Danish Qureshi created his third startup, Zarminali Pediatrics, using $40 million in seed funding led by General Catalyst.
But the CEO had more personal reasons for creating the Chicago-based pediatrics company that has since expanded to four states with plans to be in an additional four states by the end of a year.
When his daughter was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, Qureshi said he and his wife found they needed to take on the burden of care coordination across specialists. This was due to the complexity of a system that tends to create siloes, especially between outpatient and inpatient care, despite EHRs, Qureshi said.
Regardless of whether the information was readily available, often specialists operating within a clinical specialty didn't have the latest information from another specialist about his daughter, he said.
"For the vast majority of care, you see siloes within departments, and you definitely see siloes between health systems and community physicians," Qureshi said. "This became a very personal mission for me, of saying, how can we reshape the way that pediatrics is delivered for children and for their families across the country?"
For more, please listen to Qureshi's conversation with Susan Morse, executive editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Talking Points:
- Siloes are a general symptom of how care in the United States is delivered.
- Specialists are under a heavy workload, which contributes to lack of care collaboration between outpatient or community-based physicians.
- The goal is to have outpatient and pediatric care delivered within the same multi-specialty practice group.
- Zarminali Pediatrics leverages technology and an integrated approach to both primary and specialty care.
- The company plans to be in 30 states, where 90% of the population is located, over the next three years.
- Zarminali uses AI to improve the patient and family experience, reduce administrative burden and optimize care quality.
- AI investment will simplify scheduling and allow patients to get in touch with a clinician outside of operating hours.
- AI will also help provide a summarized, comprehensive medical history across the patient's lifespan.
More About this Episode:
Miller Children's launches pediatric care network
Pediatric providers need more information at the point of care
New ACO model requires care coordination, analytics and payment technology
Siloed technology and data create a big health system pain point
HIMSSCast: Making data silos at the POC a thing of the past
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org