Boston Scientific Joins Optum Labs as Founding Medical Device Partner

Last year, information and technology-enabled health services company Optum, together with medical care, research and education organization Mayo Clinic, established Optum Labs, an open collaborative center for research and innovation. AARP, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a membership of more than 37 million individuals, joined the collaborative as Founding Consumer Advocate Organization in late 2013. Now Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific Corporation joined Optum Labs as the Founding Medical Device Partner to help pioneer new research into effective treatments for heart failure and related cardiac conditions. 

Optum Labs brings together major national health care leaders dedicated to improving patient care through the sharing of information, technologies, knowledge tools and scientific expertise. The organization aims to provide access to a high-quality pool of de-identified claims and clinical information covering millions of lives. More than 20 different research initiatives are currently under way.

Boston Scientific’s initial focus with Optum Labs will be to champion a body of research that addresses the complexities, unmet needs and challenges facing patients with heart failure. The research will consider innovative practice patterns, performance measures, management of co-morbid conditions, processes of care and economic implications. The research will also leverage Optum Labs’ scientific and analytical resources to help understand points in the patient care continuum where existing or potential new products and services could improve the efficiency of care delivery, the value of care and overall population health management.

“As a global leader in medical devices and related solutions, Boston Scientific is excited to serve as Founding Medical Device Partner at Optum Labs, and to collaborate with other health care leaders to help accelerate the pace of innovation across our industry,” said Mike Mahoney, president and CEO of Boston Scientific. “We believe there are many other areas of common interest that could be addressed through Optum Labs and look forward to collaborating with the other partners.”

“Boston Scientific brings extensive expertise in heart failure and related cardiac conditions, which is of tremendous interest and value to Optum Labs and our partners,” said Paul Bleicher, M.D., Ph.D., and CEO of Optum Labs. “We are grateful for the support of industry leaders such as Boston Scientific, in addition to our existing partners, all of whom share our commitment to accelerating the pace of innovation for the ultimate benefit of improved patient care.”

As Founding Medical Device Partner of Optum Labs, Boston Scientific joins a research collaborative that includes academic medical centers, care providers, research centers and other stakeholders. Optum Labs’ charter partners include the American Medical Group Association; Boston University School of Public Health; Lehigh Valley Health Network; Pfizer Inc.; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI); Tufts Medical Center; and the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. These are in addition to founding partners Mayo Clinic and Optum, and Founding Consumer Advocate Organization, AARP.

Research at Optum Labs is linked to the clinical environment through prototyping and testing in actual care settings.  The goal is to help drive the discovery of new applications, test new care pathways and drive innovation in wellness and care delivery that improve health care delivery and patient outcomes.

Optum Labs is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass.