Zimmer Biomet Adds Telerehabilitation To Signature Solutions Offering, Sees Light Q3 Earnings Growth
By Jof Enriquez,
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Zimmer Biomet says it has acquired RespondWell and will integrate the startup's post-operative telerehabilitation and home physical therapy technology into the medical device maker's Signature Solutions line of value-based care services.
Launched in July, Signature Solutions is an end-to-end suite of clinical services and health IT solutions for hospitals seeking to improve efficiencies and meet quality outcomes-based reimbursement targets. The RespondWell acquisition will enhance Zimmer Biomet's post-op rehabilitation protocols for patients recovering at home.
"The new value-based reimbursement environment compels hospitals and providers to assume responsibility for patient outcomes well after discharge and through the critical rehabilitation period," said David Nolan, Group President, Biologics, Extremities, Sports Medicine, Surgical, Trauma, Foot and Ankle and Office Based Technologies, in a news release. "Integrating an innovative and comprehensive telerehabilitation program into our Zimmer Biomet Signature Solutions offering addresses the emerging need for healthcare providers to oversee and optimize post-surgical recovery outcomes in order to maximize value across the entire episode of care."
The technology will be integrated with Signature Solutions' remote rehabilitation platform, Therapy@Home, which allows remote monitoring and communications, as well as personalized rehabilitation plans, video-gaming-style exercises, and reward features to encourage patient compliance. Using Therapy@Home, patients are guided by Maya, an on-screen virtual therapist helping to keep patients engaged and on track with their recovery program.
RespondWell describes itself as a digital health company which pioneered the world’s first fitness game and applied principles of in-game and reward-based motivation to develop a telerehabilitation platform that enables patients to perform physical therapy exercises at home under remote physician supervision.
"Telerehabilitation represents the future of optimal and efficient post-surgical patient care, and we are excited to integrate our remote rehabilitation platform into the Zimmer Biomet Signature Solutions suite," said Ted Spooner, Co-founder and CEO of RespondWell.
Zimmer Biomet says the deal to acquire RespondWell is part of its overall strategy with the Signature Solutions umbrella, to build deep partnerships with hospitals who are trying to comply with value-based healthcare mandates, such as the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) Act. Currently, it offers Signature Solutions at select, academic facilities in the United States, with a wider release slated for 2017.
"It requires an end-to-end management in the episode of care. And that's where the patient engagement tools become so important. Prehab is important, education, patient surgeon communications, obviously a really bright light has been shining as of late. Because of CJR, the post discharge cost that are incurred and that’s where the teller rehabilitation and leveraging technologies that lead to a better patient outcome, but do that on a cost effective way can become so meaningful," Zimmer Biomet CEO David Dvorak said in a conference call, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript.
Zimmer Biomet reported third-quarter net earnings of $158.8 million and net sales of $1.83 billion, an increase of 4.0 percent compared to the third quarter of 2015, but it fell short of expectations. As a result, the company revised its sales guidance for the year and lowered the high end of its profit forecast.
The company attributed the shortfall to problems within its supply chain that prevented it from meeting customer demand for its artificial hip- and knee-joint replacement products, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Company executives say the negative impact likely will persist until the fourth quarter, and possibly into the first quarter of 2017.
"We are working diligently to enhance our supply-chain processes and execution, particularly in the areas of demand forecasting, global inventory tracking and asset deployment systems while we replenish our safety stock levels," Zimmer Biomet CFO Dan Florin told analysts.