The most up-to-date, comprehensive, and accurate source of data. Your organization can access profiles of every active provider in the U.S.—over 3.5 million.
See how we’ve helped leading healthcare organizations achieve significant cost savings, improve data accuracy, and enhance patient care. Here, you will find our results, research, reports, and everything else our scientists are testing in the Veda Lab – no lab coat required.
At Veda we understand that every data point is an opportunity to improve the healthcare experience. And we can see the potential when data is no longer a barrier.
Rural healthcare challenges: How bad data deepens disparities
In rural healthcare, timely access to crucial mental healthcare and other specialized services presents a significant challenge. Over the last decade, numerous rural hospitals have shuttered, with more at risk of closure due to staffing shortages, declining reimbursement rates, diminished patient volume, and challenges attracting talent. The answer to the challenges in rural healthcare is to get more data.
With very few options for specialty and subspecialty providers, rural patients often endure long journeys for necessary care. According to a Pew Research Center report, the average drive to a hospital in a rural community is approximately 17 minutes, nearly 65 percent longer than the average drive time in urban areas. Such systemic failures not only exacerbate disparities but also challenge the very foundation of patient care.
A functioning rural health system relies on legions of specialty care doctors conducting outreach visits across vast geographic areas. In principle, this approach presents an efficient means to provide rural patients with access to specialty care, eliminating the need for extensive travel to major urban centers. However, the persistence of inaccurate data poses a significant barrier to achieving comprehensive access to specialty care in rural regions.
Discover Bob Lindner’s take on how bad data exacerbates rural healthcare challenges and impacts patients on Chief Healthcare Executive.
Healthcare Business Today: Congress, Bad Data, and Ghost Networks
The Senate Finance Committee has advanced legislation that aims to eradicate ghost networks, a goal that will benefit payers, providers, and patients alike.
As the legislation advances through the halls of Congress, all stakeholders must have a clear understanding of why the bill is necessary and what’s behind all those ghosts anyway.
Ghost networks are provider networks that appear robust and full of available providers but actually contain inaccurate data and, in reality, have limited availability and unreachable providers. These “ghosts” are no longer practicing, not accepting new patients, are not in-network, or have errors in their contact information.
MedCity News: Healthcare Doesn’t Need More Big Tech
Healthcare Doesn’t Need More Big Tech; It Needs Specialized Tech. Byline by Dr. Bob Lindner in MedCity News.
It’s easy to oversimplify and say, “These big tech companies are now doing healthcare and they’re going to solve everything.” But the reality is that often, the solutions are not going to come from big tech.
Just like clinicians who specialize in an area of medicine, healthcare’s tech problems need specialized solutions. That’s because the industry doesn’t have a single general issue to solve, healthcare has many discrete issues to address.
To further complicate things, healthcare is not one industry but many industries under the same umbrella. Clinical care, devices, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, hospitals, payers, and more each has its own unique challenges and opportunities that need to be addressed with unique solutions.
It’s easy to oversimplify and say, “These big tech companies are now doing healthcare and they’re going to solve everything.” But the reality is that often, the solutions are not going to come from big tech.
These individual problems are being addressed by legions of innovative people working in smaller, more focused organizations where they are experimenting, iterating, pivoting, and getting closer and closer to solutions to the issue they’re addressing. These teams are focusing on singular issues and solutions in a way that bigger, more general tech doesn’t.
To compound the issue, healthcare is an ever-changing industry and requires solution providers to be agile in order to keep up with emerging trends, new discoveries, new regulations, and shifts in patient and provider preferences. These smaller more specialized companies may not have the resources of large tech enterprises; however, they are inherently more adept at quickly iterating solutions, responding to changes, and adapting to evolving needs.
This is why specialized solutions and specialized tech providers are ultimately going to be the problem solvers.
Does this mean that big tech doesn’t have a place? Of course not. Big tech can do what big tech does best: identify, vet, and foster some of these solutions and ultimately scale the right ones.
But what about the funding? These entrepreneurial companies who are developing innovative tools are often start-ups and frequently raising capital at the same time they are building the solution.
A recent Pitchbook report covered by MedCity News included a mixed bag of news for these entrepreneurial companies in the medtech space. The report noted that venture capital funding to medtech appears to have bottomed out in the first quarter of this year and has been ticking slightly upward. That’s the good news. The troubling news is that this year’s medtech funding total may not reach the 2022 funding total of $13.5 billion and certainly won’t even approach the 2021 funding total of more than $19 billion.
In healthcare the stakes are high, and any tech solution needs to operate as a “mission-critical” part of the equation. Think NASA or car safety where there are no margins for error or experimentation like there are if we were building a ridesharing or shopping app. We’re dealing with people’s health and lives on a daily basis. The stakes should be treated as life or death because they are. And the solutions we deploy need to be more than adequate. They need to be infallible.
