Dive Brief:
- Phoenix-based Banner Health is launching a program for providers to order digital health tools like remote patient monitoring and digital therapeutics directly from its Cerner EHRs across its 30 acute-care hospitals and other facilities.
- It’s partnering with Xealth, which sells a platform for clinicians to integrate, prescribe and monitor digital health tools for patients directly through EHRs. Hospitals and providers may also gain insights on how each tool is performing with patients.
- The launch will start with Babyscripts, a virtual care platform for managing obstetrics, where patients can share weight and blood pressure data and use other remote monitoring tools before and after a pregnancy. Obstetricians and family practitioners system-wide at Banner have access.
Dive Insight:
The pandemic helped spur a boom in virtual care tools that providers, especially hospitals, are now looking to integrate into existing operations. Banner is Arizona’s largest provider, and its partnership with Xealth aims to provide patients with new care options merged into their physician’s workflow.
Banner patients seeking maternity care will first have access through Babyscripts, a remote patient monitoring tool targeting expecting and new mothers. After that, clinical teams will soon be able to order tools for patients related to chronic conditions and behavioral health through their Cerner EHRs.
Despite vaccines and waning COVID-19 cases, there's still heavy investor interest in digital health tools with the potential to go mainstream post-pandemic. In the first quarter of 2021, funding in the digital health sector hit a new high of $9 billion, according to a report from CB Insights.
Women's and mental digital health companies saw particularly acute interest during the period. Funding for women’s digital health companies almost doubled compared to the prior quarter at $964 million, though it's a nascent space, with 70% of first quarter deals for early-stage companies.
Banner has a long-term relationship with EHR vendor Cerner but announced its collaboration with Xealth last year.