A health IT company designed to help hospitals identify and track high risk patients at risk for re-admission for congestive heart failure has raised $1 million soon after marking its 12th hospital system customer. Health Recovery Solutions, which graduated from Blueprint Health’s accelerator in 2012 raised the fresh capital from 13 investors, according to a Form D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
As you might expect for a program designed to reduce readmissions and help hospitals avoid the punitive fines for surpassing readmission rates for certain conditions, improving adherence is a significant part of the platform. Patients receive a tablet when they are discharged pre-loaded with instructions. The program walks patient users through tasks they need to do following their discharge and offers a way for hospitals to track what they have done. That could include taking their medications, weighing themselves to ensure they haven’t experienced sudden weight gain from fluid collecting in the lungs — a complication of congestive heart failure. The data is sent to the cloud, and depending how it is computed by predictive analytics, it may trigger a care team’s deployment if data indicates the patient’s condition is deteriorating. It can also be integrated into patients’ electronic medical records.
There’s also a health literacy component that uses video and other content to help patients understand why they need to follow their care plan. To date, the company has raised more than $1.5 million, according to the SEC’s website.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
A study published in October by the American Journal of Managed Care and carried out by the company with Hackensack University Medical Center and Holy Name Hospital evaluated the impact of the software on readmissions within 30 days of patients being discharged. The randomized study of 50 patients, with an average age of 71, found that participants who used the program had an 8 percent readmission rate compared with a 28 readmission rate for patients who didn’t. Average medication adherence was 84.38 percent, the average adherence level for recording weight was 89.82 percent. Seniors with a heart condition tend not to be keen on daily exercise and this category’s adherence averages trailed other areas at 77.09 percent.
In addition to Hackensack University Medical Center, other hospital clients include Mass General Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
In 2012, a special report in Circulation said the rate of re-admission for patients with congestive heart failure varied in communities across the U.S. from 10 percent to 50 percent. But it also noted that as much as 75 percent of those readmissions could have been avoided. The bigger picture is that by red flagging potential problems earlier, companies like Health Recover Solutions can help stem the rise of CHF hospitalization costs.
