Generating new data with the Voice-to-Claim® research methodology

Understanding the patient experience through novel data collection

Claims and electronic health records (EHR) frequently tell only part of the story. These gaps in the patient’s journey become even more evident when it comes to socially sensitive conditions or when the most common treatment involves over-the-counter medicines.

Both challenges stood in the way of 2 pharmaceutical companies co-developing a new drug to treat 2 prevalent constipation-related disorders — chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). They needed to better understand the patient burden and any unmet needs.

Generating new data with Voice-to-Claim® research

To build a more complete picture of the patient burden, the Optum® Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) team uses a proprietary methodology, called Voice-to-Claim® research, that investigates patients’ experiences with their treatment journey through surveys, one-on-one interviews and medical chart abstraction.

The collaboration between Optum and the manufacturers introduced the first real-world, longitudinal research platform in IBS-C and CIC to capture the chronic symptom burden associated with these conditions. The platform enriches available claims data with patient-reported outcomes and provides the researchers with the data to understand the treatment’s full effects — enabling them to ultimately fill unmet needs and improve patient satisfaction.