A new senior-focused startup named DUOS has emerged out of stealth backed by $6 million in funding. DUOS matches trained personal assistants with older adults to provide companionship, tech help, transportation and other services.

The program is able to help coordinate with community resources, seniors' families and health plans to provide care. Backed by Redesign Health and Forerunner Ventures, DUOS is teaming up with virtual behavioral health company Magellan Health to roll out the new tool.

"I have been a long-time caregiver to my mother most of my adult life and have often wished I had a Duo to help her with social connection, taking medication and running light errands," Missy Krasner, venture chair at Redesign Heath and a former Google Health and Amazon executive, said in a statement. "As someone who has worked at the crossroads of technology and healthcare in high-tech, I have spent my entire career working on solutions that promote patient engagement and caregiving. DUOS is a simple but elegant tech-enabled solution that leverages hi-touch social connections to keep older adults engaged and thriving. It's what every adult child wants to give their aging parents who live far away—a trusted companion and extender of the family caregiving circle."

This morning, the Arthritis Foundation rolled out a new app named Vim, which is focuses on supporting patients with chronic pain. The tool gives users pain management strategies and lets folks record their pain over time.

Patients are able to tap into community networks of individuals with similar conditions. The organization is pitching this tool as a way to motivate individuals to achieve their goals.

"Our research shows that chronic pain is pervasive – affecting every aspect of a patient's life," Steven Taylor, executive vice president of Mission & Strategic Initiatives for the Arthritis Foundation, said in a statement. "By providing a community of motivators, Vim supports the mental and emotional health of patients – which is the first step in managing chronic pain and living a fuller life."

CarePort is launching a new scoring system that rates skilled nursing facilities for short-stay patients. The scoring system, called the CarePort Quality Score, looks at metrics such as average length of stay and rehospitalization rates, staffing and Medicare spending per beneficiary. The score is updated monthly.

According to the company, the rating is intended to be displayed alongside the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) five-star rating.

“Selecting the next phase of care following a hospital stay can be overwhelming for patients and their families, particularly when SNF quality of care can range considerably from facility to facility,” Dr. Lissy Hu, CarePort CEO and founder, said in a statement. “The CarePort Quality Score offers short-stay patients and their loved ones, as well as case managers and discharge planners, a tool to help determine which facilities are better for a patient to recover based on the patient’s specific needs. By calculating these ratings with real-time data, we give up-to-date, clear insights into the quality of SNFs across the country, ensuring that short-stay patients receive the best care possible.”

Femtech startup Fertility Focus just rolled out a new product aimed to help couples conceive called OvuFirst. The wearable can be worn on the arm or wrist and is equipped with a sensor that helps measure skin temperature and, in turn, gives users information about their ovulation and cycles.

The company previously rolled out OvuSense, a product made up of a vaginal core temperature sensor and accompanying app.

“We took our revolutionary OvuSense patented technology proven in over 190,000 cycles of use, and used it to develop and test the most accurate skin-worn fertility monitoring sensor available on the market,” said Fertility Focus CEO Robert Milnes. “We are proud to offer a convenient and easy-to-use solution to assist and support women during the early stages of their fertility journey, whether that is trying to start a family, or simply learning more about their bodies and cycles.”

UMass Memorial Health, a health system in Massachusetts, tapped remote care management platform Current Health to provide its technology for the provider's Hospital at Home program. As part of the deal, UMass Memorial patients and clinicians will be able to use Current's platform to communicate remotely.

Current Health's tools include monitoring equipment as well as a tablet for chats and video visits. UMass Memorial is pitching this new program as a way to spot patient deterioration faster, free up hospital resources and coordinate in-home services.

“COVID-19 illuminated capacity issues at hospitals worldwide – ours included,” said Dr. Eric Dickson, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health. “Our team’s ability to quickly build out a field hospital to care for patients during the height of the pandemic has inspired us to think differently about how we can deliver care outside our hospital walls. We see an opportunity to pioneer a new care delivery model that not only addresses hospital resource constraints, but also enables more preventive care and improved patient experiences and outcomes at scale. This is why we’re so excited to launch our Hospital at Home program with Current Health.”