Medtronic partners with LHC to provide at-home, post-acute care patient monitoring services

Medtronic ($MDT) has partnered to provide patient monitoring to home health, hospice and comprehensive post-acute healthcare services LHC Group. The deal was done through its Cardiocom business, which already serves four out of the 5 largest U.S. home healthcare organizations.

The medical device giant acquired Cardiocom in 2013 for $200 million and shortly thereafter formed its Hospital Solutions business around it. Then in August, Medtronic also acquired Italian company NGC Medical for $350 million, to become the managed services arm of the Hospital Solutions business. NGC manages cardiovascular suites, operating rooms and intensive care units at about 30 hospitals in Italy and throughout Europe. More than 60 U.S. hospitals and health systems have partnered with LHC to gain post-acute care technology.

The Cardiocom business has served more than 80,000 patients through a series of long-term contracts.

Omar Ishrak

"Similar to our cath lab managed services business, Cardiocom has multiyear agreements with our customers that provide and produce an attractive stream of high-quality recurring revenue. In addition, Cardiocom serves as a foundational healthcare services platform to which we expect to strengthen our ability to deliver new more comprehensive integrated care solutions in the future," Medtronic chairman and CEO Omar Ishrak said on a November conference call to characterize its vision for the business.

Under the LHC deal, Medtronic will provide telehealth devices to its program that transitions patients out of the hospital. It's intended to reduce emergency room visits and prevent subsequent readmissions. The group will use the Commander Flex for remote patient monitoring devices to monitor patients with conditions such as heart failure, hypertension, COPD and diabetes. The system enables daily monitoring of symptoms and vital signs to anticipate potential patient risk.

"As more health systems and Accountable Care Organizations look toward maximizing value and population health models, post-acute care providers are playing a critical role in ensuring patients remain healthy through the transition from the hospital to their homes," Daniel Cosentino, VP and GM of Medtronic's Cardiocom business, said in a statement.

As of November, Medtronic had almost 40 agreements with hospital systems, including 21 agreements added from the NGC acquisition. These represent more than $900 million in committed revenue over the 5 to 6 year average contract period.

- here is the release