4 Health Systems Team Up to Tackle Drug Development, Care Coordination and Billing

Addressing weighty issues that confront health care, such as increasing access to complex drugs, care coordination within huge programs like Medicare Advantage and streamlining billing processes, is tough for any organization trying to go it alone. So maybe it’s not surprising that four prominent nonprofit health systems — Baylor, Scott & White Health, Memorial Hermann Health System, Novant Health and Providence — have banded together to form a for-profit entity to tackle these challenges.

The new organization, Longitude Health, will draw on the expertise of founding member organizations while it tries to recruit more health systems and investors over the next 12 months.

Initially, Longitude Health plans to form three operating startup companies that will focus on pharmaceutical development, improving care coordination and streamlining billing practices. The organization hopes to create additional operating companies in the coming years. Paul Mango, former chief of staff at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, will be CEO of the new venture, with CEOs from the four health systems comprising the Longitude board.

“Health systems must transcend traditional care delivery strategies and embrace innovative business models that serve the broader health care community,” said Rod Hochman, M.D., president and CEO of Providence. “To do so, it is imperative that we work with other like-minded partners facing similar challenges to build up new capabilities. By implementing solutions that benefit multiple health systems, we can drive down costs and ensure the sustainability of health care delivery. We will lead the charge in shaping a brighter future for health care delivery.”

Health system-led ventures like the generic drug company CivicaRx and the data analytics firm Truveta are models that Longitude can build on, Hochman told Modern Healthcare in a recent interview. If Longitude can develop solutions that demonstrate value, the organization will share those with the field, he said.

Initial aims of the Longitude startup companies include:

• Improving access to drugs like monoclonal antibodies used to treat cancer and infectious diseases.
• Working closely with physicians to limit readmissions, at the request of Medicare Advantage plans. The company will help health systems refine treatment and improve care transitions.
• Consolidating medical bills into a single invoice that shows what a patient owes.

In January, Longitude plans to hold a competition among the four health system members to determine what Longitude’s next focus should be, which could be related to health information technology, cybersecurity, labor productivity or value-based care.