Digital musculoskeletal clinic Hinge Health can now integrate with users’ electronic medical records through the launch of HingeConnect.

The company offers in-home MSK therapy programs available for purchase by individuals or enterprises. Its programs cover early-stage prevention, acute pain, chronic pain and surgical rehabilitation.

Hinge Health’s platform guides users through MSK exercises, which are tracked using sensors to spot incorrect form. These sessions are augmented with one-on-one virtual coaching sessions with physical therapists or clinicians as needed.

Now, with HingeConnect, the platform has access to EMR data from 750,000 providers across 71,000 care sites to identify opportunities to offer users non-invasive care options. The new tool compiles users’ medical history in real-time to inform the care team of previous injuries, medication use and any comorbidities so they can create personalized treatment plans.

In addition to supplying the Hinge Health team with users’ medical history, HingeConnect securely shares data from the MSK therapy sessions with users’ external providers to support care coordination.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The American healthcare system is infamously siloed. The lack of coordination between providers can result in suboptimal care, higher costs and inefficiency, according to the World Economic Forum.

The group suggests that to break down these barriers stakeholders will need to leverage technology with a patient-centered approach. With the growing adoption of digital health tools over the pandemic, the industry is primed to shift the way it delivers care to a more collaborative approach.

“As digital care continues to grow, the opportunity and need to integrate with in-person care grows in lockstep,” Dr. Michael Fredericson, professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Stanford and a member of Hinge Health’s Clinical Advisory Board, said in a statement.

“HingeConnect not only creates an integrated experience for members, but also affords Hinge Health the unique ability to identify patients early in their course of treatment.”

THE LARGER TREND

Hinge Health has been busy so far this year. First it landed $300 million in Series D funding and a $3 billion valuation. Then it acquired Enso, the maker of an eponymous noninvasive electrical nerve-stimulation device for pain relief.

The MSK space is a crowded one, however, with competition including Kaia Health, DarioHealth, SpineZone and Omada.

ON THE RECORD

“HingeConnect uniquely empowers our care team to see the whole picture and seamlessly coordinate care,” Dr. Jeff Krauss, Hinge Health’s chief medical officer, said in a statement.

“What makes HingeConnect even more valuable is the speed at which our care team receives information: sometimes within an hour of an order being created. Our staff physicians can immediately intervene to offer alternatives to surgery, or our doctors of physical therapy can intervene to offer alternatives to opioids.”