Inbound Health Launches to Enable Partners to Build and Scale Hospital and Skilled Nursing Facility-at-Home Care Models
Allina Health and Flare Capital Partners announced the launch of Inbound Health, a new company that enables health systems and health plans to offer hospital-at-home and skilled nursing-at-home programs. These innovative new care models create the ability to care for patients requiring facility-level acute or post-acute care in their home, thereby improving patient access, satisfaction, and outcomes while lowering total cost of care.
Inbound Health provides the full stack of capabilities that are required to scale at-home care models including home-based care pathways, virtual care teams, engagement and workflow technology, analytics, supply chain partnerships, operational oversight and payment models. The company’s flexible partnership structure enables customers to leverage their existing assets and capabilities while relying on Inbound Health to fill the gaps required to scale these programs across their service area
To date, more than 4,200 patients across 185 primary diagnoses have been cared for through the Inbound Health platform, which has been operational in Allina Health’s service area since May 2020. The program has allowed Allina Health to manage a wider swath of the continuum of care for its patients, thereby ensuring that care is delivered in a safe, coordinated and patient-centric manner. The company combines biometric monitoring, digital surveillance, in-home nursing and therapy, virtual visits with hospitalists and geriatricians, and a comprehensive supply chain to deliver a safe and high-quality care program.
Inbound Health has proven that the program lowers total-cost-of-care by 30-40% on a risk-adjusted basis while achieving similar or improved clinical outcomes when compared to traditional facility-based care. These outcomes have enabled Inbound Health and Allina to develop unique episodic-based payer contracts with multiple Commercial and Medicare Advantage payers in Minnesota, a payment model that the company plans on replicating with partners in other markets.
Inbound Health will be led by CEO Dave Kerwar who brings a 20-year track record of executing leading-edge strategies to improve care quality, reduce cost, and create consumer-centricity in healthcare. Previously, Dave was the Chief Product Officer at Mount Sinai Health System where he built innovative technology-enabled operations to scale direct-to-consumer, direct-to-employer, and population health programs. Prior to Mount Sinai, Dave led business development for Aetna’s Joint Ventures where he launched Provider Owned Health Plans with leading health systems across the country.
“We are proud to be backed by one of the most prestigious health systems and one of the largest dedicated healthcare technology venture capital firms in the country in our pursuit to revolutionize this new level of care,” said Dave Kerwar. “Inbound Health will leverage the clinical, operational, and technology assets that we’ve developed alongside Allina Health to enable our customers nationwide to safely offer facility-level care in the home, at a lower cost and with an elevated patient and caregiver experience.”
Inbound Health will use the new financing to continue to advance its proprietary technology platform that integrates with a variety of biometric monitoring devices and brings forward engagement, workflow, and AI-powered analytic capabilities that are purpose-built to scale these at-home care programs. This platform optimizes Inbound Health’s ability to perform key functions on behalf of its partners, including:
“Home-based acute care models represent a compelling opportunity to lower the cost of care while increasing access and satisfaction for patients,” said Michael Greeley, Co-founder and General Partner, Flare Capital Partners. “Inbound Health is truly differentiated, not only due to the unique clinical and technology assets that underpin the platform, but also because it has powered one of the largest hospitals and SNF-at-home programs in the country. We look forward to partnering with Dave and the Inbound Health team to scale this platform nationally.”
About Allina Health
Allina Health is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of illness and enhancing the greater health of individuals, families and communities throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. A not-for-profit health care system, Allina Health cares for patients from beginning to end-of-life through its 90+ clinics, 12 hospitals, 14 retail pharmacies, specialty care centers and specialty medical services that provide home care, senior transitions, hospice care, home oxygen and medical equipment, and emergency medical transportation services.