Highmark Health Services

AppliedVR, an immersive therapeutics company, announced that Pittsburgh-based Highmark, a Blue Cross Blue Shield-affiliated health insurer, will be the first health plan to cover RelieVRx, AppliedVR's FDA-cleared virtual reality offering to treat chronic low back pain. Eligible Highmark members 18 years and older diagnosed with moderate to severe chronic low back pain will be able to get a prescription for RelieVRx without prior authorization. California-based AppliedVR's RelieVRx (formerly EaseVRx) is a fully immersive virtual reality experience intended to empower people with the skills needed to manage chronic low back pain and a non-pharmacologic option to reduce pain. With RelieVRx, patients go through a 56-session multimodal program that includes daily virtual reality sessions that utilize regulation and mindfulness skills, as well as techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy to help them control their symptoms. "We are committed to leveraging technology to enhance health outcomes while reducing costs," Matt Fickie, senior medical director for Highmark, said in a statement. "RelieVRx from AppliedVR provides our members suffering from chronic low back pain a scientifically backed, in-home immersive non-opioid treatment option." Addressing the millions of people who experience chronic low back pain, AppliedVR cofounder and chief executive officer Matthew Stoudt said that individuals who battle low back pain deserve access to noninvasive, drug-free options that empower them to self-manage their pain. "Highmark's forward-thinking approach recognizes the promise of immersive therapeutics, and we are grateful for their collaboration. RelieVRx is based on decades of clinical evidence demonstrating the transformative potential of immersive therapeutics to reshape the body's response to pain, and we are committed to building an even greater body of evidence that continues to set the industry standard," Stoudt said. THE LARGER TREND In April, Lovell Government Services partnered with AppliedVR to be its federal distribution partner to support sales through government healthcare systems like the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Military Health System (MHS), and Indian Health Services (IHS). In March, AppliedVR announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) established a Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) Level II code (E1905) that covers its flagship product, the RelieVRx program. In February, AppliedVR and Kernal, a precision medicine company, announced a joint study measuring the impact of VR pain treatment on the brain. The single-blind, sham-controlled design compared brain activation patterns and physiological metrics before, during and after VR experiences in people experiencing chronic low back pain. In August, Highmark announced that more than $800,000 in "BluePrints for the Community" grants had been awarded for Q2 2024. The grants address various community needs, including improving access to healthcare and providing economic stability to individuals and families. In July, Highmark Health Options West Virginia launched a managed care organization (MCO) and the first Blue Cross Blue Shield-branded MCO to serve West Virginians.

Healthcare IT organizations have weathered numerous storms over the past two years—and the lessons these teams learned while on the forefront of the pandemic are shaping their approaches looking ahead. Automation initiatives and the resulting workforce transformation are delivering real-world operational efficiencies while improving the patient experience. Hear Dr. Yan Chow, Global Healthcare Leader at Automation Anywhere and Marcus Johnson, Managing Director of Delivery at Lumevity, a Highmark Health subsidiary focused on transformation, discuss how automation has and is improving key aspects of the business. In this podcast, we will: Examine how the role of the Healthcare CIO is evolving and the factors that are driving these changes. Explore the conventional - and not so conventional - responsibilities that Healthcare CIOs are taking on. Share real-world use cases for applying automation to streamline and optimize critical business operations.

Moving Analytics, an Irvine, California-based telehealth startup that provides remote cardiac rehab, recently announced it has raised $20 million in Series A funding. The round was co-led by Wellington Access Ventures and Seae Ventures, with participation from Philips Ventures, SteelSky Ventures, Aphelion Capital, Nueterra Capital and Citi Ventures. The financing brings the company’s total funding to $30 million. The company was founded in 2016 with the mission of empowering people to live a life free of heart disease by providing telehealth cardiac care, according to Harsh Vathsangam, Moving Analytics’ co-founder and CEO. He said about 90% of post-heart attack or post-cardiac surgery patients do not have access to follow-up care due to barriers like not being able to take time off work or drive long distances to hospitals. Currently these patients’ only option is facility-based rehab. To address this problem, Moving Analytics rolled out a post-acute cardiac care telehealth program. The program gives patients access to a multidisciplinary team of cardiologists, nurses, nutritionists and exercise physiologists from the comfort of their home. Patients who are enrolled in the program are shipped a kit that consists of a blood pressure cuff, weight scale, activity tracker and educational booklets. They are then connected to a physician care manager who creates a customized care plan consisting of exercise plans, nutrition coaching, mental health counseling, medication adherence strategies and cardiovascular disease education. To measure the impact of its intervention, Moving Analytics looks at how patients’ clinical outcomes have changed by the end of the 12-week program. When the company examined a population of patients before and after the program to see how many were hypertensive or had clinical depression, Vathsangam said they saw a 50% reduction in hypertension and 70% reduction in depression. Vathsangam described Moving Analytics as a “clinical physician group that bills health plans for its services.” The startup’s services are currently covered in 14 states. In the last year, the company has doubled in size to now employ 50 people. It will use its new capital to scale its platform, expand its presence in the market and develop content focusing on heart health among women and people of color. While the company is growing, it is certainly not the only provider of telehealth cardiac care. Its competitors include Recora and Carda Health. “Our main differentiator is our tremendous experience,” Vathsangam said. “Our care plans are based on over 20 years of research and clinical trials on over 70,000 patients. By the end of this year, we will have served over 5,000 patients in our platform, putting us head and shoulders above anyone else in terms of market validation and deployment expertise.” Those are fighting words, but the startup does seem to have caught the attention of large health plans and providers. Some of Moving Analytics’ customers include Kaiser Permanente, Highmark Health, Veterans Affairs Administration, BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois and CDPHP. As for the Moving Analytics’ long-term goals, Vathsangam said the company hopes to consistently increase the number of patients it serves and eventually expand beyond post-acute care to other indications in cardiovascular disease, such as prevention.