Presbyterian Healthcare Services chief innovation officer Dr. Ries Robinson will lead a consortium of health networks in launching a new marketplace for "plug-and-play" digital health tools.
The nonprofit organization, called Graphite Health, will partner with Presbyterian, SSM Health and Intermountain Healthcare. With a standardized platform for digital health tools, the organization said it will offer technology for health care systems to easily integrate new tools — akin to someone downloading an application onto their iPhone.
The startup underscores the increased demand for digital health services in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which patients flocked to telehealth platforms. And by making it easier for health systems to utilize such systems, Graphite may be able to capitalize on that demand.
The usage of digital health services increased 38 times between February 2020 and February 2021, according to a July report from McKinsey & Company.
“Right now, when a hospital wants to adopt new innovative solutions, it is hampered by overly cumbersome processes that can require years to implement. Graphite Health will offer a true paradigm shift to deliver on the promise of lower costs and faster integration of solutions," Robinson said in a statement.
While many health solution integrations involve an extended process with contract negotiations, Graphite contends that its standardized platform will save money typically spent to incorporate individual telehealth technologies.
Graphite is led by Robinson as CEO, Corey Schmid as , chief operating officer, Stan Huff as chief medical informatics officer and Jessica Lin as chief of staff. Its board of directors includes Robinson, Presbyterian Healthcare Services president and CEO Dale Maxwell, Intermountain Healthcare chief strategy officer Dan Lijenquist and SSM Health "lead futurist" Carter Dredge.
Financially, Graphite Health is member-led and therefore not reliant on external investment, according to its website. Professionals with experience from Aetna, Kiva and other organizations are also serving in an advisory capacity, a release from Graphite says.
