PreparedHealth, a Chicago startup that’s using social media and Big Data to help patients recover more quickly and stay out of the hospital, has attracted $4 million from several well-known investors.
Chicago Ventures led the deal, which also included local funds Pritzker Group Venture Capital; Beverly Capital, a firm led by former GTCR partner Joe Nolan; and Indianapolis-based Meridian Street Capital.
PreparedHealth’s product, an app called Dina, connects various care providers involved in treating a patient, allowing them to share information in the same way they might on Facebook. It showed surprising results, cutting readmission rates by half when it was tested at a home health care facility run by Bayada Home Health Care, a New Jersey-based company.
The product resonated with Kevin Willer, a partner at Chicago Ventures, whose father suffered an illness before dying last year. “We think this is a massive opportunity,” he said. “We dealt with some of these issues. They hand you a sheet of paper when you walk out of the hospital. It should be more coordinated. Having access to a platform would help coordinate care and communication.”
