MINNEAPOLIS (October 18, 2022) — Allina Health and Flare Capital Partners today 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.
“The home hospital programs that we’ve scaled to thousands of patients here in Minnesota are rooted in our Population Health drivers of delivering safe, high quality, affordable care that’s timely and convenient to access,” said Lisa Shannon, President and CEO of Allina Health. “We are excited for Inbound Health to leverage the capabilities and know-how that power these programs to scale similar at-home programs across the nation.”
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:
● Integrated Virtual and In-Home Care Delivery: A coordinated operating model that enables Inbound and other partners to fit into (not disrupt) the health system’s operation
● Predictive Patient Identification: AI learning models that identify patients who require hospital and skilled-nursing level care, but who can safely receive high-acuity care in their home
● Personalized Care Planning: A proprietary workflow management platform that scales care plans tailored to a patients’ clinical and care management needs and coordinates the interdisciplinary team throughout the care episode
● High Touch Engagement: Health system branded digital engagement assets that proactively and passively identify patient needs and ensure high-touch, easy interactions between the patient and the care team
● Patient Step-Down: Coordinated discharge processes that ensure a safe and measured transition from high-acuity home-based care and delivers the patient back into the health system’s network
“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.
Learn more at www.inboundhealth.com
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. Learn more at allinahealth.org and join us on Facebook and Twitter.
About Flare Capital Partners
Flare Capital Partners strives to help build significant healthcare technology, digital health, and healthcare services companies to improve health outcomes and broaden access while lowering costs of care. We partner with inspirational entrepreneurs who seek to transform the business of healthcare by developing innovative and impactful products and services. Flare Capital is a team of proven healthcare technology investors and senior operating executives known for thought leadership and unparalleled strategic industry resources. Our firm has raised some of the industry’s largest dedicated venture capital funds focused on early-stage opportunities in healthcare technology innovation, and our investors include leading healthcare companies, major institutional investors, important family offices, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds. We are full life-cycle investors in our portfolio companies as we work alongside entrepreneurs over their entire company-building journey. Select portfolio companies include Aetion, Aspen RxHealth, Bright Heath, Cayaba Care, Cohere Health, Eden Health, HealthVerity, Inbound Health, Iora Health, Oshi Health, Somatus, and VisitPay. The firm has developed the very successful Flare Scholar program with over 250 participants and actively leverages its extended industry network, Executive Partners, and Industry Advisory Board for the benefit of the entrepreneurs and founders with whom it is privileged to partner. Learn more at www.flarecapital.com and follow the firm on Twitter @flarecapital.