The Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) Innovation Challenge resulted in ideas to personalize and streamline patient engagement through artificial intelligence and predictive modeling; a friendly, wide-ranging app to capture and share one’s own health journey; and a means to reduce friction among value-based care stakeholders to create a more unified approach and better identify gaps in care.

The goal of the Challenge was to engage entrepreneurs, startups and students in helping solve health care and user-experience problems for the Medicare population. The teams gained industry expertise, connections to other health care constituencies, and potentially an opportunity to run a test-and-learn sprint if aligned to Humana’s strategic priorities.

“This Challenge was a phenomenal way to expose Humana to stimulating ideas about new technologies and new ways of thinking about how to help our members navigate the complex world of health care information,” said Roberto Roitz, Director of Discovery and Open Innovation, part of Humana’s Health Care Trend & Innovation team. “We recognize that we need to be not just consumers of innovation outside of Humana, but active contributors as well. We aim to be the partner of choice for health care innovators as we advocate for the success of entrepreneurs and startups driving new ideas and models that can change our industry. I was impressed with the submissions we received and the passion that these teams brought to the competition.”

The finalists presented to a panel of judges made up of Humana and Silicon Valley leaders. The three winners were:

  • MedMind, an idea for an artificial intelligence platform that increases well-being through personalized patient engagement and intuitive, predictive population health management. The concept -- presented by Martin Shapiro, an MD / MBA candidate at the University of Southern California, and Deanna Iam, a B.A. Design, Media Arts student at UCLA -- won the top prize of $10,000. MedMind would streamline the patient and family experience to improve wellness screenings, appointment attendance and chronic disease management through a frictionless mobile and voice platform.
  • Vesalius, a mobile app that would help members make better health decisions by tracking their health records and displaying the quantitative information clearly and accurately while also framing the experience as a journey, with a timeline display of their events, landmarks, searches and profile settings. It was presented by user experience designer Azalia Medina and took home the second-place prize of $5,000.
  • Lexigram, a startup based in Redwood City, California, uses natural language processing and machine learning to combine structured and unstructured data from health plans to enable value-based care. This idea, presented by Paul Alexander, CEO and co-founder, took home the third-place prize of $2,500. Lexigram would enable real-time, frictionless interactions to give all stakeholders a comprehensive overview of a patient and their care -- the right care to the right patient, at the right time.

Another finalist was Alfred, a digital assistant for the home that would answer health-related questions, offer medication reminders, connect with doctors and nurses, and integrate with Humana systems and programs. The idea was presented by Anshal Gupta, a student in the Masters of Translational Medicine joint program between UC Berkeley & UC San Francisco.

CancerAid presented an app to help patients and caregivers manage their journey with cancer. It was presented by Dr. Martin Seneviratne, Chief Technology Officer.

This Challenge was done in partnership with Vinaj, a boutique innovation agency based in Silicon Valley with an online platform bringing together corporate innovation and the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Some winning teams will be receiving further guidance and feedback from Humana subject matter experts to help them fine-tune their ideas and improve their prototypes. Through events like the Innovation Challenge, Humana can provide industry expertise to help start-ups learn more about the Medicare Advantage business, understand the needs of the Medicare population, and to “pressure test” their solutions. By partnering with agile, innovative start-ups and entrepreneurs, Humana can see challenging problems in a fresh light, attract new talent, and gain access to new, breakthrough ideas.

About Humana

Humana Inc. is committed to helping our millions of medical and specialty members achieve their best health. Our successful history in care delivery and health plan administration is helping us create a new kind of integrated care with the power to improve health and well-being and lower costs. Our efforts are leading to a better quality of life for people with Medicare, families, individuals, military service personnel, and communities at large.

To accomplish that, we support physicians and other health care professionals as they work to deliver the right care in the right place for their patients, our members. Our range of clinical capabilities, resources and tools – such as in-home care, behavioral health, pharmacy services, data analytics and wellness solutions – combine to produce a simplified experience that makes health care easier to navigate and more effective.

More information regarding Humana is available to investors via the Investor Relations page of the company’s web site at www.humana.com, including copies of:

  • Annual reports to stockholders
  • Securities and Exchange Commission filings
  • Most recent investor conference presentations
  • Quarterly earnings news releases and conference calls
  • Calendar of events
  • Corporate Governance information