PointClickCare To Acquire Collective Medical for Reported $650 Million in Care Coordination Play

PointClickCare is acquiring Collective Medical, a care coordination technology company used by more than 1,300 U.S. hospitals and every national health plan, in a move to support the integration of senior living and other long-term and post-acute settings within the larger health care system.

The acquisition price is just under $650 million, Business Insider reported, citing two unnamed sources with knowledge of the deal.

“We believe that health care can no longer operate in a collection of disconnected parts,” B.J. Boyle, vice president and general manager, post-acute insights at PointClickCare told Senior Housing News. “We have to bridge the gap between senior living, home-based care, skilled nursing and the rest of the health care ecosystem.”

Boyle declined to comment on the acquisition price for the deal to SHN.

More than 21,000 long-term and post-acute care providers use the cloud-based software — including electronic health record technology — from Mississauga, Ontario-based PointClickCare. A startup based in Salt Lake City, Collective Medical secured a $47.5 million Series A funding in late 2017, and today its technology is widely used by hospitals, physician groups, accountable care organizations (ACOs), health plans, post-acute care facilities and other organizations to enable more seamless and connected care for patients as they move across settings.

This acquisition comes at a time when many senior living companies are working more closely than ever with other types of health care providers, due to Covid-19. The pandemic has also highlighted the significant challenges that still hamper the flow of information between settings, as providers have attempted to appropriately place Covid-19 patients who no longer require hospital inpatient care.

And as a result of Covid-19, many senior living provider companies are pivoting toward operational models more rooted in strong clinical capabilities, including through closer partnerships with physicians, hospitals and other partners across the continuum.

But even before the pandemic, the senior living industry was becoming more integrated with the health care system writ-large. In just one example of how this was occurring, several providers launched their own Medicare Advantage special needs plans. Doing so is only possible with the right technology in place to support data gathering and sharing across settings, to drive more efficient and effective management of care for beneficiaries. Several of these senior living providers entering the MA space, including Juniper Communities, work with PointClickCare.

“I think those innovative providers, we’ve been spending a lot of time working with organizations like that, to be prepared and have the insights they need,” Boyle told SHN. “I think with Collective Medical, it’s one more layer to that, to get access to what happened before a resident showed up [in senior living], and then what happens when they leave if they go to an ambulatory clinic or other setting.”

Senior living is “right at the heart” of efforts to move toward value-based care, he added. That is, health plans and hospital systems are looking for ways to provide higher quality care while keeping costs down, and ensuring that patients and beneficiaries are receiving the most appropriate care in the most appropriate setting is critical to meeting those goals. This is especially important for high-needs, high-cost patients such as older adults, as well as those with complex conditions; for instance, the Collective Medical tech has enabled better support for individuals with substance use disorders, and mental and behavioral health issues, according to a press release about the deal.

“We believe the days of only receiving a certain type of care within the four walls you’re in are [past],” Boyle told SHN. “It’s about collaborating across the ecosystem, and data transparency and communication are really critical to that. We really believe it’s about putting the person at the center, and this is a really critical step for us.”

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