ClosedLoop.ai Declared as Winner by CMS

ClosedLoop.ai was named the winner of the multistage Artificial Intelligence Health Outcomes Challenge by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Friday. The CMS Innovation Center launched a challenge to identify new AI-powered approaches to predicting health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries. These approaches attracted more than 300 entries from companies around the globe, including Accenture, Deloitte, Geisinger, IBM, Mayo Clinic, and Merck.

These were narrowed down to a top 25 list, which was then narrowed down to seven finalists. ClosedLoop.ai, headquartered in Austin, Texas, will earn up to $1 million in bonus money as the grand prize winner. The runner-up, Geisinger Health System of Danville, Pennsylvania, will earn up to $230,000.

The AI and machine learning methods used by both organisations to forecast unplanned hospitalizations, skilled nursing facility admissions, and adverse outcomes were recognised by CMS. They also developed predictive algorithms to recognise Medicare beneficiaries that are at risk of dying over the next 12 months.

According to CMS, special attention was paid to identifying the causes of algorithmic prejudice that could lead to health inequalities. Transparency was also emphasised, with finalists explaining how the AI resources could be demonstrated to doctors and nurses in simple terms. CMS put the finalists through a thorough evaluation of the accuracy of the algorithms’ forecasts with the aid of an outside team of AI scientists.

The American Academy of Family Physicians evaluated and graded them on their explainability. A jury of CMS senior leadership chose the winners. The competition was launched in 2019 in conjunction with the AAFP and Arnold Ventures.