Wellinks Integrates Virtual Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program at UMass Memorial Health for Massachusetts Residents Living with COPD
08 Agosto 2024 - 10:17AM
Wellinks, a digital healthcare company offering comprehensive
value-based solutions for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
(COPD) management, today announced plans to integrate its pulmonary
rehabilitation program at UMass Memorial Health (UMMH) to support
people living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in
Central Massachusetts. In collaboration with UMMH’s Center for
Digital Health Solutions (CDHS) and the UMMH Digital Health Clinic
(DHC), Wellinks will provide physicians and care teams with
additional tools to support virtual pulmonary rehabilitation,
dedicated care management, remote monitoring, and specialized
nursing care.
Wellinks’ COPD disease management program will be available for
UMMH patients who have been discharged from the hospital following
a COPD exacerbation, as well as those receiving outpatient care
from their pulmonologists and/or primary care providers. Wellinks
will help ensure care teams receive regular updates on patient
progress and can coordinate proactive care when needed.
“There is tremendous opportunity to improve access to pulmonary
rehabilitation in the United States,” said Stacie Bratcher, Chief
Executive Officer at Wellinks. “Since 2022, Wellinks and UMass Chan
Medical School have collaborated to demonstrate our program’s value
in the Healthy at Home study. We are excited to work with UMass
Memorial Health and expand access to our services for more
individuals living with COPD in the Central Massachusetts
community.”
COPD is the third leading cause of death by chronic disease in
the United States and the fifth most costly chronic disease, with
one-in-five people patients readmitted within 30 days of discharge.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates a total of
$49.9 billion is spent annually on COPD treatment, driven largely
by frequent emergency department visits and hospitalizations caused
by exacerbations. Despite evidential findings that pulmonary
rehabilitation is both cost effective and improves COPD health
outcomes, a shortage of centers nationwide limits access for many
patients. To expand access, the American Thoracic Society updated
clinical practice guidelines in 2023 to recommend
telerehabilitation and remote or virtual monitoring for patients
with COPD and other chronic respiratory diseases.
“UMass Memorial Health and UMass Chan are committed to
empowering patients and removing barriers to care in all areas,
including preventative care, which is critical to improving
clinical outcomes and overall quality of life for patients,” said
John Broach, MD, MPH, associate professor of emergency medicine and
director of the Division of Disaster Medicine in the Department of
Emergency Medicine. “This collaboration will help simplify the care
journeys of people living with COPD in our region.”
In 2022, UMass Chan Medical School’s Program in Digital Medicine
and Wellinks recognized the need to improve the management of COPD
at home and conducted a study to assess the feasibility of
app-based consumer technology and comprehensive virtual disease
management to improve quality of life and achieve better health
outcomes among people with COPD. This ongoing study inspired the
integration of Wellinks’ pulmonary rehabilitation program across
the UMMH system.
“Finding new ways for patients to receive high quality care from
the comfort of their own homes was a key driver for our Healthy at
Home study,” said principal investigator Apurv Soni, MD, PhD’21,
assistant professor of medicine and co-director of the Program in
Digital Medicine. “Our work with Wellinks is critical for improving
patient outcomes, making care more efficient, and closing health
equity gaps for patients with COPD.”
About UMass Memorial HealthUMass Memorial
Health is the largest not-for-profit health care system in Central
Massachusetts with 17,000 employees and 2,100 physicians. Our
comprehensive system includes UMass Memorial Medical Center, UMass
Memorial Health – Harrington, UMass Memorial Health –
HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital, UMass Memorial Health –
Marlborough Hospital, UMass Memorial Health – Community Healthlink,
and UMass Memorial Medical Group. We are the clinical partner of
UMass Chan Medical School. For more information, visit
www.ummhealth.org.
About WellinksWellinks is on a mission to help
those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) live fully
and breathe freely. COPD is the third leading cause of death by
chronic disease in the U.S. and the fifth most costly chronic
disease. With its personalized, virtual-first COPD management
system, Wellinks breaks down barriers for patients, providing the
evidence-based care they need and deserve outside the four walls of
the clinic. Wellinks supports patients through virtual pulmonary
rehabilitation, health coaching, and monitoring through connected
devices and an easy-to-use smartphone app. Based in New Haven,
Connecticut, Wellinks is led by a team of digital health veterans
and backed by top investment firms including Morningside, HighCape
Capital, Connecticut Innovations, and Benslie. For more
information, visit www.wellinks.com and follow on Twitter
(@WellinksHealth) and LinkedIn.
About UMass Chan Medical SchoolUMass Chan
Medical School, one of five campuses of the University of
Massachusetts system, comprises the T.H. Chan School of Medicine,
the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Tan
Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, ForHealth Consulting of UMass
Chan Medical School and MassBiologics. At UMass Chan, we are
advancing together to improve the health and wellness of our
diverse communities throughout Massachusetts and across the world
by leading and innovating in education, research, health care
delivery and public service. UMass Chan is perennially ranked in
the top 10 percent of medical schools for primary care education
and among the top 50 medical schools in the nation for biomedical
research funding. Learn more at www.umassmed.edu.
Press Contact: Abby
CohenAbigail.cohen@wellinks.com