The new partnership aims to create the world’s largest integrated MSK and surgical platform globally, with a world class technology team based in London.
Flagship London-based Future Health Works (FHW), known for its leading patient engagement platforms myrecovery and msk.ai, has been acquired by Healthcare Outcomes Performance Company (HOPCo), the US leader in musculoskeletal (MSK) physician practice management, outcomes management and value-based care solutions.
FHW’s best-in-class patient engagement platform supports patients, healthcare professionals, hospitals, and government organisations to deliver surgical care, manage waiting lists, optimise care pathways and measure outcomes. FHW started in orthopaedic surgery, and now supports the full spectrum of elective care. It was one of the first to receive early investment from the London Co-Investment Fund (LCIF) in 2015 for its myrecovery application.
The partnership with HOPCo will enable the firm’s leadership team to focus on developing further solutions to help support the estimated seven million patients awaiting elective care on NHS waiting lists, whilst leveraging HOPCo’s infrastructure to expand across the USA. Over the next 12 months, FHW plans to significantly grow its London-based team, investing in data science, computer vision and engineering, taking advantage of the rich technical and life science talent pool London has to offer.
FHW’s platforms, myrecovery and msk.ai, have become the preferred patient engagement programme for leading NHS hospitals and trusts across the UK. Globally, its platforms have been deployed in three continents and eight languages, supporting a wide range of public and private health care systems, as well as Fortune 500 companies.
HOPCo is currently partnered with health systems and physicians in more than 30 states and continues to partner with healthcare systems across the US in advanced value-based care programmes, including the country’s first state-wide MSK-focused population health programme in Arizona. This technology will bolster HOPCo’s already robust outcomes management platform, claims analytics, clinical datasets, and IT tools that have successfully improved clinical outcomes, patient experience, and access to care while lowering the total cost of MSK care and decreasing the historic spending trends for payors across wide geographies.
Maggie Rodriguez Piza, CEO of Funding London and co-founder of LCIF, commented: “London’s investment has come full circle already. myrecovery was one of the first investments that the LCIF made in digital health. Since then, myrecovery has expanded across the UK, Europe and North America. In the UK, myrecovery continues to support a broad range of NHS trusts, playing a key role in helping NHS hospitals tackle waiting lists post COVID. This partnership will lead to significant job creation in London and is another sign of London being a world leading AI and technology city.”
Tom Harte, co-founder of msk.ai and former surgical trainee, said: “We sought this partnership so that we could underpin our commitment to the NHS and accelerate our product road map, ensuring that we are best positioned to help NHS partners deliver on the NHS Long Term Plan and manage the additional challenges posed by increasing costs, demands for care and the elective surgery backlog post COVID 19. We are fully committed to growing our team here in London and plan to build a world class gait tracking lab in the city, as we believe there is no better place to be.
He continued: “By using HOPCo’s infrastructure and proven track record of combining data, technologies, and clinical care delivery we can remain focused on our core competencies and accelerate the further development of patient-centric, value-based, care delivery technology solutions. We are excited to have the support and expertise of HOPCo to ensure we replicate in the US the success we have had in the UK and other regions.”
Dr. Wael Barsoum, President and Chief Transformation Officer of HOPCo, said: “London is the tech hub of Europe and a leading centre for AI research. It is the natural place to build a global research and analytics team. The use of mobile healthcare applications by patients critical to improve quality outcomes, lower costs, and increase the overall value of care delivery.
“Unquestionably, healthcare is becoming more consumer-focused, and patients continue to demand convenient technology-enabled apps that provide more meaningful engagement and communication with their providers around their care progression.
“At the same time, healthcare providers require more advanced tools to monitor, track, and report outcomes in real-time as part of their participation in value-based care programmes. The myrecovery and msk.ai platforms are the only comprehensive and proven solutions that allow both patients and providers to conveniently engage and meet all these needs.”