Patient engagement solution Carenet Health buys Stericycle Communication Solutions

Going forward, 1 in 3 Americans will have access to Carenet's offerings

At its worst, healthcare can be an impersonal, confusing experience for patients. Think about how many times a doctor tells you to do something and then expects you to remember it when you get home. 

Carenet Health, a provider of 24/7 and on-demand patient engagement solutions, wants to modernize the delivery of healthcare consumer engagement by offering tools, such as intelligent scheduling, call center support, and telehealth, so its partners can engage their patients throughout their healthcare journeys.

"By engaging with patients and providing them the support and access to care they need, patients’ treatment adherence rises, health outcomes improve, and readmissions fall. As a result, our partners’ costs decrease and revenues rise, with improved patient retention," John Erwin, the company's Chief Executive Officer, told VatorNews.

"We are transforming the industry by designing scalable human and technology-enabled solutions to engage and activate consumers for improved outcomes and increased profitability for providers, payers, and partners. Combined with our 24/7/365 clinical resources, we now offer a broader range of solutions to further enable the goal of the right provider, the right venue of care, at the right time."

Now, the company is looking to strengthen its capabilities in the payer, healthcare services, and clinical spaces with the acquistion of Stericycle Communication Solutions, a provider of patient engagement technology and solutions.

No financial terms of the deal were disclosed but it was revealed that the entire Stericycle Communication Solutions team will be joining Carenet, including Matt Dickson, the former senior vice president of Stericycle Communication Solutions. The combined team will have over 2,200 employees, including over 330 RNs and licensed professionals, and over 1,650 experienced patient and member engagement professionals.

Going forward, 1 in 3 Americans will have access to Carenet offerings, which will now work with 14 of the top 20 health systems in the U.S., as well as 1,000 other healthcare companies.

Stericycle Communication Solutions provides online scheduling, automated messaging, and strategic inbound and outbound call center services to drive patient access, action, and adherence. By adding the company, Carenet’s offerings now include an Intelligent Scheduling solution; an EHR/EMR integrated solution; SaaS digital and automation platforms with natural language processing and multi-language capabilities; partnerships with health-tech innovators, including search platforms; and a fully API-enabled enterprise platform.

"These technologies pair seamlessly within the patient journey. With the broadest EHR/EMR integrated solution in the marketplace and award-winning SaaS digital and automation platforms with natural language processing and multilanguage capabilities, we now can provide support and continuity for patients as we support engagement with their payer, employer, and provider," said Erwin.

On top of having symbiotic technologies, the two companies also have a shared vision when it comes to patient experience, and providing better healthcare for all, he explained.

"Stericycle Communication Solutions’ capabilities fold in seamlessly with Carenet’s strategic vision to create a cohesive patient experience and provide better healthcare for all. The acquisition strengthens Carenet’s robust capabilities in the payer, healthcare services, and clinical arenas by adding provider-centric technology services including online scheduling platforms, automated messaging solutions, and additional inbound and outbound call center services," Erwin said.

Ultimately, Carenet's mission is to partner with the leading healthcare companies to help them realize their fullest potential; with this acquisition, it can expand that to include additional markets and to bring forward additional technology platforms and tools to amplify the work it's already doing. 

"With this acquisition, we are the most comprehensive healthcare consumer engagement company in the industry. Carenet’s enhanced portfolio brings together a human touch to patient engagement and innovative technology solutions to deliver meaningful improvements to patient experience and health outcomes while strengthening provider, payer, and healthcare partner successes."

(Image source: carenethealthcare.com)