EvergreenHealth Selects Wellpepper as Mobile Patient Engagement Solution for Total Joint Replacement

SEATTLE, Jan. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Wellpepper, Inc., a clinically validated platform for patient engagement, today announced that EvergreenHealth, an integrated health care system that serves nearly 850,000 residents in northern King and southern Snohomish counties in Washington State, has selected Wellpepper as the mobile engagement solution for all total joint replacement and musculoskeletal care plans. The project was made possible at EvergreenHealth with a generous donation from The Schultz Family Foundation, a private not-for-profit foundation founded by Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks Corporation, and his wife Sheri.

Patients with musculoskeletal issues that require surgery or rehabilitation will use Wellpepper on their mobile devices to track their outcomes and adhere to their care plans. This information will enable patients, physicians, and other healthcare providers to track progress and patient-reported outcomes in real-time to improve care. Wellpepper enables health systems to implement their own care instructions on its task-based platform and makes it easy for patients to understand and adhere to their care instructions.

"Across our organization, we strive to be a trusted source for innovative care solutions for our patients and families, and our partnership with Wellpepper helps us deliver on that commitment," said EvergreenHealth CEO Bob Malte. "Since we began using Wellpepper in 2014, we've seen how the solution enhances the interaction between patients and providers and ultimately leads to optimal recovery and the best possible outcomes for our patients." 

The Wellpepper remote care management solution is designed to be easy-to-use and highly engaging for patients while being flexible and easily customizable for use in clinical practice. It is clinically-proven to improve patient adherence and outcomes with over 70 percent patient engagement.

Health systems are increasingly looking for solutions to enhance patient care while reducing costs, and this is particularly true in total joint and musculoskeletal scenarios. The new Comprehensive Care Model for Total Joint replacement announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid aims to reduce the cost and quality variability of procedures.

"We are seeing a lot of interest in using the Wellpepper platform in orthopedic and total joint replacement scenarios," said Anne Weiler, co-founder and CEO of Wellpepper. "Interest and adoption are largely being driven by our ability to customize the care plans based on the health system's own protocols, personalize the plans for each patient and collect the standardized outcomes required as part of the new Center for Medicare and Medicaid requirements." 

The Wellpepper platform doesn't dictate care plans; instead it provides a set of task-based building blocks that health systems and providers can customize to reflect their own methodologies and practices. The patient interface is simple and straightforward, so patients get only the tasks and questions they need on a given day.

For more information about Wellpepper or to find out how the Wellpepper patient engagement solution can support value-based payment models, please visit www.wellpepper.com or email [email protected].

About EvergreenHealth
EvergreenHealth is an integrated health care system that serves nearly 850,000 residents in King and Snohomish counties and offers a breadth of services and programs that is among the most comprehensive in the region. More than 950 physicians provide clinical excellence in over 80 specialties, including heart and vascular care, oncology, surgical care, orthopedics, neurosciences, women's and children's services, pulmonary care and home care and hospice services. Formed as a public hospital district in 1972, EvergreenHealth includes a 318-bed acute care medical center in Kirkland, a network of 10 primary care practices, two urgent care centers, over two dozen specialty care practices and 24/7 emergency care at its Kirkland campus, Monroe campus and at a freestanding center in Redmond. In 2015, the system expanded to include EvergreenHealth Monroe – an accredited, full-service 72-bed public hospital district, established in 1960 in Monroe, Washington. EvergreenHealth has clinical and strategic partnerships with several health care entities, including Virginia Mason, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and dozens of independent practices that are part of the clinically integrated EvergreenHealth Partners network. In addition to clinical care, EvergreenHealth offers extensive community health outreach and education programs, anchored by the 24/7 EvergreenHealth Nurse Navigator & Healthline. For more information, visit www.evergreenhealth.com.

About The Schultz Family Foundation
The Schultz Family Foundation, established in 1996 by Howard and Sheri Schultz, creates pathways of opportunity for populations facing barriers to success. The Foundation invests in innovative solutions and partnerships that unlock people's potential, and strengthen our businesses, our communities, and our nation. For more information about the Foundation and its work: schultzfamilyfoundation.org.

About Wellpepper 
Wellpepper is a healthcare technology company that provides a clinically validated platform for digital treatment plans delivered via mobile devices. The Wellpepper patient engagement solution improves patient adherence and outcomes with its patent-pending adaptive notification system and just-in-time, task-based instructions and by fostering communication between healthcare providers and patients. Wellpepper is used by major health systems that are moving to an accountable care organization model and need to track and improve patient outcomes while lowering costs. Wellpepper was founded in 2012 to help healthcare organizations lower costs, improve outcomes and improve patient satisfaction. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. 

Media Contact:
Jennifer Allen Newton
Bluehouse Consulting Group, Inc.
503-805-7540
jennifer (at) bluehousecg (dot) com

SOURCE Wellpepper

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