Sep 8
2015
Health IT Startup: HealthLoop
HealthLoop connects doctors and patients with timely and actionable information, improving patient satisfaction and driving better outcomes. HealthLoop is a cloud-based platform that automates follow-up care; keeping doctors, patients and care-givers connected between visits with clinical information that is insightful, actionable and engaging. Its peer-reviewed follow-up plans automate the routine aspects of care while tracking patient progress and monitoring clinical areas of concern. Its analytics engine sifts through and filters the deluge of patient-generated data in realtime; focusing the care team’s time and attention on patients who need them the most.
Elevator pitch
HealthLoop automates physician and patient connectivity to create an empathetic engagement reducing patient readmission rates by half. It is a technology leader in the field of patient engagement.
Product/service description
HealthLoop’s sophisticated, HIPAA-compliant messaging platform automatically delivers timely check-ins to patients during an episode of care. For example: a knee surgery patient receives daily check-ins from their doctor helping them prepare for surgery and follow pre-op instructions. After being discharged from the hospital, the patient gets daily follow-ups reminding them to change their bandages, work on exercises and watch for signs of infection. This personalized patient experience is delivered with no extra work from medical practice staff. Complications are caught and resolved early through the platform and patient outcomes and physician ratings improve as a result.
Origin/founder’s story
Practicing physician Dr. Jordan Shlain was looking to solve a communication problem he encountered with his own patients. As much as he wanted to deliver a caring, VIP experience to each patient, he simply didn’t have the time or the tools to do it automatically. In what Dr. Shlain calls “innovation by irritation,” he had been painstakingly tracking patients between visits in an Excel spreadsheet before hiring a developer to turn it into easy technology. HealthLoop was founded in 2009 based on this original concept.
Marketing/promotion strategy
HealthLoop works with medical practices, departments and hospitals across the country. The company is active at conferences including HIMSS and AAOS. Word-of-mouth from physicians who are able to save time while also delivering personalized care is also a significant driver.
Market opportunity
The rapidly changing reimbursement landscape has created a boom for HealthLoop’s technology. With mandatory bundled payments for hip and knee surgery (CCJR) on the horizon for 2016, increasingly healthcare providers are looking for solutions to provide personalized, responsive service to patients. The patient engagement market is expected to surpass $13.7 billion by 2019.
How your company differentiates itself from the competition
Compared to the typical passive “patient portal,” HealthLoop offers a much more sophisticated and personalized experience to patients. The company tracks an industry-leading patient engagement rate (more than 70 percent). By delivering timely, empathetic messages, HealthLoop has created a platform that is truly useful to patients, physicians and staff.