Babyscripts and Health New England partner on virtual maternity care
Providers can manage up to 90% of pregnancies virtually by a mobile app and remote monitoring.
Photo: Oscar Wong/Getty Images
A new partnership between provider, payer and a pregnancy app is bringing virtual care to obstetrics.
Babyscripts, a virtual care platform, has partnered with health plan Health New England for the Babyscripts Virtual Maternity Care application now being used by Baystate Health obstetric providers.
The app has gestational age-specific pregnancy information and can connect patients to their providers. Patients can also opt for remote monitoring.
The not-for-profit Health New England, based in Springfield, Massachusetts, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Baystate Health. It plans to bring additional in-network providers onboard with Babyscripts in the future.
WHY THIS MATTERS
This partnership has the goal of improving care coordination between the health plan and doctors to identify clinical and social risk in the population.
Physicians are able to detect risk more quickly and to automate elements of care.
Through digital education, remote monitoring and population health reporting, the model has been shown to reduce healthcare costs through better compliance with prenatal and postpartum care and earlier identification and intervention of complications related to blood pressure, while improving outcomes for health plan members, Babyscipts said.
THE LARGER TREND
Babyscripts said it has spent the last seven years building the virtual care platform for prenatal and postpartum care.
Via a mobile app and internet-connected devices for remote monitoring, providers can manage up to 90% of pregnancies virtually, the company said.
ON THE RECORD
"Babyscripts' joint deployment model is the first to involve the health plan in a point-of-care solution, and we think it is the future path of digital health technology," said Juan Pablo Segura, president and cofounder of Babyscripts. "As a digital bridge between member, health plan, and provider, Babyscripts helps health plans better coordinate care, keeps members engaged through a connection to the provider, and targets health inequity by reducing the cost of the tool to health systems."
"We are very excited to collaborate with Babyscripts," said Richard Swift, president and CEO of Health New England. "Digital tools have proven to help our members manage their health, especially for those facing social and economic barriers to care."
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com