In this episode of Leaders of B2B, Meghan Gaffney, CEO and co-founder of Veda, offers an in-depth perspective on the evolving realm of artificial intelligence in healthcare. With her extensive experience, Meghan underscores the transformative impact of implementing AI solutions in medical diagnostics and patient care pathways.
Tune in to learn why a diagnostic approach is essential for effective data management across industries, to identify and address critical issues systematically.
CEO Meghan Gaffney Selected for EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ North America Class of 2023
Veda’s Meghan Gaffney Selected for EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ North America Class of 2023
Ernst & Young LLP (EY) is proud to announce that Meghan Gaffney, CEO of Veda, a health technology provider specializing in accurate, curated provider data, is one of the 23 women founders from 20 companies selected for the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ North America (Winning Women) Class of 2023.
Now in its 16th year, the program identifies talented entrepreneurs with scalable companies in the United States and Canada and connects them with the networks and resources they need to accelerate growth and scale their businesses.
Participants receive customized executive education, introductions, and access to the Winning Women community around the world, as well as the entirety of the EY global entrepreneurial ecosystem, including members of the Entrepreneur Of The Year® and EY Entrepreneurs Access Network (EAN) programs.
“Women founders contribute trillions to the US economy, and studies have shown that when women are empowered, the economy grows,” said EY Americas Industry and Solutions Leader Cheryl Grise, who also serves as the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women North America Program Executive Sponsor. “At EY, we believe that a rising tide lifts all boats, so the success of women impacts the success of every business,” said Grise. “Over the last 16 years, the Winning Women program has intentionally addressed societal gender-based challenges that often confront women entrepreneurs by providing these phenomenally talented businesspeople with greater access, guidance and knowledge, which are the tools they need to continue to break the mold, inspire innovation and be shamelessly ambitious. I welcome these women to the fold and look forward to seeing them do even bigger and greater things.”
Cheryl Grise
Members of the Winning Women Class of 2023 have ambition, creativity and a desire to build a better world in common. They are tackling problems from inclusivity, to offering healthier products and food, to solving for complex health care issues. Others are bringing to the table innovative solutions in supply chain, data management, marketing and more. The founders selected for the program display unparalleled ingenuity, business prowess, ambition in crafting solutions and a formidable can-do attitude that allowed them to break from the pack of their peers to stand out.
“2023 has been filled with many economic ups and downs – from geopolitical unrest, to interrupted supply chains, to inflation – there has been plenty to make consumers tighten their belts” said Maranda Bruckner, EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women North America Program Leader. “I applaud these business leaders for not only surviving these challenges, but exceeding growth and profit expectations when others did not. They are outstanding examples of being unstoppable and shifting entire industries. We are excited to have them in the program, and deeply congratulate them on this recognition.”
The EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women North America program serves women business owners who are founding CEOs of any US or Canadian privately held company. Company revenues typically range from at least $2m to $30m annually. The EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women program participants become part of a global peer community, which includes more than 900 entrepreneurs in 55 countries and on every continent.
“Every year, I am so pleased to welcome the newest class of the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women North America program, who are not only incredible leaders in their organizations but also in their communities,” said Lee Henderson, Americas EY Private Leader. “It is an honor to provide these best-in-class founders with resources and access to EY’s vast entrepreneurial ecosystem to help them scale, attract talent and disrupt industries. I am always excited to see where these entrepreneurs go next. I already know it’s only up from here.”
The Class of 2023 will be officially recognized in November 2023 at the Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation’s most prestigious events for ambitious, high-growth, market-leading business leaders.
About Veda Veda blends science and imagination to solve healthcare’s most complex data issues. Through human-in-the-loop Smart Automation, our solutions dramatically increase productivity, enable compliance, and empower healthcare businesses to focus on delivering care. Veda is simple to use and requires no technical skills or drastic system changes because we envision a future for healthcare where data isn’t a barrier—it’s an opportunity. To learn more about Veda, visit vedadata.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
About EY EY exists to build a better working world, helping create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets.
Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate.
Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.
EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
Ernst & Young LLP is a client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited operating in the US.
About EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ The EY organization is committed to seeing women lead. EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ is a global program for successful entrepreneurs whose successful businesses show more potential to scale. Through access to global EY networks throughout the entrepreneurial ecosystem, pioneering founders on every continent secure the resources, advice and connections they need to scale their businesses sustainably. This one-of-a-kind community of founders is rewriting rules and remaking markets. Visit ey.com/us/winningwomen.
About EY Private As Advisors to the ambitious™, EY Private professionals possess the experience and passion to support private businesses and their owners in unlocking the full potential of their ambitions. EY Private teams offer distinct insights born from the long EY history of working with business owners and entrepreneurs. These teams support the full spectrum of private enterprises, including private capital managers and investors and the portfolio businesses they fund, business owners, family businesses, family offices and entrepreneurs. Visit ey.com/us/private.
