PeerWell, a startup company that helps patients prepare physically and mentally for orthopedic surgery and recover faster, announced a $6.5 million Series A round of funding led by OMERS Ventures and joined by existing investors, XSeed Capital.
Founded in 2015 by Manish Shah, Navin Gupta and Evan Minamoto, San Francisco-based PeerWell is a surgery optimization platform that helps patients with musculoskeletal conditions prepare for surgery or avoid it altogether. PeerWell says it works to lower patient risk, control costs and improve return-to-work times. It collects data that helps workers' compensation insurers, payers, third-party administrators and providers achieve better outcomes, make informed decisions and reduce the cost of care.
PeerWell will leverage the new funding to speed the commercial rollout of its workers' compensation surgery optimization platform, which it claims has improved patient outcomes and reduced costs in several clinical deployments.
Noting that musculoskeletal issues account for 10 percent of total healthcare spending in the United States, PeerWell CEO Manish Shah said that nearly half of total orthopedic care spending comes from elective procedures in insured adults. “PeerWell helps workers' compensation programs, employer health plans and payers support patients with pain and mobility issues who are facing complex procedures and surgery. Our interactive digital programs guide patients while reducing costs of care and accurately predicting return-to-work times," Shah added in a statement.
PeerWell has a partnership with Healthcare Outcomes Performance Company (HOPCo), the management company for groups like The CORE Institute, one of the largest orthopedic provider groups in the United States. Other partners include Medicare Advantage plans such as the Golden State Medicare Health Plan.
