St. Louis startup Total Orbit, which has developed a patient information and education platform used by health care organizations, has turned to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand its technology.
Total Orbit has licensed eScreening health care software that has been used by the VA with military veterans, with plans to commercialize the technology for broader use in health care. Financial terms of the licensing agreement between Total Orbit and the VA were not disclosed.
Total Orbit has created software used by health care organizations to collect patient information and provide education resources to help patients manage diagnoses. An early client of the startup was Siteman Cancer Center, which has used Total Orbit’s technology to provide support to patients for cancer surgeries. Total Orbit is currently piloting its software with cardiac rehabilitation providers, with hopes for at least 75 cardiac rehab providers signing on as customers by the end of 2024.
CEO Michael Margraf said the eScreening software licensed by Total Orbit from the VA will help better individualize the startup’s technology to a patient’s specific needs. The integration of the VA software into Total Orbit’s existing product, CareOrbit, will allow measurement of where a patient is in their diagnosis and treatment and tailoring educational outreach based on that assessment, Margraf said.
“We think that’s going to be something that’s not out there yet (such) that we can really produce some good results for health care organizations,” he said.
A news release said the eScreeing technology was developed by the VA San Diego Healthcare System to provide a digital way to access the health care needs of veterans.
“The screening tool takes information provided by a veteran and determines if they may be at risk for suicide, homelessness, or food insecurity. We can then use that information to triage and identify the type and level of service that may be needed and provide support based on the urgency of that need,” said James Pittman, director and co-inventor of the eScreening program at the VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health in San Diego. “It has evolved to be of use for measurement-based care and mental health tracking over time.”
Margraf said Total Orbit learned about the eScreening technology through conversations with the VA. It was then connected with TechLink, a nonprofit organization that provides free services to help companies commercialize technologies developed by the VA and U.S. Department of Defense.
While Total Orbit has to integrate the VA’s software into its own, Margraf said it’s adding a “fully functional product” that will quickly be able to provide impact to commercial clients. Margaret said Total Orbit plans to integrate the eScreening software into its technology in the first quarter of 2024 and also provide it to customers as a stand-alone patient surveying and assessment tool.
Total Orbit has 25 employees and contractors and plans to double its number of employees in 2024 to target growth opportunities, Margraf said. The company has self-funded its operations but is currently discussing investment opportunities to help speed up its growth, he said.
