A digital health startup working with hospitals to help their patients navigate through an episode of care has loaded up with $1.4 million from investors in a Series A round.
Madison, Wisconsin-based Wellbe Inc. creates software called Guided Carepaths that essentially acts as a virtual navigator for patients undergoing joint replacements or sports medicine surgeries.
Rather than handing patients a packet of information and instructions before a procedure and expecting them to read it, hospitals work with Wellbe to turn that packet into interactive digital content that’s delivered strategically to a patient over time.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Patients log into an online portal, where they are presented with checklists of items to complete in preparation or recovery from their procedure. That could be anything from watching a video to tracking their medication to completing a feedback survey.
The company says it will use the funding for product improvements, expanded marketing and sales efforts, and development of additional service lines to be announced later this year. CEO James Dias told me back in August that bariatric surgery was the next episode of care it would focus on, and potential future products would address neurology, cardiology and oncology.
For hospitals, Wellbe’s value proposition is that helps them implement episodic care programs and lets multiple providers stay connected to a patient’s progress. It also forges a partnership between the patient and provider with the goal of improving surgical outcomes and ultimately reducing lengths of stay, improving patient satisfaction and cutting readmissions.
