WellSky acquisition signals post-acute care is 'taking front seat'

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - WellSky's plans to acquire CarePort Health, a care coordination software company that connects acute and post-acute providers and payers, will bring “science” to the discharge process, says Bill Miller.

CarePort Health's EHR-agnostic platform allows providers and payers to take a new approach to tracking and managing patients throughout their care.

“What is the best place for a patient to receive care (when they leave an acute setting)?” said Miller, CEO of WellSky. “How do we bring some science to it? There's more pressure on health systems and post-acute care providers to get this right.”

WellSky announced last month that it had entered into a definitive agreement to buy CarePort Health from Allscripts, a provider of EHR and EMR software, for $1.35 billion.

With CarePort Health's platform and WellSky's analytics capabilities, the two companies can automate the discharge process, making it more efficient and effective, Miller says.

“In the absence of (these tools), it becomes, who can you find, who do you know, do they have any capacity?” he said.

The ability to add visibility into inventory management, in particular - something that's common in the hospitality industry but not the health care industry - will benefit HME providers, Miller says.

“Where we envision the future is, as part of the discharge process, you see not only the best providers but also how to best equip patients and marrying those two needs and just-in-time inventory, so you meet the patient where they land,” he said. “The first 24-48 hours of discharge determine the ultimate outcome in the short and long term. If there's a delay, it slows down (the process and the outcome).”

Investor-backed WellSky plans to “add a lot of capital” into CarePort Health's business, Miller says, helping to develop future iterations of the platform and strengthening capabilities like e-ordering.

“We buy companies to grow them, not to shrink them,” he said. “This is a space that has been underfunded, the world is changing, and post-acute care is taking a front seat.”