Intermountain launches new startup aimed at value-based care

Salt Lake City, Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare launched a new company aimed at boosting value-based care capabilities among providers and payers.

The company, named Castell, is a health IT platform that will enable the health system as well as other organizations to accelerate their transition from a volume to value. It is built on lessons learned within Intermountain and includes a platform of tools including a clinical care model launched in 2018 called "Reimagined Primary Care."

The company also offers a technology platform that includes analytics, network management and digital tools to address virtual care, patient experience and the social determinants of health. The platform will also offer access to initiatives and innovations coming out of Intermountain, as well as care pathways and clinical best practices developed by the system.

Marc Harrison, M.D.
Marc Harrison (Intermountain)

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“Intermountain Healthcare’s mission is to help people live the healthiest lives possible. This commitment is the same no matter where, when, or with whom people get care,” said Marc Harrison, M.D., Intermountain president and CEO, in a statement. “Castell is a critical component of Intermountain’s broad vision for healthier communities. It creates a new path for providers to access the support they need to provide high quality, affordable care to their patients across the nation.”

Intermountain's Chief Operating Officer of Community Based Care Rajesh Shrestha was named the president and CEO of Castell. He has more than 20 years of experience in helping health companies move from fee-for-serve to value-based care. 

“Proven methods for simplifying value-based care are needed across the healthcare industry,” Shrestha said in a statement. “Backed by Intermountain’s day-to-day frontline experience with a focus on population health management, Castell will deliver impactful solutions that help other organizations improve outcomes and keep costs more affordable.”

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In 2018, Intermountain introduced its clinical care model "Reimagined Primary Care" which focused on preventative care enable physicians to spend more time with high-risk patients to get upstream of potential health problems. After a year, officials said they saw a 60% reduction in Medicare Advantage admissions, 25% fewer commercial insurance readmissions and a 20% decrease in per-member, per-month costs.

They also saw improved patient ratings and improved physician satisfaction. 

Intermountain Healthcare is a not-for-profit system of 24 hospitals including a "virtual" hospital, a medical group with more than 2,400 physicians and advanced practice clinicians at about 160 clinics. It also includes a health plans division called SelectHealth.

The health system has sought to distinguish itself as a national leader in innovative health initiatives, opening a new 120,000-square-foot innovation center aimed at accelerating care transformation last September.

Last fall, the health system also spearheaded the launch of a non-profit generic drug company Civica Rx. The company was formed by a collection of hospitals to help control generic drug supplies and prices, with interest from more than 800 hospitals, representing 180,000 — or 25% — of the nation's licensed beds.