Health Catalyst unveils AI tool that 'borrows from Amazon and Netflix'

Health Catalyst introduced Touchstone at HIMSS18 and, in so doing, described it as a performance discovery, prioritization, benchmarking and recommendation tool. "Touchstone is built from the ground up on the latest AI and software from Silicon Valley," said Dale Sanders, President of Technology, Health Catalyst. "Touchstone's recommendation engine, which borrows from Amazon and Netflix, gives you not just comparative benchmarks but recommendations to improve your performance against benchmarks." The technology includes risk models based on artificial intelligence and anomaly detection algorithms that hospitals can use to pinpoint underperforming areas. Touchstone performs risk-adjusted benchmarking by culling data in claims, cost-accounting systems, EHRs, external benchmarks and operations to risk-adjust benchmarking, to "guide users to the data and analyses of greatest relevance to their work and to the organization's goals," the company said.