UPMC Enterprises is selling an inpatient teleconsult technology platform it developed to virtual care company eVisit, which also has joined the Enterprises portfolio of companies.
Enterprises, the innovation, commercialization, and venture capital arm of health system UPMC, developed the teleconsult technology platform in 2019 and 2020 as a web-based application that allows for easier connection between providers and patients.
The platform was created as a comprehensive workflow management solution for acute care settings at UPMC that helps care teams prioritize patients in need of beside consultation from virtual specialists. Using the technology, virtual clinical specialists can efficiently consult with bedside clinicians on inpatient care across five services: stroke, neurology, critical care, psychology, and toxicology. Teleconsult technology brings world class clinical care to patients in even the most remote rural hospitals.
In addition to using the teleconsult technology to expand its inpatient telehealth capabilities, eVisit also received a strategic investment by UPMC Enterprises. Founded in 2014, eVisit is the industry’s leading, best-in-KLAS, virtual care platform, which enables virtual care workflows at health systems and clinics nationwide.
Development of teleconsult technology platform at UPMC Enterprises
The partnership between eVisit and UPMC showcases the unique model and industry expertise of UPMC and UPMC Enterprises. The UPMC Enterprises team is proud to provide the health care industry with an innovative, scalable solution that already has transformed the lives of UPMC patients and provided value to UPMC’s telemedicine operations and hospital services division.
UPMC Enterprises, the UPMC Telemedicine Operations team, and key UPMC clinical executives, including Rob Bart, MD, Don Yealy, MD, and Rachel Sackrowitz, MD, began developing the teleconsult technology in 2019 to give providers a more efficient way to connect with specialists anywhere in the UPMC system.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the project to completion and integration into the UPMC health system. Throughout 2020, the platform proved crucial for effective clinician communication using the web-based application by eliminating the need for complex call-center routing for specialist consults throughout the more than 40-hospital UPMC system.
Since its inception, the teleconsult technology platform has shown significant success by delivering more than 40,000 consults, resulting in a 92% decrease in patient wait times.
“Our guiding mission at UPMC Enterprises is to develop solutions to the clinical needs identified by the thousands of physicians at UPMC who provide lifesaving care to our patients,” said Brent Burns, executive vice president at UPMC Enterprises. “When we create something like the teleconsult technology that so brilliantly achieves that goal and becomes a vital part of our clinical operations, we look for partners who can help us make it available to clinicians and patients outside our walls. We’re excited to have found that partner in eVisit. Bringing these two technologies together creates a powerful end-to-end virtual care platform.”
eVisit joins UPMC Enterprises portfolio of Digital Solutions companies
The Digital Solutions and Technology Services teams at UPMC Enterprises are pleased to welcome eVisit to the portfolio of innovative companies that are enabling digital transformation in health care.
As part of the acquisition by eVisit, UPMC Enterprises and MedStar Health added strategic investments to eVisit’s $45 million Series B fundraising. The organizations will also respectively pursue co-development opportunities with eVisit and have representatives join eVisit’s Clinical Advisory Board.
Enterprises’ Technology Services team will provide technology advisory expertise to eVisit and Andrew R. Watson, MD, MLitt, UPMC Enterprises senior medical advisor and past president of the American Telemedicine Association, will join eVisit’s Clinical Advisory Board.
To learn more about the eVisit partnership, read the full press release.
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