Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE IMPLEMENTATION IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Digital Health
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Unwell in America
  • Opinion
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • Data Center
    • Data Center Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
February 06, 2016 12:00 AM

Innovations: Using data to create custom care plans

Beth Kutscher
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    “The biggest differentiator is this concept of the industrialization of care. We make the data actionable," said Dr. Ronald Razmi, Acupera's co-founder and CEO.

    Managing large patient populations within value-based reimbursement models is placing new demands on clinical support staff to improve patient care coordination. Case managers, social workers and pharmacists today are working alongside primary-care providers with shared responsibility for making sure a patient's care is well-managed.

    It's created the need for software programs that go well beyond the typical electronic health record. San Francisco-based Acupera is seeking to meet this emerging need with a software platform that recognizes that care coordination requires a team-based approach.

    Its care-management software uses a complex algorithm that automatically converts data drawn from multiple data sets into a sophisticated care plan for each patient that can be used by both clinical and nonclinical staff, many of whom have limited experience with traditional EHR systems. Acupera is betting that, eventually, functions integral to population health management will be prompted by software and performed automatically.

    Acupera

    HEADQUARTERS

    San Francisco

    FOUNDER AND

    CEO

    Dr. Ronald Razmi

    INNOVATION

    Software drawing from multiple data sets that can create complex care plans for patients and assign responsibilities to care team

    members.

    STATUS

    The venture-backed company works with about half a dozen health systems. It has raised $15 million and wants to ramp up operations.

    “The biggest differentiator is this concept of the industrialization of care,” said Dr. Ronald Razmi, a cardiologist and the company's co-founder and CEO. “We make the data actionable.”

    Acupera, which was founded in 2011, works with about half a dozen health system clients, including Mennonite Health System in Puerto Rico and St. Vincent Health in Indiana. The company does not disclose revenue, but Razmi said it has raised $15 million and has about 40 employees.

    Its investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, the Whittemore Collection and Liebkind LLC.

    Acupera's platform pulls data from multiple sources including EHRs, insurance claims and pharmacy records. It creates individualized care plans by applying its algorithm to the combined data sets. “When we show up with the product, it looks different from what other people have seen,” Razmi said. “It actually needs to be a marriage of software and medical expertise.”

    The software's analytics identify where there are gaps in care, including in some cases the need for services outside of healthcare, such as housing and food. For instance, when a patient with uncontrolled diabetes comes in, the software performs a number of assessments. It might ask: Does the patient know the benefits of checking her blood sugar, and does she know how to check it?

    Acupera's technology acts as an extended virtual-care team, Razmi said. As the questions are answered, an action plan automatically pops up on the screen, suggesting areas in need of an intervention. It also assigns those tasks to the appropriate person on the patient's clinical team.

    “When you need to manage 200,000 patients, you really need to automate,” Razmi said. “This is where technology can start doing the heavy lifting.”

    Montefiore Health System in New York City began working with Acupera in 2014 after a five-year search for a software program that could assist its care-coordination efforts. The academic medical center, the lead participant in New York state's Medicaid Health Homes program, integrated Acupera's technology into its existing pediatric case-management program, in part because it wanted a solution that could be used by both nonclinical and clinical staff.

    “A lot of platforms are built on systems that look like an EHR ... The user interface is not like a Windows or Mac experience, or a Google experience,” said Dr. Henry Chung, Montefiore's chief medical officer. “Everyone has a different level of technical expertise in care management.”

    Once the platform creates a patient's care-management plan, the software generates pop-up windows that flag tasks that need to be done, rank them by priority and show who's responsible.

    “Let's face it, if you have a housing issue, that's a first priority before checking A1Cs,” Chung said. “That's the beauty of this very flexible, customizable approach.”

    The platform also enables care for patients who don't have a primary-care connection. “It's not enough to think about care management as simply residing in the EHR,” Chung said. “EHRs are data repositories, but they really don't drive workflow.”

    It's too early to show outcomes at Montefiore, Chung conceded. But Razmi noted that other clients have reduced emergency department visits and the total cost of care for diabetics.

    Acupera officials are currently in discussions with a number of health systems and working to scale the business, Razmi said.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    InDepth: Private Equity
    Legal questions surround private equity-backed Noble Health
    health care_doc and patient_i.jpg
    Michigan primary care doctors want more funding to help rural staffing shortages
    Most Popular
    1
    More healthcare organizations at risk of credit default, Moody's says
    2
    Centene fills out senior executive team with new president, COO
    3
    SCAN, CareOregon plan to merge into the HealthRight Group
    4
    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan unveils big push that lets physicians take on risk, reap rewards
    5
    Bright Health weighs reverse stock split as delisting looms
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Digital Health
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Unwell in America
    • Opinion
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top 25 Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Data Center
      • Data Center Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing