An online platform
makes it easier to connect with health care services.
A few years ago, Ken Peach was working with a large physician practice that was trying to figure out how to effectively connect patients, with services like transportation and home health.
The services were out there, listed online or in print directories, but other than calling them up, there was no quick way to set up an appointment for the patient on the spot.
Then last year, at a healthcare conference, Peach, who’s executive director of Health Council of East Central Florida, came across Caredove, and saw it as a solution to the problem.
Based in Toronto, Caredove is an online platform that makes it easy for providers, patients and their families to find services and make appointments, whether it’s for a meal program, wound care services, a skilled nursing facility, or a range of other services.
“Think of travel sites, where you can book a flight or a car. We’re kind of like that,” said Jim Atkinson, Caredove’s chief growth officer.
Since the two met, the company has been building its directory in the Orlando area. And its directory, which is undergoing beta testing and is available to the public, has become a useful resource for some organizations like Kassy Home Health, which serves the Central Florida area.
“We're dealing with patients who need resources constantly, they need nutritional services or different things outside of what we provide or their insurance covers, so our team uses [Caredove] a lot, to look up services and make referrals,” said Sandra Morales, CEO of
“Think of travel sites, where you can book a flight or a car. We’re kind of like that.” Jim Atkinson, Caredove’s chief growth officer
Kassy Home Health.
There are other online directories like Seniors Blue Book that help consumers look up services by zip code or category, but Caredove says that its platform is more up-to-date and allows providers to make referrals on the spot online.
“Caredove is different from other online directories in the way Yellow Pages differs from Expedia,” Atkinson said. “With Expedia, hotels have real-time control over what services and availability they share. … Caredove helps homecare and community service providers share what they do, so the public, or clinicians, can search and book the service.”
Oliver Hersch, CEO of Seniors Blue Book said that he liked Caredove’s concept but “it will be incredibly difficult for them to roll this out and be successful,” he wrote in an email. “To get provider and community participation is much harder on a software platform than it is in print or on a website. … I have seen many try and fail.”
To build its network, Caredove first vets the companies before listing them on its website. The companies also agree to follow privacy laws.
“We don’t have access to electronic health records. We just help people get connected,” Atkinson said.
Caredove’s Central Florida directory currently includes 200 organizations and about 1,200 services, and it is expanding that directory.
Organizations can promote their services online with Caredove and receive an unlimited number of referrals for free.
Companies also have the option to update to a subscription model for better workflow, which “is the price of a cup of coffee a day,” Atkinson said.
The company also sells network licenses to organizations that want to pay to have their own network and control what appears on it.
“We’re doing a big network for Florida Association of Accountable Care Organizations,” said Atkinson. “They’re creating a network and offering it to all ACOs in Florida.”
And Peach is working with the company to create specialty networks so that, for example, when patients with Parkinson’s disease look for services, they see services that mainly pertain to them.
“This is really important for doctors and care coordinators because making that connection after a referral is important. This can prevent readmission to the hospital,” Atkinson said.