Health IT, Hospitals, Startups

VOX Telehealth rolls out program to cut hip replacement surgery costs

VOX Telehealth, a health IT company that uses alerts and notifications as part of a […]

VOX Telehealth, a health IT company that uses alerts and notifications as part of a program to reduce orthopedic surgery costs, rolled out OrthoCare at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital, which helped develop the program, according to a company statement.The company had raised $1.1 million in an angel round last year to support the program’s launch.

OrthoCare, which seeks to improve outcomes, particularly for hip and knee replacement surgery, uses patient and provider portals to give patients access to content designed to prepare them for their surgery. It helps them understand the procedure, what they need to do to prepare for it and what they need to do to optimize recovery.

Patient-centered literacy programs have been a popular avenue for health IT companies seeking to have a big impact on healthcare costs,  improve adherence and reduce re-admissions. On its website, the company highlights some of the additional benefits of these programs like reduced hospital stays and fewer surgical revisions die to infections developing around site of the surgery.

Joint replacement surgery is among Medicare’s largest expenditures. Given the surge in the over 55 population, which is expected to account for as much as 45 percent of the population this year, hospitals face a daunting challenge to reduce the number of unnecessary readmissions.

Companies centered on navigating healthcare systems was the third largest target of digital health investments last year, according to stats from a StartUp Health report published in December. About $974 million was invested across 52 companies.

 

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