Healthcare provider data can be riddled with inaccuracies—just ask anyone who uses network directories to find an in-network specialist or view clinics in a 10-mile radius. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Advantage (MA) online provider directory reviews between September 2016 and August 2017 found that 52.2% of the provider directory locations listed had at least one inaccuracy.
Health tech companies have attempted to solve provider data inaccuracy problems with a number of products, platforms, and integrations. No solutions have been able to ultimately offer a better experience for members where it matters: the ability to easily book an appointment armed with accurate information.
Many solutions in the market focus on gathering all data sources available to identify providers but don’t have the ability to clean up those databases so they have only current and accurate information. A patient might find a doctor in a directory but if the location and coverage information was wrong, they still can’t make an appointment.
Enter Veda’s latest offering: Vectyr Data Curation. Vectyr offers the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and accurate source of provider data on the market. Vectyr’s database uses more than 100,000 unique sources to create an optimal collection of provider information. The data is continuously monitored, validated daily, and backed by our accuracy guarantees.
Prove It
How does Veda back up claims of accuracy and completeness? For one, our team of data scientists behind the development of Vectyr has the clout and expertise needed for intensive data modeling. From creating ground-breaking machine learning code to researching at the largest particle physics laboratory in the world, the best in science and technology are found at Veda. Here is how Veda employs a different approach than other data companies on the market:
Automation: Veda fully automates static and temporal data, boosting accuracy and reducing provider barriers. This validation process is automated in real-time, a fundamental advantage for healthcare companies seeking effective data structure.
Performance Measurement: Veda’s team of scientists carefully monitors the data’s success rate, creating statistical models, sample sizes, and methodologies to consistently guarantee accuracy. This process ensures specialty and data demands are evaluated and performing at the highest level.
Data Reconciliation: As temporal data evolves, Veda’s entity resolution process follows. Our technology accounts for data drifts over time, so our entity resolution is calibrated to recognize correct data from the abundant sources available today. New data is always cleansed and standardized, then consolidated within a database to eliminate duplicates.
Test Outcomes: Even with 95%+ accuracy, Veda doesn’t rely on automation to do all the work. The Veda team inspects all aspects of delivered data, including quality, delivery methods, bugs, and errors with a continuous monitoring process. By continually auditing and testing our data fields to confirm they are the competitive, current, and optimal quality we know reasonable coverage is reached.
Coverage, Precision, and Recall are numbers reported and recorded by the science team.
Coverage: What is the fraction of the data that isn’t blank?
Precision: When we do have an answer, how often is it right?
Recall: If we should have an answer, how often do we actually have it?
“Anyone can make an API. They are flashy, they can help operations, they can automate processes. But if your API is pulling in duplicative, inaccurate, and just plain bad information it’s useless,” says Dr. Robert Lindner, Chief Science & Technology Officer at Veda. “With our science backing, Veda’s data is guaranteed accurate and with flexible query so data delivery is where, when, and how users need it.”
Veda’s data is currently being used by top health plans for the correction and cleansing of their directories. Now, customers, new prospects, and new channel partners have direct access to Veda’s best-in-class provider information based on their nuanced business use case.
Vectyr has profiles on more than 3.5 million providers who have an NPI 1 number—including MDs, DOs, RNs, social workers, DDS, and pharmacists.
What can health plans do with Veda’s data? Staying atop changing information ensures provider directories are always accurate. This is no small feat as 20-30% of all provider directory information changes annually. With Vectyr, health plans can offer a better experience for members and providers by:
Expanding network offerings: Members need both provider options and location access to get the care they need. Using Veda’s data can help health plans identify providers they aren’t currently contracted with and fill geographic or provider gaps in their network.
Sourcing correct providers for referrals: Providing accurate and on-the-spot information for in-network referrals relieves administrative burdens and eliminates frustrating hours spent searching for answers.
Quick credentialing: Credential providers faster and deliver faster onboarding and credentialing support with data that’s updated every 24 hours and guaranteed accurate.
What’s possible with optimal provider data? There are immediate benefits to using Veda’s data. Health plan members will no longer wonder if their doctor of choice accepts their insurance or where the closest allergist to their home is. Hours of phone calls and administrative burdens are eliminated for both the member and the health plan. And, most importantly, health plans can trust Veda’s rigorous scientific validation methodology to ensure they have the optimal data for every provider in the country, on-demand, every day.
When health plans have access to optimal data, it means members have access to optimal data and that results in a markedly better customer experience.
Star Systems Meet Star Ratings: Using Science and Imagination to Solve Healthcare’s Most Complex Data Problems
What the heck does astrophysics have to do with provider data quality?
