A new med tech venture based in Memphis wants to change the episodic nature of health care.
Typically, when a patient sees a specialist, follow up appointments are scheduled at intervals, including after surgery.
MiCare Path is a digital health platform designed to allow physicians and other care practitioners to have real-time feedback on a patient.
The potential in that model is for quicker intervention between the traditional follow-up appointment paradigm.
“We're using digital enablement … so even in the most acute or highest specialties of care, [practitioners] can see progressively how a patient is improving or not improving and intervene appropriately with the right care at the right time,” said Scott Laster, MiCare cofounder and CEO.
Channel to move
Both Laster and Brian Childress, MiCare’s cofounder and chief commercial officer, have strong backgrounds — notably at Smith & Nephew — in the musculoskeletal space of orthopedics. That has informed the focus of MiCare, which is in that subspecialty of medicine.
Musculoskeletal-related conditions — such as arthritis, lower back issues, and bone injuries — affect about half of the adult U.S. population.
“We are a digital solution, and we're not bound by physical manufacturing like other companies have been in the past,” Laster said. “So, you're really only limited by the channel that exists in the market. We have very deep and trusted groups in that field to try to implement with them.”
MiCare has raised $1.26 million in initial funding, primarily from orthopedic surgeons, salespersons, and other practitioners in the orthopedic industry. The original target for that funding raise was $600,000.
One such investor is Dr. Nirav Amin, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon based in California. Amin knew Laster from his time at Smith & Nephew, and the surgeon sees the value in MiCare’s platform.
“What this application does is it bridges the gap with the frustrations patients sometimes have trying to engage with their physicians on a more personal or efficient level,” Amin said. “Now, with such technology, we have the ability to interact in a more real-time manner.”
For instance, if a patient registers a significant increase in pain score on the MiCare app, a surgeon’s staff would alert the physician, who could intervene appropriately.
The patient benefits from reduced pain while the physician and payer potentially avoid costly complications and other care issues.
'Covert' to scale
Beyond its initial capital raise, MiCare plans to look to Series A funding for its next steps.
The startup has been in a self-described “covert” stage of development, from idea generation to proof of concept to viable product. Laster said MiCare is now in the scaling of the business phase and looks to make an impact in the marketplace via a second round of funding.
MiCare recently signed a lease for space at 5900 Poplar Ave. in Boyle Investment Co.’s Ridgeway Center development. The firm moved into suite 212 there on April 1, 2021.
A physical move is not the only thing accelerating for MiCare. The University of Arkansas Health System and the Carrell Clinic in Dallas both recently signed on to use the platform.
The technology behind MiCare is a proven digital backbone, already with more than 10 billion digital interactions for retailers and manufacturers.
MiCare’s chief technology officer, Jeffrey Maguire is also CEO of Cleveland-based Pulse Ltd. He developed MiCare’s desktop version for physicians and staff and the app version for patients.
MiCare holds the exclusive health care license to the Pulse digital infrastructure.
Eventually, the med tech venture looks to expand into areas beyond orthopedics, including cardiology, endocrinology, oncology, and women’s health, MiCare COO Corey Patrick said.
But first, orthopedics is the focus of the MiCare platform and refining it so all the movements in the care continuum are in sync. And, continued refinements to the MiCare digital platform are part of the plan.
“In our past [at Smith & Nephew], when you roll out a total knee system, it better be 99.99% game ready,” Childress said. “We've been able to change the style of our app almost 180 degrees from what we first thought was going to be the most appropriate way to interface with patients — just based on feedback.”
