By Brian Dolan
Read the original article here: MobiHealthNews
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New York City-based Force Therapeutics raised $2.6 million, according to an SEC filing. This brings the company’s total funding to date to about $4.8 million.
The company’s original investors include former OpenTable CEO Thomas Layton; former CEO of Revolution Health and TicketMaster, John Pleasants; and FiveW Capital Managing Member Randall Winn.
Force Therapeutics has developed a mobile and web-based program that can be prescribed to patients who are taking part in musculoskeletal injury rehabilitation by their surgeon, physician, or therapist. The app, called Force Patient, which is available on iOS and Android devices, helps patients access home exercise videos, log their compliance, read educational materials, purchase recommended gear, and receive messages from their care team. Providers have a corresponding app called Force Provider that they can use to view a patient’s compliance, activity levels, and outcomes.
The company is currently focused on helping hospitals participating in CMS’ new bundled payments program, The Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model, which launched in April. About 800 hospitals in the largest 67 metropolitan areas of the US are required to participate in the CJR program.
Here’s how CMS describes CJR: “The CJR model holds participant hospitals financially accountable for the quality and cost of a CJR episode of care and incentivizes increased coordination of care among hospitals, physicians, and post-acute care providers. The episode of care begins with an admission to a participant hospital of a beneficiary who is ultimately discharged under MS-DRG 469 (Major joint replacement or reattachment of lower extremity with major complications or comorbidities) or 470 (Major joint replacement or reattachment of lower extremity without major complications or comorbidities) and ends 90 days post-discharge in order to cover the complete period of recovery for beneficiaries. The episode includes all related items and services paid under Medicare Part A and Part B for all Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, with the exception of certain exclusions.”
Force Theraputics CEO and cofounder Bronwyn Spira is a physical therapist and the company’s president, Mark Lieberman, was previously at Merck and biopharmaceutical company Imclone Systems.