PeerWell announces the receipt of a $6.5 million Series A round of funding led by OMERS Ventures and joined by existing investors, XSeed Capital, to fast-track the commercial rollout of its workers’ compensation surgery optimization platform.

“PeerWell helps workers’ compensation programs, employer health plans, and payers support patients with pain and mobility issues who are facing complex procedures and surgery. Our interactive digital programs guide patients while reducing costs of care and accurately predicting return-to-work times,” says PeerWell CEO Manish Shah, in a media release  from PeerWell.

PeerWell’s evidence-based platform addresses the five pillars of health optimization: Physical Therapy, Nutrition, Pain & Anxiety, Health Literacy, and Environmental Preparation. The platform is now available to all employers and health plans across North America.

“Musculoskeletal issues are considerably costly for employers and the American healthcare system as a whole,” says Michael Yang, Managing Partner at OMERS Ventures, the release continues.

“PeerWell’s surgery optimization platform takes into account the entire patient and full episode while successfully reducing costs for workers’ compensation insurers and employers.”

Through continued partnerships with large claims administrators, employers, and Medicare Advantage plans, workers across the United States are being offered PeerWell’s musculoskeletal programs.

“PeerWell is providing a dynamic solution to patient care. It is designed to help reduce the care costs of claims, but it has given people support and superior care throughout challenging episodes. PeerWell is an advanced health platform that is available for employers, large and small,” says Dr. Teresa Bartlett, Senior Medical Officer at Sedgwick, a third party administrator for large employers.

PeerWell also has an ongoing partnership with Healthcare Outcomes Performance Company (HOPCo), the management company for groups like The CORE Institute, an orthopedic provider groups in the US.

“With PeerWell, our patients are armed with the best tools for the most efficient care,” adds Dr Jacofsky, chairman and CEO of HOPCo, in the release.

“We’ve seen outcomes improve, which impacts the entire network- from patients to payers. With daily digital guidance and monitoring, our musculoskeletal patients receive care tailored to their progress and their needs, which can optimize recovery.”

Other direct partnerships include Medicare Advantage plans like the Golden State Medicare Health Plan.

“PeerWell serves our patients and Medicare, and is setting a precedent for how we approach musculoskeletal health and other chronic conditions in this country,” shares Dr. Sanjay Patil, CEO of Golden State Medicare Health Plan.

Also participating in this round were Emmett Shear (Co-Founder CEO of Twitch) and Travis May (CEO of Datavant), joining previous investors Auren Hoffman (CEO SafeGraph, Co-founder of LiveRamp), Kevin Lin (COO of Twitch), Michael Seibel (CEO of Y Combinator), Humble Lukanga, George Mathew (CEO Kespry), Anne Mathew (Stanford Healthcare), Patrick McKenna (Founder One America Works), Charlene Frizzera (Former Administrator of CMS), Joel Jewitt (Co-founder LiveRamp), Arian Foster (ex-NFL), Glover Quin (NFL), Brandon Marshall (NFL), Duane Brown (NFL), and Malik Jackson (NFL), the release continues.

[Source(s): PeerWell, PR Newswire]