Knownwell, an integrated primary and obesity care provider, is launching a new teen program for weight management.
Knownwell Teens is intended to be an early intervention offering targeting the nearly 20% of kids and teens living with obesity in the U.S. The current healthcare system often alienates kids and adults because of their weight, Knownwell argues. The new program will aim to tackle this by creating a patient-focused environment to uncover and treat the root cause of early obesity.
The care model is built on involving the teen’s family and includes nutritional counseling, behavioral health services and pharmacotherapy when appropriate. It will be rolled out starting January 1.
“We don’t yell at you when you walk in about your weight or blame every complaint you have on your weight,” Knownwell founder and CEO Brooke Boyarsky Pratt told Fierce Healthcare.
Pratt struggled with obesity her entire life, she explained. “I have often faced less than ideal healthcare experiences,” Pratt said. “I was just trying to find, is there a doctor who I can go to who can take me seriously.”
Knownwell provides virtual and in-person care for patients across Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. Its adults have the option to see Knownwell for either primary care needs, obesity care needs, or both. However, the new teen program will not be offering pediatric primary care.
In tandem with the new teen program, Knownwell has also raised a $20 million series A funding round led by a16z (Andreessen Horowitz), with participation from existing investors including Flare Capital Partners. The round brings the company’s total funding to $24.5 million to date and will be used to expand Knownwell’s geographic footprint and focus on new enterprise offerings. The company is also partnering with pharma companies to conduct and participate in clinical trials.
Pratt attributes some of Knownwell’s success, and importance, to the fact that it is already so difficult to find good, weight-inclusive care in the U.S. in general. That is in part due to stigma, but also due to a lack of training on obesity school in medical school for primary care docs and pediatricians. The average doctor might get four hours or less of training, Pratt said.
“That’s really small for a complicated disease state,” per Pratt. Doctors also lack the infrastructure, such as dietitians and behavioral health specialists, to support weight management holistically and longitudinally, Pratt added. “They’re not purpose-built for that population.”
While Knownwell only has one brick-and-mortar site currently, Pratt said, the goal is to expand to more places around the country. Once a year, when possible, Knownwell asks that its patients come into the in-person clinic. Those who visit the on-site clinic drive in even from out of state, per Pratt. For those who can’t, or need to be seen more urgently in person, Knownwell also facilitates referrals.
Knownwell aims to make weight-inclusive care more accessible by working with commercial, Medicaid and Medicare payers and having no membership fees. The company is mostly in fee-for-service contracts for now, with the goal of shifting to some value-based care over time, Pratt said.
The company has a health system partner already in Massachusetts, but is chatting with more across the country, Pratt said. Knownwell’s plan is to bolster its enterprise offerings for health systems, payers and employers “is really aimed at organizations that want to expand access to longitudinal obesity care,” Pratt said. Such organizations are hungry for a solution that will create lasting cost savings and positive health outcomes, she noted.
As it builds out its staff and footprint, Knownwell is also currently onboarding behavioral health specialists, including LCSWs and psychologists. The goal is to reserve them for the patients that need them most. Others will be in health coaching instead, led by certified nurse practitioners, which helps with accountability and building healthy habits. “It’s a way to extend care without having to use doctors,” Pratt said.