Brightree evolves strategy

PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga. – Brightree CEO Matt Mellott says the company has a four-pronged approach to connected care this year that will improve engagement with patients, referral sources and payers. 

That strategy: keep patients at the center of everything it does, drive efficiency with more automation, bring data to bear to increase capabilities and develop an ecosystem of integrated solutions. 

Here’s what Mellott had to say about the trends in HME and beyond that are driving that strategy. 

HME News: We’ve been kicking around this idea of connected care for a while – why do you think 2022 is the year it will really gain traction? 

Matt Mellott: I think there are several dynamics at play. One, virtual care is more accepted, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Two, in the last six months, there have been significant supply and labor shortages. Three, there is this wave of technology and investment coming into the health care space. This all sets up the perfect environment for connected care in 2022. Technology connecting providers to patients and referral sources has a bigger role to play for patients who are more tech savvy and referral sources who have limited time. And connected care-driven efficiency has to be the answer for labor shortages. 

HME: What does this mean for Brightree and how it will further develop its offerings and position itself? 

Mellott: Brightree has had a history of driving efficiency – it’s in our DNA. The big change is the consumerization of the health care patient and how patients are communicating and engaging in other areas of health care – it’s time for HME to embrace that. Patients have gone from accepting a digital experience to expecting it. Brightree needs to solve for this. 

HME: Brightree launched Patient Hub, a mobile app for providers to connect with patients, in 2018. It sounds like your plans go beyond that. 

Mellott: Our current strategy takes a more holistic, omni-channel approach to patient engagement. If the patient wants to be engaged via text, email, automated phone call – we’re building that capability. We don’t just want to rely on an app; we want to meet the patient where they are. There’s so much more that can be done digitally – booking appointments, getting the status of equipment delivery, completing paperwork before office visits. It’s about building the infrastructure to enable this overall orchestration of a digital patient experience. 

HME: How does connected care intersect with – another idea we’ve been kicking around for a while – value-based care? 

Mellott: Value-based care is occurring all over health care, and we have to assume it’s coming to the HME industry. A fundamental of value-based care is payers paying for value and improved outcomes. That means the provider needs to be more involved with the patient. They can’t just drop off equipment and do a routine check. They need to monitor the patient, ask questions and conduct surveys, so they can track the patient’s improvement. I think HME providers need to prepare for that. 

HME: How is Brightree facilitating that preparation? 

Mellott: In addition to offering solutions for improving the patient experience, we started offering data-as-a-service solutions to help our customers access their data and do unique things with it, like supporting value-based care or better understanding and improving their business operations. We’ve gone from a world where we’re offering our own analytics and dashboards to now helping providers access large amounts of Brightree data and go on their own data journey, whether that involves using Brightree analytics tools or their own.