The California HealthCare Foundation has invested $1.5 million in iRhythm Technologies the developer of the Zio® Patch ambulatory cardiac rhythm monitoring system. The Zio Patch is a diagnostic service that can be initiated at the point-of-care and worn for up to 14 days.
The continuous recording by the Zio Patch can help identify, or rule out arrhythmia in patients with transitory symptoms and possibly eliminate unnecessary visits to specialists. The Zio Patch has been used on more than 85,000 patients throughout the U.S.
“iRhythm’s Zio Patch technology has the potential to increase access to timely diagnosis and care for patients in both rural and urban environments,” said Margaret Laws, Director of the Innovations for the Underserved Program at CHCF and Manager of the CHCF Health Innovation Fund. “The simplicity of their approach to ambulatory cardiac monitoring minimizes logistical difficulties, promotes increased patient compliance, and streamlines the process for patients and clinicians.”
CHCF is also planning to fund studies at two California safety-net hospital systems to research levels of patient and provider satisfaction, cost effectiveness, and diagnostic efficacy related to the iRhythm solution.
The CHCF Health Innovation Fund invests in sustainable, scalable business models with the potential to significantly lower the cost of care or improve access to care for underserved populations. Other investments have been made with Asthmapolis, CareInSync, Direct Dermatology, Lifewave, Pipeline Healthcare and STRUM.
