Appriss Health, a company known for its prescription drug monitoring analytics, has snagged PatientPing to bulk up its care coordination software.
The PatientPing pickup will diversify Louisville, Kentucky-based Appriss' healthcare offerings, company officials said. The combined Appriss-PatientPing footprint now covers 7,500 post-acute facilities, 2,500 hospitals and 25,000 pharmacies, according to the company.
Boston-based PatientPing was named one of Fierce Healthcare's Fierce 15 winners this year.
According to Appriss, the deal creates the largest and most diverse care collaboration network in the U.S. By combining the two companies' technology platforms, Appriss will connect close to 1 million healthcare professionals across all 50 states at virtually all care settings, including primary and specialty care, emergency departments, inpatient facilities, skilled nursing facilities, post-acute facilities, behavioral health treatment centers, pharmacies, home health agencies and state health agencies, the company said.
The companies did not disclose financial details of the transaction.
PE Hub reported that the acquisition, which has not yet closed, values PatientPing at $500 million.
RELATED: Startup PatientPing lands $60M funding round backed by Google Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz
Appriss Health provides cloud-based care coordination software and analytics solutions focused on behavioral health and substance use disorders. The technology company is backed by Clearlake Capital Group L.P. and Insight Partners.
Founded in 2013 by CEO Jay Desai, PatientPing offers care coordination data and software solutions focused on patients with complex needs and senior care. The startup focuses on easing care transitions between nursing homes and other settings.
Desai and his team developed technology that "pings" health providers when one of their patients receives care at another facility and assists in coordination among doctors, nurses and clinicians.
PatientPing operates the nation's largest network of admission, discharge and transfer data from hospitals and post-acute care providers, according to the company. It has grown its network to support more than 43.2 million patients, over 6,000 post-acutes and 1,000-plus hospitals.
PatientPing has brought in more than $100 million of investment capital from Silicon Valley investors including Andreessen Horowitz, F-Prime Capital, GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Transformation Capital.
RELATED: PointClickCare Technologies snaps up Collective Medical for reported $650M
“Appriss Health already provides its technology, data and analytics to improve how care is provided in over a billion patient encounters each year. We are excited to be able to immediately serve this broader community of healthcare professionals with unique insights, and real-time clinical decision support,” said Rob Cohen, Appriss Health's president, in a statement.
“Care team members will now be able to come together on a common platform and positively impact the patient’s whole care experience, both physically and behaviorally. Everyone recognizes the impact of behavioral health issues on a person’s physical and mental well-being, and we are proud to be tackling one of the biggest issues facing the nation," Cohen said.
While many providers and payers are actively implementing coordinated care models, to fully realize the benefits they need software solutions with insights based on comprehensive data sets to communicate across a large network of caregivers, according to Appriss Health executives.
The market for skilled nursing technology is heating up. In December, post-acute EHR company PointClickCare Technologies announced plans to buy Collective Medical in a $650 million deal. The acquisition would help expand PointClickCare's reach into care coordination across the acute, ambulatory and post-acute markets, the company said.
Appriss Health's acquisition of PatientPing will enable the combined companies to deliver more effectively on their shared mission of enabling various stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem to utilize software and analytics solutions to facilitate better care for patients across the physical and behavioral health continuum, the companies said.
“This combination is transformational for patient care," Desai said in a statement. "PatientPing’s mission since its founding has been to connect providers to seamlessly coordinate and significantly improve patient outcomes while lowering the cost of care. Our combined networks will connect providers across all care settings so they can work together better to improve clinical episodes and care transitions for the millions of patients that interact with the nations’ healthcare providers.”
Appriss has made strategic moves to expand its technology beyond just identifying potential opioid misuse. Two years ago, the company acquired OpenBeds to help link patients with substance use disorders to behavioral health resources and treatment programs.
Appriss CEO Krishnan Sastry said the health technology company has a 25-year track record of looking for ways technology can address major problems that affect society.
"In healthcare, the ultimate goal is to be able to put the patient as the central point of focus, understand their physical ailments, lifestyle issues, behavioral health issues and any social determinants that impede progress towards better health. When multiple healthcare professionals, across multiple care-settings are able to leverage technology and data to provide patient-centered care, outcomes improve, and costs come down," Sastry said.
Evercore and District Capital Partners acted as financial advisers, and Willkie, Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal adviser to Appriss, Clearlake and Insight Partners. Deutsche Bank acted as financial adviser and Gunderson served as legal adviser to PatientPing.