Selecting a health plan is incredibly complicated for most people who prefer not to think about health insurance very often. Upswing, combined with your other plan features, can help guide members to a plan that fits with the healthcare needs that are most important to them – and can help your plan stand out from the rest. And it’s all virtual!
With access to virtual care on demand for sports injuries and most orthopedic issues, members who are worried about their injuries and treatment for their chronic pain and rehabilitation from past injuries can easily find a plan that helps them with what they care about most – healing and full recovery!
And with easier access to care without office visits, your self-funded employers will save money on their commercial plans while their employees gain immediate access and better benefits.
When people are injured or experience an exacerbation of chronic pain they often ask “what do I have and where do I need to go”. Our symptom assessment app, designed by orthopedic physicians, is available 24/7 on any device to help members find out the nature of their condition, how serious their injury is and what needs to be done about it – without waiting to see a doctor.
Learn more about how Upswing provides answers when people need it most; when they’re hurt.
Certified athletic trainers are available in minutes to answer questions, make referrals if needed and recommend personalized physical therapist-designed rehabilitation exercises that members can do at home. And when needed, an Upswing orthopedic physician is available for a video consultation.
Learn more about how Upswing can give members faster access to care and avoid unnecessary treatments
Since 50% of orthopedic conditions can be treated at home with self-directed rehabilitation exercises, early and convenient access to orthopedic specialists can reduce out of pocket costs for members, as well as plan spend for insurers and employers.
The first thing people want to know about an orthopedic injury is how serious it is and whether or not they need to see a doctor. Currently, many people wait days for answers, first waiting for an appointment with a primary care physician and then for x-rays and sometimes also for an orthopedic specialist just to find out what’s wrong… and that’s before a treatment program starts.
With Upswing’s orthopedic symptom assessment app, members can get answers immediately based on their symptoms – and follow up with a video call to an Upswing Coach, all Certified Athletic Trainers, minutes later. Since most orthopedic injuries can be treated at home, their Upswing Coach can check in with them throughout their recovery process, providing detailed and condition specific video rehabilitation exercises designed by physical therapists that they can do on their own. And for patients with more complex problems, their Upswing Coach will arrange, within 24 hours, a telehealth consultation with an Upswing orthopedic physician via a video call. For even more complicated problems that require in-person care, Upswing will facilitate an appointment for the member with a recommended in-network orthopedic surgeon.
Learn more about how Upswing can give your members immediate answers and access to care without the wait.
With 46% of orthopedic injuries initially misdiagnosed it’s no wonder that over 50% of initial interventions for orthopedic conditions fail to resolve the problem and end with a poor outcome. All of the extra x-rays, doctors visits and even surgeries are not just a waste of time and money for doctors and patients, but are also an enormous waste of administrative labor (and claims payments) for insurance companies.
It turns out that much of this waste could be avoided by providing primary care physicians and patients with access to orthopedic expertise early in the diagnosis process.
By providing PCPs with access to Upswing’s orthopedic symptom assessment tool at the time of need, patients can avoid unnecessary doctor’s office and ER visits and imaging – while primary care physicians can validate their diagnosis to ensure they’re referring patients only to the correct orthopedic surgical specialist – and only when necessary.
Since a majority of orthopedic injuries and chronic conditions can and should be treated virtually, at home, with physical therapist designed personalized exercises, Upswing Coaches can guide a members rehabilitative care while helping them avoid unnecessary medical interventions. And when a patient needs to see a physician, an Upswing orthopedic physician is available within 24 hours by video call to diagnose, prescribe treatment, order x-rays and MRI scans and when necessary assist in making the right referral to the right specialist.
Learn how Upswing can lower administrative, claims and member costs while improving access to care.
Upswing can structure payment plans several ways (see the next question for details).
We can structure payment plans in one of several ways.
A fee-per-use model (case rate) allows payment only when their patients engage with Upswing Health.
Upswing is also paid in a per member per month arrangement.
Upswing can also be paid via a hybrid PM/PM and case rate arrangement
For the right partner, Upswing can enter shared risk and savings arrangements
Over 50% of orthopedic injuries can and should be treated at home using physical therapists developed personalized exercise programs that most people can do on their own without help.
Additionally, over 46% of orthopedic injuries are mis-diagnosed (typically because a medical professional with orthopedic expertise was not available to help diagnose the condition). This misdiagnosis is a key contributor to the 50% failure rate of orthopedic medical interventions to solve the intended problem. Collectively, this has created the largest single employer healthcare cost especially when lost productivity of workdays spent at doctors’ offices and long recoveries from surgeries are factored in. Add to this unnecessary prescriptions, MRIs, x-rays and weekly physical therapist appointments and it’s easy to see that if patients are managed virtually, at home, payers and plan sponsors will save a lot of time and money.
Upswing was designed by a team of orthopedic surgeons to solve exactly this problem.
Upswing Coaches are a patient’s first point of contact with a broad network of Upswing’s orthopedic specialists. They are all Certified Athletic Trainers specializing in the initial evaluation of soft tissue, bone and joint injuries.
Certified Athletic Trainers are sports medicine specialists who you often see run out onto the field to evaluate injured players. They are trained to review a patient’s responses to Upswing’s symptom assessment tool and answer questions about their symptoms, injuries, and treatment options. They closely follow and monitor Upswing’s patients and personalize their self-help rehabilitation programs. Our Coaches can arrange a telehealth visit with an Upswing orthopedic physician who can provide more in-depth assessment, treatment and specialized care. Our Upswing physicians can also arrange for x-rays and MRI scans when indicated. If in-person physical therapy or orthopedic surgical consultation is necessary, Upswing Coaches can help navigate the patient to these important resources.
Upswing’s Orthopedic Physicians are Board Certified doctors who specialize in Sports Medicine and/or Orthopedic Surgery. These doctors work within Orthopedic practices or with sports teams, and help guide patients through non-surgical measures. Our physicians have decades of experience and have worked in numerous sub-speciality fields.
No problem! Upswing works seamlessly within your network of care. Depending on the program, our care team can also assist you with referrals for imaging (x-rays and MRI scans) and when necessary appointments with in-network physical therapists or orthopedic surgeons. Our mission is to guide you on the right care path as quickly as possible, with our care team or when necessary with other in-network providers.
