Innovatient finds IT opportunity in healthcare reform

Photo | Pablo Robles Innovatient Solutions CEO Jolinda Lambert has developed a health IT system that educates patients and connects them to their doctor from a hospital room.

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By Becky Bergman

A local company is tapping a burgeoning medical industry with a high-tech software application designed to help hospitals boost engagement and give patients greater access to information about their health care.

Innovatient Solutions Inc. in Farmington has spent nearly three years developing and marketing its nVision Information Therapy software to hospitals across the country.

CEO Jolinda Lambert, a former nurse, collaborated with IT specialists to develop a system that educates patients and connects them to their health care providers from the hospital room.

The browser-based software uses the patient’s TV as an intelligent call light and provides hospital personnel real-time feedback, said Lambert.

Patients can see their daily schedule on the screen, order meals, access their health condition and learn more about procedures, recovery and pain management.

Innovatient Solutions automates the communication process between doctors and patients, according to Lambert.

“Information is provided to patients through their in-room televisions and to the clinical team via personal computers or intelligent handheld devices,” said Lambert.

The system also enables patients to list questions they want to ask their doctors, connect with loved ones at home and gain an understanding of their medications and discharge instructions.

Lambert believes her software enables patients to recover faster and improves efficiency for healthcare workers.

“We know that physicians don’t spend a lot of time at the bedside with the patient, so if we can educate the patient before the physician shows up, then they’re going to have a more meaningful conversation,” said Lambert.

“All the information is relevant and specific to the patient,” she added. “It allows them to become engaged in their own care.”

Hospitals across the country face new challenges as medical payments are increasingly tied to outcomes rather than to services provided.

Under the Affordable Care Act, hospitals deemed to have high readmission rates face stiff penalties, said Lambert.

Engaged patients — people who participate in their own care — are more likely to achieve positive outcomes because they’re educated about their conditions, understand the specific procedures, and have the skills and confidence to manage their health.

That translates to fewer hospital readmissions, faster recoveries and less time at the hospital, said Lambert.

And engaged patients tend to rack up fewer hospital bills compared to their non-engaged counterparts.

A recent study shows that medical costs for engaged patients average 8 percent lower in the first year and 21 percent lower the following year, compared to patients who lacked the confidence and skills to manage their own care.

Innovatient relies largely on trade shows to reach more than 5,700 hospital facilities across the U.S.

While the market is ripe for a software player like Innovatient, Lambert’s biggest challenge “is educating health care executives that this sort of technology exists, and how it helps hospitals meet federal regulations, improve patient satisfaction and save money.”

Lambert is optimistic about the future.

“We’ve come a long way,” she said. “Five years ago, we weren’t talking about ways to engage the patient in their own health care. We weren’t enabling them to take charge of their recovery.”

The company’s software takes about four months to install and program, and uses pre-existing hospital infrastructure and television sets.

Lambert wouldn’t disclose financials, but said on average, hospitals pay around $1 per day per patient for the software to be installed and maintained.

So far, the company’s patient engagement technology has been installed in two hospitals in Illinois and Virginia. Lambert anticipates Innovatient will add at least another six to eight clients this year.

Getting to this point has required more than $1 million in funding. Lambert knew it would be difficult — if not impossible — to borrow money from a conventional lender.

Lambert, who turned to the venture capital market for help, was looking for more than cash. She also wanted professional input and helpful feedback that would come from venture capital.

One of the funds that invested in Innovatient Solutions is Connecticut Innovations, the state’s quasi-public authority that provides financing and strategic assistance to businesses.

Connecticut Innovations invested two rounds of $500,000 each in 2011 and 2012, and made a follow-on investment for $250,000 this year.

“Innovatient is making strong progress getting its product to market,” said Claire Leonardi, CEO of Connecticut Innovations.

“Investments in companies like Innovatient support Governor Malloy’s goal of building our state’s capabilities in information technology and health care,” said Leonardi.

Connecticut hopes to grow a cluster of emerging high-tech companies and stimulate job creation. But one of the biggest challenges for companies like Innovatient Solutions is finding cash to develop new ideas.

Lambert is using the funds to develop software, operate the business and market its technology. The company currently has eight employees, and will expand its workforce as needed, Lambert said.