Healthcare suppliers' incapability to correctly coordinate care typically results in duplicate checks and companies, remedy errors, delayed or missed diagnoses, and affected person confusion and frustration – and this uncoordinated care finally prices the U.S. roughly $340 billion per yr in wasted sources. That's greater than the prices related to coronary heart illness or most cancers, Dr. factors out. Chip Grant, CEO of Watershed Well being.

In keeping with him, uncoordinated care represents the largest purpose for enhancing affected person outcomes and lowering healthcare prices. This week, his startup accomplished a $13.6 million funding spherical to handle the issue.

New Orleans-based Watershed was based in 2013 to enhance care coordination by connecting all kinds of suppliers within the well being care system.

“We referred to as it Watershed Well being as a result of we envisioned a pivotal change, a turning level, in the way in which healthcare knowledge and instruments are used to enhance affected person outcomes,” mentioned Dr. Grant.

Regardless of having one of the best intentions, well being care suppliers are sometimes ill-equipped to coordinate care as a result of an absence of well timed and complete info, he defined. This prevents suppliers from making probably the most knowledgeable selections or taking fast motion on the proper time, he notes.

To handle this subject, Watershed's SaaS platform offers healthcare suppliers with real-time details about sufferers, together with their well being standing, social determinants of well being, location and care group members concerned.

“It not solely delivers structured and unstructured knowledge immediately and well timed, but additionally facilitates seamless communication and collaboration throughout your entire healthcare ecosystem, together with a digital workspace the place healthcare suppliers can ask questions and resolve affected person points,” Dr. Grant.

For instance, when a affected person is discharged from the hospital, Watershed's platform can facilitate a clean transition by offering all related healthcare suppliers – together with main care physicians, specialists, post-acute care suppliers, transportation companies and meal suppliers – with vital details about the hospital keep, defined Dr. Grant out.

He additionally famous that the closed nature of the Watershed platform helps suppliers make sure that all deliberate interventions and companies are delivered as supposed. The startup's know-how permits hospitals to watch the implementation of care plans – and if an motion doesn’t go in response to plan, the care group can intervene.

With the Watershed platform, knowledge all the time flows again to the hospital. Thus, when a affected person returns to the hospital, he’s confronted with a hospital care group that’s absolutely conscious of his latest interactions with different healthcare suppliers, together with any updates to his care plan. mentioned Physician Grant.

He famous that Watershed doesn’t compete with EHRs, well being info exchanges, referral platforms, care coordination instruments or different supplier options. As an alternative, he thinks his firm's platform enhances and improves on these present applied sciences.

“Whereas many digital instruments present basic assist for care coordination, they typically depart vital gaps in integration and real-time collaboration. Watershed uniquely addresses these shortcomings by providing a complete answer that actively drives coordination throughout all healthcare settings,” mentioned Dr. Grant.

The startup works straight with well being plans, which subsidize the prices of its platform in communities the place their members obtain care.

“In consequence, Watershed is often provided without charge to group suppliers in these markets,” famous Dr. Grant op. “Our well being plan companions acknowledge that improved care coordination not solely results in higher well being outcomes for his or her members, but additionally results in vital price financial savings.”

Some organizations utilizing the Watershed platform embrace Blue Cross & Blue Defend of Alabama and Springhill Medical Middle in Cellular, he added.

Springhill Medical Middle minimize hospital readmissions in half because of Watershed, CEO Jeff St. Clair mentioned in a press release.

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