Congratulations – Inovalon awards Karen Knight, Innovator of the Year

Inovalon Recognizes Innovators Driving Healthcare Excellence with the 2024 Impact Awards                                                                                          

Winners Recognized at the Annual Empower Conference for their Outstanding Achievements and Commitments to Advancing Healthcare Economics and Outcomes Across Three Categories

BOWIE, Md. – October 29, 2024 – Inovalon, a leading provider of cloud-based software solutions empowering data-driven healthcare, today announced the winners of the 2024 Inovalon Impact Awards, which celebrate the efforts of individuals and teams driving meaningful change and improving patient outcomes across the healthcare landscape. Announced at Empower, Inovalon’s annual data-driven summit, this year’s recipients were recognized for their outstanding contributions in innovation, data excellence, and collective teamwork in healthcare.

The awards feature three categories –Data Dream Team, Collective Excellence, and Innovator of the Year – each recognizing specific contributions to data-driven healthcare innovation. Winners receive a charitable donation in their name, amplifying the awards’ impact beyond the industry.

Data Dream Team

The Data Dream Team Award recognizes a team’s innovative, data-driven achievement that improves patient care, offers groundbreaking research insights, or enhances organizational performance.

Inovalon recognized the Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) team for their effective collaboration in data collection and HEDIS® gap closure. The team addressed interoperability challenges between systems and electronic health records, improving data collection processes significantly. By leveraging an internal case management platform, the team engaged the Medicare Advantage population and captured 395,110 new data points in the first run for the HEDIS engine.

“Closing HEDIS care gaps is something we take great pride in, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Inovalon to drive even more meaningful change across the industry,” said Brandi Gustafik, Manager of Quality Improvement at HCSC.

Collective Excellence

The Collective Excellence Award recognizes healthcare organizations improving patient experiences and care outcomes. In response to the category receiving exceptional nomination stories, Inovalon named two recipients for their contributions: Walgreens and the Network Opioid Stewardship Committee at Inspira Health.

Walgreens was recognized for the launch and integration of Gene and Cell Services into its Specialty Pharmacy, investing over $30 million to enhance patient care. They have established an 18,000-square-foot innovation center in Pittsburgh, PA, providing comprehensive support services for gene and cell emerging therapies.

Additionally, the Network Opioid Stewardship Committee at Inspira Health was recognized for collaborating with Inovalon’s Vigilanz solutions to close EHR data gaps, significantly enhancing the Pharmacy Surveillance and Opioid Module. Their efforts to optimize opioid prescribing practices and improve patient safety, aligning with SAMHSA grant goals.

Innovator of the Year

The Innovator of the Year Award celebrates a passionate healthcare professional pushing boundaries and ultimately driving impactful change in their respective line of work.

This year’s recipient is Karen Knight, Partner at Face Rock Enterprises. Knight was selected for her exceptional contributions to empowering Tribal health organizations through innovative financial strategies. By optimizing revenue cycle management, she helped one tribe generate over $500,000 in additional funds in just six months. Knight’s extensive experience in healthcare management and dedication to improving health outcomes in Tribal communities exemplifies her innovative approach to building sustainable healthcare systems.

“It is such an honor and blessing to be recognized for Innovator of the Year from Inovalon,” said Karen Knight of Face Rock Enterprises. “I work with Tribes all over the country and through ideas, thinking outside the box, and technical innovations, we are seeing profitability increase and improvement in healthcare outcomes. Together with Inovalon we are able to make innovation possible and tackle difficult problems.”

“We’re thrilled to recognize all of this year’s outstanding winners for their remarkable achievements and dedication to advancing healthcare innovation for the benefit of patients,” said Eron Kelly, President of Inovalon. “The 2024 Impact Awards recipients are truly driving meaningful change and improving patient outcomes, and we’re honored to celebrate their collective contributions to using data to drive innovation and transform healthcare.”

For more information, visit https://www.inovalon.com/impact-awards/ or contact awards@inovalon.com.

HEDIS® is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). NCQA Measure Certification Program™ is a trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

About Inovalon

Inovalon is a leading provider of cloud-based SaaS solutions empowering data-driven healthcare. The Inovalon ONE® Platform brings together national-scale connectivity, real-time primary source data access, and advanced analytics into a sophisticated cloud-based platform empowering improved outcomes and economics across the healthcare ecosystem. The company’s analytics and capabilities are used by nearly 20,000 customers supporting more than 53,000 sites of care, and are informed by the primary source data of more than 85 billion medical events across 1.1 million physicians, 675,000 clinical settings, and 394 million unique lives. For more information, visit www.inovalon.com.