MedArrive has partnered with the data-science company Spect to bring retinal screening solutions into the home.
“Spect is one piece of our overall platform at MedArrive,” Dan Trigub, CEO of MedArrive, told Home Health Care News. “It really goes back to this idea of powering care programs into the home. We can layer in other technologies, other services, and Spect is one of those.”
MedArrive coordinates in-person care for health systems, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and physician group partners via emergency medical services (EMS) professionals, nurses and community health workers, among others. The New York-based company also has an array of virtual capabilities.
Palo Alto, California-based data-science company Spect provides eye disease screening solutions. The company uses its AI-enabled telemedicine platform to train medical assistants and offer streamlined diagnostic reports.
For MedArrive, Spect’s technology capabilities made the company an appealing partner for this endeavor.
“It came down to their technology and their imaging device. It really just allows us to incorporate it into our workflow,” Trigub said. “That’s critical because patients are really expecting care to come to them now. Spect’s technology is very simple to use. Their platform allows somebody to read the results from the exam in minutes, and not days or weeks. It was a perfect fit.”
As a company, Spect’s overall mission is to scale eye care across the country.
“If we’re going to tackle health disparities here in the United States, we must ensure that everyone — and I mean everyone — can get the preventative eye care they need,” Mike Ricci, CEO and co-founder of Spect, said in a press statement. “Retinal screening can prevent diabetic retinopathy and give early warnings about heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. With MedArrive, we’ll be able to seamlessly extend screenings into homes and hopefully start making a dent in the large percentage of people who are missing their exams.”
Indeed, diabetic retinopathy is currently a leading cause of vision loss in adults in the U.S. While regular eye check-ups can help prevent this, 60% of U.S. patients skip their annual exam because of appointment availability and few at-home care options, according to the press release.
“With Spect, we can use their technology in the home,” Trigub said. “We can use their diabetic retinal exams that our field providers use on their mobile device. This gives health plans a better opportunity to provide these screenings to their members. A Medicaid member, for example, doesn’t have to worry about having a ride to the doctor’s office, getting their eyes dilated and needing a ride back home.”
Ultimately, the partnership allows the two organizations to tackle a preventable disease and close care gaps, according to Trigub.
“We have dozens of health plans that we work with at MedArrive,” he said. “And doing a diabetic retinal exam is a key care gap that these health plans have to take on. They have to meet the certain requirements with CMS, and for their health plan members. For the first time ever, we can close this care gap in the home and do it really efficiently.”
