As health systems across the country grapple with rising cancer care demands and workforce shortages, Tampa General Hospital announced a new virtual care program this month that aims to extend clinical support beyond hospital walls.
The health system is teaming up with Reimagine Care, a Nashville-based startup focused on providing virtual symptom management and care coordination services to cancer patients who are in active treatment. The partnership seeks to make cancer care more comfortable and accessible for patients.
Reimagine, founded in 2020, serves as an “an extension of the cancer center,” said CEO Dan Nardi. The startup uses an AI virtual assistant named Remi, as well as its own nurses and advanced practice practitioners trained in clinical oncology, to provide on-demand virtual support for cancer patients.
“When a patient reaches out at 2 a.m. with concerning symptoms, our platform and team handle the triage, provide guidance, and in rare situations, escalate to the patients’ physician when clinically necessary,” Nardi explained.
He noted that Reimagine documents everything in its hospital partners’ EHRs so that there’s complete visibility.
About 95% of patient concerns get resolved virtually, which means fewer ER visits and a reduced administrative burden on oncologists, Nardi stated.
In short, the hospital is in charge of a patient’s clinical plan and treatment changes, while Reimagine handles the operational heavy lifting related to ongoing patient monitoring, he declared.
Elisabeth King, vice president of operations at Tampa General’s cancer institute, said that the startups stood out to the health system because it offers an innovative, proactive model that brings oncology care into the home.
“Their team of oncology nurses and advanced practice providers uses telehealth, phone and secure messaging to triage symptoms and deliver personalized care. That approach aligns perfectly with Tampa General’s commitment to patient centered innovation, better access and continuity of care,” she stated.
To measure the success of this collaboration, she said Tampa General will track the reduction in emergency visits and inpatient admissions, as well as monitor patient satisfaction, patients’ reported outcomes, engagement with telehealth and messaging, and response times for symptom triage.
The health system also intends to track the decrease in oncolologists’ pajama time, which is the hours spent replying to inbox messages and coordinating patient care outside working hours.
In addition to deploying Reimagine’s platform, Tampa General’s venture arm, TGH Ventures, invested in the company.
Rachel Feinman, TGH Ventures’ vice president of innovation, noted that her team liked the way Reimagine has an AI-forward platform that still recognizes the importance of patients being able to connect directly with oncology nurses and advanced practice practitioners when needed.
“While we are starting with the complex needs of our medical oncology patients, we see Reimagine Care as a platform we can grow across the ontological continuum of care,” Feinman remarked.
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