Michigan-Based Startup Seeks to Revamp Infusion Experience
A Michigan-based startup has received $7.5 million in seed funding to launch a hybrid infusion care experience that includes personalized in-person care and extends beyond the infusion center to support patients and improve outcomes via a digital platform.
The company explained the problem it is seeking to address this way: The infusion care market in the U.S. is estimated to be more than $100 billion with approximately 3.2 million patients served annually. Infusion therapy is becoming a more common treatment option to help patients manage chronic illnesses such as cancer, cancer-related pain, hemophilia, immune deficiencies, Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. Traditional infusion settings have been struggling to keep up with demand, Uptiv Health says, while at-home infusion therapy presents its own challenges. The downstream effects are making an already arduous care journey with multiple visits more difficult and requiring patient trade-offs between quality, convenience and cost.
Uptiv Health hopes to combine quality and in-person infusion therapy with convenient, personalized virtual care management services. It is offering appointments after working hours, 24/7 access to health care staff via the Uptiv Health app, and additional services to reduce cost of care, improve patient experience and support patients’ overall well-being.
The Uptiv Health app provides patients access to virtual care: from onboarding and eliminating paperwork to appointment scheduling to digital payments. Patients can also use the app to stay in touch with their care team and for symptom-tracking. For providers, the app yields data capture, ongoing disease scoring and assessment and other chronic care management services.
Uptiv Health is supported by a centralized, integrated platform powering referrals, workflow aggregation, EMR integration and data analytics to create a more seamless care journey for patients and partners.
“Uptiv Health was founded on the fundamental principle that we are treating a whole person, not just administering infusion therapy and sending patients home until their next appointment,” said Torben Nielsen, CEO and co-founder of Uptiv Health, in a statement. “With patients top of mind, we prioritize clinical excellence while providing an experience that focuses on comfort, incorporates overall well-being and extends beyond the four walls of our clinic – completely reimagining the infusion therapy experience for patients suffering from chronic illnesses.”
Uptiv Health is composed of an integrated team of experts and clinicians, including FNPs, RNs, nutritionists and behavioral health specialists.
“There are immeasurable barriers to care for the over 3 million Americans annually who depend upon provider-administered therapies, which is compounded by the difficulties of coordinating complicated treatment plans," said Brian Nyquist, M.P.H., CEO of the National Infusion Center Association (NICA) and founder of Infusion Access Foundation (IAF), in a statement. “NICA is dedicated to making sure community-based infusion centers continue to provide critical alternative sites of care for patients, improving access to affordable, quality care when they need it.”
Uptiv was built at Redesign Health, a company that says it powers innovation in healthcare by empowering founders and developing technologies, tools, and insights that lower the barriers to change across the industry.
Uptiv accepts Medicare and is in-network with many insurance providers, including Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield, Priority Health, Aetna, Humana, and United Healthcare in Michigan. Its flagship infusion care center in Westland, Mich., is open for referrals.
