PITTSBURGH, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pittsburgh (June 1, 2022) - Infectious Disease (ID) Connect, an Infectious Disease telehealth and decision support healthcare technology company spun out of UPMC, raised an additional $5.45 million in May 2022. First Trust Capital Partners, LLC joins UPMC Enterprises and the Merck Global Health Innovation Fund investments to improve access and enable world-class specialized ID expertise to enrich lives and improve outcomes.
The severe shortage of ID experts throughout the U.S. has left more than 208 million individuals without access to an ID specialist – leaving 80% of U.S. counties with minimal to no ID physician coverage.[1] ID physician and pharmacist shortages, coupled with incomplete information about patients’ ID histories, has contributed to inappropriate antibiotic selection. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 50% of antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary, significantly increasing the rate of resistance.[2]
“When infectious disease occurs, the right data, in the right hands, at the right time, for the right patients, improves healthcare quality and lowers costs,” said Jon Phillips, Managing Partner at FT Capital Partners LLC. “During a period of intense demand and healthcare professional shortages, ID Connect is actually delivering this value equation across a variety of diverse healthcare settings.”
The company has doubled its revenues year over year since its creation in 2019. Building on a 94% growth in patient consultations and extremely high patient satisfaction scores, the company plans to use the newly raised capital to further improve care team collaboration and refine its ID-specific risk stratification analytics.
“Through innovative collaborations with our clients, which include academic medical centers and community hospitals of all sizes, ID Connect has decreased intensive care unit lengths of stay by more than 50%,” said Dave Zynn, CEO of ID Connect. “The use of our ID-focused SaaS solutions - ILÚM Insight® and ILÚM Inform® - has also helped decrease antibiotic use by 20% and increase staff efficiency three-fold.”
Throughout the remainder of 2022, ID Connect will leverage its different tele-ID consult types to support more outpatient antimicrobial therapy needs and increase reliance on advanced analytics to improve ID best practices and world-class antimicrobial stewardship.
[1] Walensky RP, et al. Ann Intern Med. Oct 2020.
[2] CDC.gov
