Patina Health launched out of stealth today with $57 million in funding to improve the primary care experience for adults 65 and older.
Led by CEO Jack Stoddard, long-time healthcare executive at companies like Eden Health, Haven and Accolade, the startup aims to reinvent the healthcare model for older adults by dedicating personalized, multidisciplinary care teams to each patient, with the goal of building trusting relationships to facilitate a better care experience.
The company’s $57 million comes from seed and Series A funding rounds co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and GV, as well as other investors like F-Prime, Rock Springs Capital and Viking Global Investors.
Patina will launch its in-home and virtual primary care services early next year in partnership with select Medicare Advantage health plans at no additional cost to the patient.
“Older adults are often overlooked by a society that values ‘young over old,’” said Stoddard in a statement. “As we become older, we all deserve a better care experience that sees us, understands us and accepts our role in guiding our own care so we can live our fullest lives. That kind of model doesn’t exist in healthcare today, so we’re building it. The current system is built around hospitals and clinics at the center, resulting in a production model of short, episodic and transactional office visits, which doesn’t meet the unique needs of older adults.”
The Patina team has worked for the last year and a half to gather feedback from older adults and their families and apply human-centered design principles to build the necessary technology, Stoddard said.
The company emerges during a period of disruption in primary care after COVID-19 devastated many traditional primary care practices and the rise of telehealth prompted new technologies and care models.
Some companies focused on older adults like Oak Street Health have expanded their offerings while others like Papa are stepping into virtual primary care for the first time.
Despite experiencing some setbacks during the height of the pandemic, the U.S. primary care market holds massive value, and its size is only expected to increase—Grand View Research predicts it will reach $408 billion by 2027.
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Deft Research recently conducted a study of nearly 1,000 older adults and caregivers, where nearly 60% of older adults and 85% of caregivers said the Patina care experience was appealing to them, according to the company.
Both older adults and caregivers gave high ratings to several aspects of Patina’s model, including the personalized care team tailored to each patient’s needs that works to build trust with the patient. Caregivers gave the convenience of in-home care an especially high ranking.
“These research findings validate my own experience as both a primary care provider and a caregiver to my father,” said Patina Chief Health Officer Neil Patel, M.D. “All older adults deserve this kind of experience, but their adult children, spouses, relatives and friends are often the invisible backbone helping them to thrive in health or illness. Despite their importance, caregivers often go unrecognized as an integral part of the care team. Patina is built to recognize their value and serve their needs together with the patient.”
In addition to the services provided to the patient, the care team will also support the patient’s network of loved ones, including any caregivers, the company said.
The startup’s name refers to a thin surface layer that forms over time on the surface of something, like the green film that covers bronze as it oxidizes. Patel said the name is “the recognition of a certain beauty that emerges over time.”
“By starting over and reimagining primary care, we’re building an experience for people that recognizes their beauty and wisdom and cultivates their leadership in how they want to age and how they want to experience life,” he said. “People light up when you truly listen to their stories and show them that you care about all aspects of their well-being, not just their physical health. We’re focused on establishing trusted, healing relationships with patients so they know we see and understand them, and that we will stay with them on their journeys over time.”