Which Emerging Virtual Care Companies are Top-of-Mind for Health Orgs?

February 01, 2024 - Virtual care remains a vital area of interest and investment for healthcare stakeholders. Supported by technologies like telehealth platforms, remote patient monitoring (RPM) tools, and virtual sitting solutions, virtual care strategies enable healthcare providers and payers to significantly expand healthcare access, reduce workforce burden, and improve the timeliness of care.

The digital health market grew increasingly crowded as virtual care adoption shot up during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the market has matured, some players have thrived, while others have not survived.

In a recent report, market research firm KLAS outlined the emerging health IT companies in 2024. KLAS researchers sought feedback from 52 healthcare professionals and data from KLAS’ website analytics to identify the vendors that are top-of-mind for healthcare organizations and not currently measured by KLAS.

The report highlights 66 vendors across markets, including security, patient engagement, value-based care, and virtual care. Here are the six emerging companies in the virtual care market in 2024, per KLAS.

ACCUHEALTH

Founded in 2018, Accuhealth provides an RPM solution that enables remote monitoring via cellular-enabled devices and unlimited telehealth visits. It integrates with more than 50 EHRs.

The company monitors patient information and data through its hospital operations center, escalating care based on defined thresholds. The company also provides device onboarding, shipping, and repair services, as well as automated recording and timestamping of clinical interactions to create an audit trail. Its patient engagement efforts include using the same clinical team members for patient calls where possible.

Further, the company offers complimentary billing support, including submitting claims and enrolling clinics in auto-billing.

Last September, Accuhealth announced the launch of its Amazon Alexa Skill, allowing patients to access healthcare services by asking their Amazon Alexa devices for assistance. Patients can request a callback from their providers through the Amazon Connect system and receive daily reminders to take readings.

Accuhealth announced in November that it made the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list, ranking the 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies in North America.

BABYSCRIPTS

BabyScripts offers a virtual maternity care program that allows maternal health practitioners to provide prenatal and postpartum care through a mobile app and RPM. The app provides maternal education, weight tracking, and management tools, along with checklists, assessments, and care pathways.

The company also provides RPM services to help birthing persons manage their blood pressure (BP) and mental health. These include BP symptom logging for up to one year postpartum, reminders and education to encourage taking BP readings, and standardized mental health assessments for the prenatal and postpartum periods.

On the healthcare provider side, BabyScripts offers EHR integration and a dashboard to monitor BP readings and non-compliance, a 24-hour call center that alerts clinicians when patients record elevated readings, and perinatal mental health data reports to track progress and monitor population health.

The company was founded in 2013 and, since then, has partnered with several prominent healthcare providers and payer organizations, including Memorial Hermann and UnitedHealthcare. In 2021, the company raised $19 million in a Series B funding round.

KANGAROOHEALTH

KangarooHealth, founded in 2015, offers solutions for RPM, remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM), and chronic condition management. The solutions include device-and app-based monitoring capabilities and omni-channel communication via text, phone, video, and in-app messages.

The company aims to address various conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, musculoskeletal conditions, and chronic pain, through its technology and services. Patients referred to KangarooHealth remote care programs receive onboarding support, as well as monitoring, escalation, and engagement services. Healthcare providers receive billing support and insights via monthly reports.

Last year, KangarooHealth entered into a multiyear strategic partnership with Zephyr AI, a company building artificial intelligence (AI) tools to address needs in the precision medicine arena. The companies plan to create a predictive solution for clinicians by combining Zephyr AI’s machine-learning technology with KangarooHealth’s remote monitoring platform.

MEDICALLY HOME

Launched in 2016, Medically Home has made a name in the hospital-at-home space, providing access to clinical teams, data analytics, and a technology kit.

The company’s decentralized care model includes various elements, such as a medical command center staffed 24/7 by physicians and nurses who virtually oversee patient care, a rapid response logistics system that delivers services and supplies to patient homes, and proprietary software that gathers biometric data and offers insights into the program.

Additionally, Medically Home provides equipment enabling hospital-at-home care, including advanced cellular routers with access to multiple mobile carriers, personal emergency response wearables, and easy-to-use tablets for video visits.

The company has several prominent healthcare partners, including Mayo Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, Cleveland Clinic, UNC Health, Yale NewHaven Health, and ChristianaCare. In 2021, Medically Home joined Mayo Clinic and Kaiser Permanente to launch the Advanced Care at Home Coalition to support strategies advancing the delivery of hospital-level care at home.

OCUVERA

Ocuvera provides a software-based monitoring system that enables virtual sitting. A 2023 KLAS report states virtual sitting solutions allow healthcare provider organizations to observe patients remotely and prevent adverse events. Ocuvera’s solution leverages AI and customized computer vision algorithms to detect patient movements and determine whether patients are getting out of their beds or chairs without assistance.

The solution clicks onto a dock mounted on hospital room walls and includes a three-dimensional camera. Nurses can stream the video collected by the cameras and receive and respond to video alerts.

Ocuvera provides access to a portal with reports on various metrics, including which rooms are being monitored and how quickly nurses respond.

Founded in 2013, the company has conducted numerous case studies with healthcare provider organizations, including CHI Health Lakeside and Clark Regional Medical Center. According to internal data, the Ocuvera solution can reduce targeted fall rates by 39 percent to 53 percent.

SPRING HEALTH

Spring Health is a mental healthcare solution that provides personalized care plans, virtual access to therapists, and wellness exercises. Users answer a three-to-five-minute questionnaire, receive a customized care plan, including recommendations for therapists from Spring Health’s network, and can then schedule appointments or access digital exercises.

Founded in 2016, Spring Health takes a data-based approach to mental healthcare. The company uses machine-learning models to analyze data points that inform personalized recommendations and healthcare provider feedback. Additionally, it offers health coaching and family care, including couples and family therapy services and parent coaching.

The company has published several studies assessing its solution, including one in JAMA Network Open in 2022, which showed that Spring Health’s employer-sponsored workplace mental health program benefitted both employees and employers. Nearly 70 percent of program participants improved their mental health, and the program provided a positive return on investment for all salaries above the federal minimum wage.

Spring Health’s customers include healthcare provider organizations like WellSpan Health and companies like General Mills. Last October, the company joined forces with Highmark Health to offer members access to one-on-one care navigation, in-person or virtual therapy, medication management, and 24/7 crisis support.