Health technology company WellSky is acquiring Healthify to scale up its social determinants of health initiatives.
Startup Healthify connects providers with community-based social services organizations to address social determinants of health of patients and has one of the largest networks of community-based organizations in the country.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
WellSky has developed software for the post-acute care space and saw an opportunity to connect providers, payers, states and community-based organizations to deliver social determinants of health initiatives at scale, executives said.
"While WellSky is a recognized leader in post-acute care, our reach and influence span the entire continuum of care settings including acute, post-acute, personal care, and community-based providers," WellSky CEO Bill Miller told Fierce Healthcare.
"As state governments, payers, and health systems seek new ways to collaborate with social services organizations in an effort to improve health outcomes and lower costs, it was important for us to add depth to our technology and expand access to our networks to address SDOH in support of whole-person care. Being able to connect providers, payers, states, and community-based organizations to deliver social determinants of health initiatives at scale is critical to achieving success with value-based care and improving the overall quality of care," Miller said.
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The Overland Park, Kansas-based company is jointly owned by two of the world’s largest private equity firms, TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners.
With Healthify's capabilities, WellSky will connect providers across and within communities to identify social needs, search for social services, and coordinate care with an accountable network of community partners to improve outcomes and remove social barriers to health and wellness, executives said.
The technology will enable WellSky’s clients to receive referrals and work with states, payers and health systems without the burden of changing workflows or software systems.
Over time, with Healthify and WellSky’s combined robust data and analytics capabilities, WellSky’s clients and their network partners will have the ability to track SDOH trends across their communities and measure the impact of social care interventions on health system utilization and costs, Miller said.
Launched in 2013, Healthify had raised $26 million, including $16 million in a series B round in November 2019.
“With the addition of Healthify, WellSky adds yet another crucial capability to our expansive portfolio and further strengthens our position as the leading technology partner connecting care across acute, post-acute, and community organizations. By leveraging Healthify’s networks of community-based organizations and its interoperable closed-loop referral platform, payers and providers can effectively coordinate care to close gaps, improve outcomes, and promote health equity," Miller said in a statement.
Approximately 300 area agencies on aging (AAAs) and 250 continuums of care (CoCs) leverage WellSky solutions and services each day. WellSky’s experience in social services complements Healthify’s technology, network building and payer relationships, according to the company.
The companies will integrate Healthify’s SDoH referral platform and community networks with WellSky’s human and social services network to power improved outcomes for people and improve their quality of life while lowering the overall cost of care, executives said.
Startups focused on the social determinants of health are seeing strong growth and attracting big investment dollars.
RELATED: Unite Us banks $150M series C to scale up networks linking health and social services
Unite Us closed $150 million in series C financing in March led by Iconiq Growth. The round was backed by Optum, Emerson Collective, Transformation Capital, Define Ventures and several healthcare partners as well as existing investors Salesforce and Town Hall.
Other SDOH network companies include NowPow, which works with NYC Health + Hospitals and Northwell Health, and Aunt Bertha, a referral platform for social services.
Healthify joins other companies in the SDOH analytics camp such as Socially Determined, which developed a cloud-based platform that offers social risk analytics and data visualization solutions for the healthcare industry, as well as Arcadia, Signify Health and Health Catalyst.
The combination of WellSky and Healthify offers one of the "largest social services networks in the country," according to Manik Bhat, co-founder and CEO of Healthify, as well as a market-defining solution set that brings healthcare and community services together, robust ROI analysis with additional clinical data and the ability to scale social service reimbursement as the U.S. faces a long-term recovery from the pandemic.”
Healthify clients will gain access to additional social services in their networks, access to provider systems and the ability to deploy additional technology to solve for needs in the community.
WellSky serves more than 20,000 client sites—including the largest hospital systems, blood banks, cell therapy labs, blood centers, home health and hospice franchises, post-acute providers, government agencies and human services organizations.
The Healthify acquisition follows on the heels of WellSky's $1.3 billion deal to buy CarePort Health from Allscripts. CarePort Health, which Allscripts acquired in 2016, develops software that connects acute and post-acute providers and payers.