With an entire science department dedicated to solving complex data issues, science is at the very core of Veda’s existence. After all, our Chief Science & Technology Officer and Co-founder, Dr. Bob Lindner, began his career in astrophysics.
After taking a leap from the academic world and into political data analysis, Bob and co-founder Meghan Gaffney realized the potential of provider data automation. [READ Q&A WITH DR. BOB LINDNER]
The commitment to the scientific method and investment in science is what sets Veda apart from other data and healthcare tech companies—and what led to a robust science department with an impressive five IP and automation patents.
But you might be thinking: what exactly does this background in galaxy-staring, particle-measuring, and the expansive universe have to do with ensuring health plans’ provider directories are accurate?
The answer lies in wholeheartedly embracing the scientific method and Veda’s mission: We blend science and imagination to arrive at solutions for our customers. In fact, Bob argues one would not be able to tackle provider data problems accurately and reliably without a science department.
In the healthcare industry, data changes rapidly, some sources of data claim to be sources of truth but may in fact not be accurate, and data can be a heavily manual process. The only way to uncover the truth is with a careful and accurate measurement process.
Science meets imagination with Veda’s Science Team
Here is an expert from Dr. Lindner on problem-solving at Veda:
There are two kinds of main prediction problems. One where the answer to any given problem is self-evident. You can look at it and immediately know what the answer is. You give this problem a fast feedback loop and design your system to get the right answer based on immediate feedback from engineers. Outside of healthcare, an example is image classification. Is there a smiling person in this picture or not? You can look at an image and immediately tell.
A different kind of problem that we’re faced with every day at Veda is if the answer you’re trying to predict is not self-evident by a trained user in the field. For example, does this provider work at this address? It may look like a reasonable address and provider name but you don’t know if it’s accurate just by looking at it. The only way to know if the system is working is to be very disciplined with the art of measurement and calibration. You must have a good set of test data that you trust that was collected in a way that was very tightly controlled. And you have to trust you are training your models on the data in a way that’s not overfitting because when your system gets used in production you don’t know—aside from that measurement in comparison to your training data set—if it’s working or not. You have to trust in science fully because if you do that part wrong, by using a biased training set or too narrow of a sample, there are errors that are invisible until you actually try to use the data. It can be a devastating effect. If you have a 10-digit number that says it’s the phone number of a provider, and you can’t call every phone number, how do you know it’s correct? You must have faith in the process. And the process to have faith in is the scientific method.
Dr. Robert Lindner
Provider data is complex and vast just like data in the field of astrophysics. However, provider data is nuanced and complicated in ways that even monitoring billions of stars is not.
The challenges with provider data are more complex than say, finding the largest thing in the universe, because the information included in directories changes often and the scope of required information keeps expanding. Practices move locations, physicians change practices, and contracts between practices and health plans expire. Multiple industry reports state between 20% and 30% of directory information changes annually.
Yet, no single party is the exclusive keeper of this information. Some of the information is governed and controlled by the practice, such as contact information and the roster of clinicians who practice there. Other data, such as whether a clinician is accepting new patients under a specific plan, can be owned by the practice, the health plan, or in some instances, shared by both parties.
Veda’s Science Team
Having different authoritative sources depending on the data contributes to the difficulty for health plans and practices in keeping information accurate.
So yes, provider data is more complicated to monitor than the stars but the Veda science department, using the scientific method day in and day out, can solve complex provider data problems faster and more accurately than anyone else. We start by understanding problems deeply before pairing them with an appropriate model and AI technology.
Before you select a healthcare data vendor, ask yourself, why don’t they have a science department backed by patented IP?
Investor’s Business Daily: Turn Yourself Into A Sought-After Thought Leader
Want to be a thought leader in your field? Just having an insightful message isn’t enough. You also need to get that message out.
Tapping tools that spread your ideas is the way to position yourself as the go-to person on your topic of expertise. Social media can help raise your profile in ways that didn’t exist in the pre-internet world. But you still need to communicate a powerful message.
Remember, though, that most people don’t become thought leaders by accident. You need to follow a proven system to pull it off.
Seek Out Forums To Become A Thought Leader
Joining a tech council has given Bob Lindner an “amazing opportunity to stay on top of what other tech leaders are talking about,” he said.
Lindner is the co-founder of Veda, a provider of healthcare automation products and services. The tech council has also provided a forum for Lindner to “pressure-test new ideas about how to approach tech problems with a group of peer thought leaders.
Lindner highly recommends “finding skill or industry-specific membership organizations.”
Veda’s provider data solutions help healthcare organizations reduce manual work, meet compliance requirements, and improve member experience through accurate provider directories. Select your path to accurate data.
Velocity
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Standardize and verify unstructured data with unprecedented speed and accuracy.
