OMNY Health has incorporated a staggering 4 billion unstructured clinical notes into its data ecosystem, a move that could significantly change how health care, life sciences, and research organizations utilize medical data. By making sense of previously inaccessible information, OMNY is setting the stage for deeper insights into patient care, treatment patterns, and disease progression.
Making Sense of Unstructured Medical Data
Medical data is notoriously difficult to manage. According to a study published in Healthcare Informatics Research, about 80% of all medical data is unstructured. This means it doesn’t fit neatly into electronic health records (EHRs) and is often left unused.
Dr. Mitesh Rao, founder and CEO of OMNY Health, explained the challenge: “Looking for insights in unstructured data is like looking for a needle in a haystack.” The company’s latest effort aims to eliminate that challenge by converting free-text clinical notes into actionable insights.
OMNY worked with academic medical centers and provider organizations to collect and refine these unstructured notes. The goal? To turn them into valuable data that can be used across the health care industry.
A Treasure Trove of Patient Insights
Clinical notes contain a wealth of information that goes beyond structured medical records. They capture details that might otherwise be lost in traditional data collection methods.
- Disease progression insights can help researchers better understand how conditions evolve over time.
- Patient responses to treatments, adherence patterns, and side effects offer a more comprehensive look at real-world health outcomes.
- Social determinants of health, such as economic and environmental factors, are often buried in free-text notes but can now be analyzed to identify care gaps.
By linking these notes with EHR data, OMNY is providing a broader, more complete picture of patient health.
Fueling Research, AI, and Clinical Trials
One of the biggest advantages of this newly structured data is its potential use in research and artificial intelligence applications. OMNY’s network partners include health systems, pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and AI developers, all of whom can benefit from access to this information.
Dr. Mark Townsend, chief clinical digital ventures officer at Bon Secours Mercy Health, emphasized the impact: “Unstructured data, like that found in free-text clinical notes, represents a treasure trove of untapped insights. By leveraging this data, we can improve patient outcomes, drive operational efficiencies, and foster innovation in health care.”
From a practical standpoint, these notes could be instrumental in:
- Speeding up recruitment for clinical trials by identifying eligible patients more efficiently.
- Training large language models that enhance predictive analytics in medicine.
- Providing researchers with regulatory-grade data that meets high scientific standards.
Breaking Down the Data Bottleneck
Managing health care data has long been a major hurdle for the industry. Traditional IT systems often make it difficult to extract and share information, limiting collaboration and slowing progress. OMNY Health’s move aims to change that.
Dr. Rao likened the challenge to baking: “Free-text clinical notes aren’t flour. They’re unprocessed wheat. You have to do a lot to actually transform it into something useful.”
That transformation involves multiple steps:
- De-identifying patient information to ensure privacy compliance.
- Cleaning and structuring data so it can be analyzed effectively.
- Using natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning models to extract meaningful insights.
“This is the first time that this type of data has really been unlocked from the traditional IT systems which are designed to lock data down,” Rao said. “We see this data as a way to improve connectivity and collaboration across the industry.”
A Nationwide Impact
The scale of OMNY Health’s ecosystem is substantial. The platform includes:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of providers | 500,000+ |
| Specialties covered | 200+ |
| Provider organizations | 43 |
| Patient reach | 85 million+ |
| States covered | All 50 |
With a nationwide footprint, OMNY’s initiative has the potential to influence health care practices across the country. Provider organizations now have access to a new layer of data that can inform care decisions internally, enhance treatment strategies, and contribute to broader medical advancements.
While unstructured data has long been a challenge in health care, OMNY Health’s efforts mark a significant step toward making sense of it. By unlocking these clinical notes, the company is not just providing more data—it’s changing how the entire industry interacts with patient information.
