Julie Schulz and Mike Dovidio are innovators at Avalon Healthcare Solutions, focusing on using lab data and AI to improve healthcare outcomes, particularly in managing GLP1 medications and addressing rising healthcare costs.

Key Takeaways:

• Avalon uses lab values data to help improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of care, especially in laboratory medicine and provider decision-making.
• The company addresses the financial strain of GLP1 medications (like Ozempic) on healthcare systems by developing tools to identify patients who would benefit most.
• Their approach focuses on comprehensive cardiometabolic health assessment rather than single metrics like BMI to determine appropriate candidates for GLP1s.
• Avalon aims to improve health equity by ensuring medications reach patients with the greatest need rather than just those with better resources.
• The company leverages three data pillars: medical claims, pharmacy claims, and lab values to create comprehensive healthcare insights.

Julie Schulz, VP of Product at Avalon, brings her physician background to oversee their lab values management portfolio. She focuses on using laboratory data to improve healthcare decisions, particularly in the rapidly evolving field of genetics and personalized medicine. Her approach centers on making complex medical information accessible to providers while ensuring cost-effective care.

Mike Dovidio, a pharmacist by training and Product Manager at Avalon, oversees their specialty pharmacy solution. He highlights the critical challenge of GLP1 medications, which are straining healthcare budgets to the point where some insurers are laying off staff to cover costs. The medications' expanding indications could potentially apply to over half the US population, creating an unsustainable financial situation.

Avalon's innovative approach involves looking beyond simple metrics like BMI to assess patients' cardiometabolic health through comprehensive lab testing. This allows for more personalized care decisions and helps ensure that limited healthcare resources are directed to those who need them most. Their analysis has revealed that healthier diabetic patients are three times more likely to receive GLP1 prescriptions, highlighting inequities in the current system.

About the guests

Dr. Julie Shultz is a physician executive and product leader with experience building and leading healthcare decision support, analytics, and B2C products. Specifically, she focuses on value-based care, women's health, medical device, pharma, and patient & physician engagement.

Mike Dovidio holds a PharmD from Duquesne University and a rich background in managing business operations and driving strategic initiatives. At Avalon, he oversees the Specialty Prescription product’s strategy, development, configuration, and maintenance. He brings experience integrating software to enhance clinical operations and implements solutions for specialty pharmacy services.

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