about, with the technology, using computers to deliver information, with the advocacy.
We call that helping people find their way to their why. Why do you need to stop smoking or eat better or exercise more? Because you’re leading towards colon cancer or a stroke or depression.
When that aha moment is delivered to the person at the right time in the right message, which is the combination of the technology and the right information on hand with an advocate, which is what we call care navigation or holistic coaching, it makes a difference.
By the time someone is at that five to ten year window where their risk factors are coagulating to the point where they’re going to get something, they’re ready.
They’re probably somewhat educated. They probably have some idea of what happened to their peer group or their family group. That awareness just kind of strikes them.
The magic is creating an incentive engagement around that. People don’t do health because they want to; they do it because they have to.
They don’t want to get what their dad had or lose money going in and out of their pocket. It’s our job to use holistic coaching, uniquely trained in our model, a registered nurse that has been taught on care navigation, motivational interviewing, and a number of tools to help set reasonable, obtainable goals.
All the science of the readiness to change component makes the difference. It’s actually very easy. The hard part is finding the right leadership to move away from old ways.
Understanding that having 20 different vendors trying to do something is typically a problem. While we’ll work with any vendor and fit in where we need to, the model of getting all the data in one place and all the engagement.
So if you think about if someone would go to five different primary care providers and have 20 EMRs, it’s a problem. We kind of put it all together and then wrap engagement and awareness into a package.”
Ideal Models and Future Updates in Predictive Healthcare
Host Mabel Jong – thINc360:
“What is the ideal model then?”
Gavin Quinnies:
“Ironically, it’s kind of old school. We want to get whatever we can about you that is near-term information. DNA is helpful; it leads to some guidance.
Just because you have a genetic disposition to something doesn’t mean you’re going to flip the switch. That’s part of it. For metabolic conditions and some cancers, biometric data is very helpful.
Biometric data that is near term, not what you got from your doctor three months or three years ago, is not necessarily helpful. Gathering the information through our assessment, which is sitting on our AI rails that guide what information you need.
You and I are different. We have obviously different genetic and gender backgrounds, so what we need to know about you is different than me. That has to be personalized.
Then engaging that interpretation using the technology and using a guided advisor or holistic coach, we spell it “WHO-listic,” meaning it’s the whole person dealing with the whole spectrum of health, not just managing a disease or working on a lifestyle or what have you.
That is the combination. Getting the incentives behind it is where some of the hard work comes. We like to package those in risk-bearing type models of health plans, tying things to your plan documents and the way that your insurance works. That is where the pushing and pulling really makes a big difference.
Host Mabel Jong – thINc360:
What other updates will you be sharing with people while you are at the meeting?
Gavin Quinnies:
The technology is really changing, not just the technology of predicting, but the technology of engagement as we continue to evolve with legislation, with different tax strategies that allow employers and other organizations to leverage what’s out there, and also things like the metaverse.
How do we behave in a way where people are remote? Maybe they want to go through a virtual environment to pick up their script and get a coin shipped to their home. These are the things that we’re working on, and it’s there. Our relationships and partnerships are dragging us into those kinds of opportunities.”
The Importance of thINc360 for Spreading Healthcare Innovations
Host Mabel Jong – thINc360:
“Why is thINc360 a good event for you to spread your message?”
Gavin Quinnies:
“Well, people are here, I believe, because they believe in validation. They believe in the opportunity to grow, enhance, and improve their models. That’s our thing.
We’ve been mold breakers and mold makers, and those are the people that we work with. This is a relationship business. You traditionally don’t have a relationship with an organization; you have a relationship with individuals within that organization. It’s important to find those like-minded leadership people that can help you advance your ideas.”
Host Mabel Jong – thINc360:
“Gavin, thank you so much for your time.”
Gavin Quinnies:
“My pleasure. Thank you, Mabel.”
Host Mabel Jong – thINc360:
“And thank you for watching. I’m Mabel Jong.”
