September 18, 2021

The Altus acquisition of the MedEd management software company One45 advances Altus’ vision of helping academic programs identify, select, and nurture all students to become exceptional professionals.

Altus Assessments is pleased to announce the acquisition of One45 and its MedEd software platform which, combined with Altus’ research-backed admissions assessments, provides medical schools with the operational tools and end-to-end data analytics they need to run great programs and train better doctors. With Altus’ footprint across health professions and higher education, now even more academic programs will gain meaningful insights on their students to support them across their entire journey, from recruitment, through admissions and training, until graduation.

The 3 main challenges medical programs face today

1. Lack of reliable tools to assess applicants’ social intelligence and professionalism

Currently, the average acceptance rate for medical schools in the U.S. is less than 7 percent, while drop-out rates range anywhere from 7 percent to 35 percent depending on the length and type of program as well as students’ personal challenges. Research in the field has also demonstrated that 95 percent of disciplinary actions imposed by medical boards in the US are attributable to issues of professionalism, which is more onerous to remediate and often less effective. 

2. Adapting to new continuous quality improvement standards

The 2015 revision of LCME Accreditation Standards introduced a new standard for Continuous Quality Improvement. With an eight-year accreditation cycle, this standard is still very new. The data implications and implementation are still being understood by medical schools who are now faced with how to respond to the mandate in a way that does not further increase their administrative burden.

3. Integrating data from disparate sources to monitor and support their learners

Programs need integrated data to run high quality programs and get a clear picture of their students’ performance to effectively support their development. Medical schools typically have to pull information manually from up to 30 different sources. This siloed approach makes it difficult not only to access the information, but to gain critical insights necessary for improving their programs and learner supports. Learners also have limited access to their data in many programs, hindering their ability to be self-directed learners. 

Facing this challenge together

As a unified company, Altus aims to address the highly competitive and stressful nature of medical education, and ultimately contribute to an improved healthcare system where great doctors drive positive patient outcomes.

To do this, Altus will help medical programs select the right applicants in admissions, identify and assist those students that need additional support, and improve their curriculum each year. 

This end-to-end service will be possible through our suite of products that work together:

• research-backed admissions assessments to enable confident and informed high-stake decisions
• formative in-program assessments and near real-time data on student performance to enable earlier and impactful interventions
• easy access to longitudinal data for cohort analysis and benchmarking performance so programs can take proactive corrective measures for educational experiences 
• medical education program management, including academic and clinical placement scheduling, curriculum mapping, and student assessment
• a robust data warehouse and insights platform where contextualized longitudinal data can drive curriculum improvement and facilitate data gathering to make accreditation easier

By supporting learners through more of their medical academic journey, Altus can create longitudinal data that strengthens our research, outcomes, and validity. For medical programs, the aggregated data can be used for continuous quality improvement, empowering schools to shape the outcomes of their programs.

Improving the learners’ experience, too

For learners, Altus will offer a fair and standardized opportunity to stand out during the admissions process through its suite of assessments. As they enter training, Altus will continue supporting learners’ professional development with formative assessments and insights that help them understand what areas to improve as they pursue their dream.

“This is a major step forward for us in building a world served by exceptional professionals. The combination of these powerful tools will help programs address the learner’s entire journey and empower students in their professional development as they pursue their dreams.”

Rich Emrich, CEO of Altus Assessments.

“We’re proud of what we’ve built at One45 and the ways in which we’ve been helping MedEd programs continuously improve their training and student support. Joining Altus gives us a meaningful opportunity to be there for programs and learners right from Day 1.”

Brian Clare, CEO of One45

Contact us to learn more about our exciting vision.

For media inquiries, please contact Tony Vlismas, Director of Marketing and Communications.