HandOff has developed proprietary methods and technologies that turn family members, agency aids, and independent contractors into non-medical clinical partners who ensure care plan compliance, prevent gaps in care, and spot problems early.
“We enable clinicians and payers to capitalize on the huge, free resource of non-medical caregivers and their commitment to delivering effective care, thereby producing better patient outcomes and improving quality of life— for the patient and the family,” says Rich Carpenter, founder and CEO of HandOff.
The company’s portfolio comprises three primary offerings – the care plan checklist, the care team dashboard, and an innovative distance care solution. Handoff builds a personalized care plan checklist from evidence-based templates covering more than 20 diseases and conditions that give the patient and caregiver a simple daily roadmap. Each checklist covers the Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) critical to a particular patient’s optimum care, like medications, PT/OT exercises, special diets or treatments, daily goals, and more, as well as key Health Status Indicators (HSIs) like weight, pain level, blood sugar, top health concern of the day, and more.
ADL & HSI data create a robust graphical care history accessible through the care team dashboard to improve communications among a patient’s care teams and to any US physician in minutes regardless of their EHR system in a HIPAA compliant manner.
HandOff’s distance care solutions are built on an appreciation that patient compliance and engagement are critical to the delivery of care for elderly patients. Therefore, it offers a combination of conventional and robotic training courses to assist caregivers in communicating with their patients and ensuring effective care delivery.
We enable clinicians and payers to capitalize on the huge, free resource of non-medical caregivers and their commitment to delivering effective care
Additionally, HandOff provides ongoing monitoring of plan data to detect gaps in care and then coach caregivers via text message to improve care.
According to Carpenter, traditional remote patient monitoring solutions use trailing indicators of care; meaning, they only activate after there is an emergent event or problem. Alternatively, HandOff continually tracks leading indicators such as care plan compliance and multiple HSI’s that keep the care team and non-medical caregivers aware of a patient’s well– being at all times. HandOff’s products are low-cost, highly scalable, and simple to implement. Furthermore, Carpenter says caregivers are grateful for the continuous support HandOff provides, one even calling it his “wingman,” which translates into higher consumer satisfaction as measured by HCAPHS, and better outcomes as measured by HEDIS, OASIS, Stars, and emerging HH QRPs.
The company’s offerings are backed by extensive research from Carnegie Mellon University, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and the Maryland School of Public Health. Moving forward, HandOff plans to run more experiments with hospital networks, accountable care organizations, home care agencies, and innovation-oriented payers to enhance the functionalities of its product portfolio. Furthermore, with an aim to offer better coaching and boost caregivers’ ability to provide effective care, the company is currently developing solutions that incorporate AI and other advanced technologies. HandOff is also developing a system that provides small, variable, financial rewards to caregivers by connecting them with interested stakeholders. To conclude, Carpenter states, “Non-skilled caregivers outnumber doctors and nurses 15:1. Through research and experimentation, we have developed a novel solution suite that helps family members and other caregivers to produce better outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. A free white paper detailing the financial implications of our innovative approach is available at CareHandOff.com.”
