Froedtert Health invests in Avia Innovator Network

Froedtert Health is showing support and faith in the Avia Innovator Network by investing equity and joining its board of directors.

The investment dollar amount was not disclosed.

Froedtert, based in Milwaukee, is already a member of the Avia Network, a Chicago-based company that works with health systems to identify and implement new technologies.

Froedtert will use its relationship with Avia to work with industry leaders to find innovative ways to offer more consumer-driven healthcare, according to a news release.

“We recognize that some of the smartest people and the best ideas come from outside our own health system,” said Cathy Jacobson, president and CEO of Froedtert Health. She added that Froedtert's new organization, Inception Health, and the partnership with Avia are all efforts to think creatively.

Inception Health, formed in 2015, is Froedtert's innovation and digital- health arm. It aims to improve health outcomes and patient interactions. Froedtert led Avia's most recent investment round and was joined by Renton, Wash.-based Providence Health & Services, Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare and Rush University Medical Center, which is based in Chicago.

Rush Health in Chicago and insurer Cigna Corp. have forged a deal similar to those gaining steam around the country: paying doctors to take better care of patients while spending less.

It's a tough feat to keep track of people unnecessarily racking up mileage in the emergency room or making sure they take their medications on time. But if Rush can hit certain quality measures and cut medical costs while doing so, they can get a financial bonus from Cigna.

The arrangement also gives Rush a coveted peek into Cigna's data on its patients that show when they see doctors outside the network. It's a big perk as health systems are increasingly paid by insurers to focus on preventive care and keep their patients healthy, or potentially lose money if they don't.

“That's a big benefit in us partnering with (insurers) because they're always going to have more data on our patients than we have,” said Brent Estes, Rush Health president and CEO.

This is Cigna's sixth agreement with a health system in the Chicago area. It already has similar arrangements with Presence Health, the largest Catholic hospital network in the state, and Advocate Health Care, the largest hospital chain in Illinois, among others.

Nationally, the insurer has created about 150 of these deals since 2008. Cigna estimates the program, called Cigna Collaborative Care, has saved about $50 million nationwide in the past three to four years by cutting medical costs. —Kristen Schorsch, Crain's Chicago Business