Infusion and chronic care management company Uptiv Health announced a partnership with the automation platform Lamar Health to implement AI-powered automation for referral intake and prior authorization processes.
Uptiv offers infusion therapy for patients with chronic conditions via a hybrid model that merges customized in-clinic care with a digital platform.
In addition to traditional infusion services, Uptiv provides care coordination, mental health coaching and other whole-person care services.
Lamar Health provides an AI-powered automation platform aimed specifically at specialty medication workflows.
The company was founded by Stanford Medicine, McKesson and CoverMyMeds, and it is backed by Y Combinator and PennyJar Capital, Healthy VC, Flex Capital, Dnipro VC and Shah Capital.
Lamar’s platform connects to major EHR systems and learns to improve authorization processes.
The partnership aims to integrate Lamar Health’s specialty medication-focused AI platform into Uptiv Health’s operations to streamline administrative workflows and reduce the time to treatment for patients with chronic conditions.
Lamar Health’s AI platform automates complex administrative tasks in the prior authorization process, which the company says has typically been laborious and subject to delays.
The aim is to lessen the authorization timeline and allow patients to start treatment sooner, decrease labor costs linked to intake and prior authorization processes, redistribute staff time from paperwork to patient interactions, increase the time from referral to treatment, and facilitate connecting with EHRs to remove unnecessary data entry and documentation.
“Our partnership with Lamar Health allows us to allocate resources away from administrative burdens and toward creating exceptional patient experiences that set us apart in the marketplace,” Torben Nielsen, CEO of Uptiv Health, said in a statement.
THE LARGER TREND
In 2024, Uptiv Health partnered with Lyn Health to merge infusion therapy with chronic care management through an offering dubbed Uptiv360. Through the partnership, patients undergo an onboarding process via an app, followed by an evaluation by a nurse practitioner during an infusion visit.
Within 48 hours, patients are connected with a Lyn Health care team to access virtual chronic care management care, including behavioral health services.
Also last year, Uptiv Health opened an infusion center in Troy, Michigan.
The center collaborates with referring physicians, hospital systems and payers to provide seamless and accessible care for infusion patients with chronic conditions, including multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, severe asthma and allergies.
Uptiv launched in 2023 with $7.5 million in seed funding, alongside the opening of its flagship infusion center in Westland, Michigan.
