Cerner Invests in Digital Prescribing Startup Xealth
Xealth, a Seattle-based company that spun out of Providence St. Joseph Health (PSJH), and creator of a digital prescribing platform, has received $6 million in investment funding from Cerner and venture capital group LRVHealth.
In an announcement regarding the funding, officials noted that at its core, the relationship between Xealth and Cerner aims to give patients their own digital data so they can be more engaged in their treatment plans. The Xealth platform is designed to help clinicians integrate, prescribe and monitor digital health tools for patients from one location in the EHR (electronic health record).
Care teams will be able to order solutions directly from the EHR to manage conditions including chronic diseases, behavioral health, maternity care and surgery preparation. “Incorporating Xealth into Cerner’s technology and patient portal will provide easier access to personal health information and give care teams the ability to monitor patient engagement with the tools, as well as analyze the effects of increased engagement on the patient’s health care and recovery,” officials stated.
Cerner and LRVHealth now join Xealth investors Atrium Health, Cleveland Clinic, Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin, MemorialCare Innovation Fund, Providence Ventures and UPMC as well as Threshold Ventures, McKesson, Novartis, Philips, and ResMed. The company has secured more than $28 million in funding to date.
The collaboration between Cerner and Xealth will provide care teams and patients convenience and help improve care accessibility, according to officials. “Better communications and engagement between patients and key members of their care team will create an experience that is connected across settings before, during and after a care encounter. Xealth powers more than 30 digital health solutions, connecting patients with educational content, remote patient monitoring, virtual care platforms, e-commerce product recommendations and other services needed to improve health outcomes,” they added.
In a 2018 article from Healthcare Innovation, Aaron Martin, executive vice president and chief digital officer at PSJH, described how the Xealth platform worked, noting that one challenge facing clinicians is they can’t prescribe digital apps, services or products to their patients in the same way that they prescribe medications right from the EHR. But using the Xealth platform, clinicians can prescribe digital care just as they would a pharmaceutical, directly from their EHR, Martin said. “The platform provides a simple, continuous connection back to the health system ecosystem and existing portal. The clinician also can see if the patient has taken action on what was prescribed right in the EHR workflow…”
“Today, we have the unique opportunity to improve people’s lives by allowing active participation in their own treatment plans,” said David Bradshaw, senior vice president, consumer and employer solutions, Cerner. “Patients want greater access to their health information and are motivated to help care teams find the most appropriate road to recovery. Xealth and Cerner hope to make it easier and more convenient for patients and clinicians to accelerate health care in a more consumer-centric experience.”
