Our Story
The Race to Reimagine Care
By Devin Carty
We were training for a marathon together when Brian was diagnosed with Stage 4 colorectal cancer at age 29. I couldn’t run. He was my best friend.
Our conversations went from long and winding debates about philosophy, business, and politics to stark discussions about survival. The talk about career trajectories and five-year plans faded away. All that mattered was his next appointment.
I worked at a major healthcare system at the time, so I had the experience to help him navigate the tangled web we call the American healthcare system. Within days, Brian went from diagnosis to surgeries. And from surgeries he went to debilitating chemotherapy infusions.
Each treatment was punishing. The only place he wanted to be throughout this journey was at home, especially when he was sick and miserable.
He kept repeating the same questions: Why do I need to go sit in a cold, sterile hospital for hours at a time to fight this? Couldn’t it be done in the comfort of my own home where life feels a little more normal?
It was later that Brian learned the hospital wasn’t so sterile – one in 25 patients acquire infections as part of their inpatient treatments (1). Brian was the unlucky one. He contracted pneumonia on top of his growing list of ailments and being immunocompromised from the chemotherapy.
A year to the day after his diagnosis, Brian died. It was St. Patrick’s Day, a holiday with new meaning for his family and mine.
It changed my life and my life’s work.
I began investing my time and energy into helping other cancer patients, first at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (now City of Hope). My work was grief; I’d spend my days crying with cancer patients, trying to bring comfort to them and their families.
All the while, Brian’s recurring question kept ringing in my ears: Why were these people suffering in a hospital instead of at home? I knew that this kind of care could be delivered almost anywhere, so I started reimagining the journey for cancer patients.
Reimagining quickly became reality. The company named itself – Reimagine Care.
As an entrepreneur, the vision seemed simple enough: When possible, provide cancer care where patients are most comfortable.
Right now, they’re being asked to do too much. Long commutes to and from treatment centers and countless hours in waiting rooms can start to feel like a full-time job. But many of these patients already have jobs plus families to take care of.
It takes a toll. Unexpected hospitalizations start becoming routine. At 2 a.m., when the side effects of treatment rear their ugly head, the ER is often the only option for a patient. Studies prove this out, showing roughly 67% of hospitalizations in the year after a cancer diagnosis are unplanned(2). The estimates are even higher for stage 4 patients.
Reimagine Care shakes up what’s become the status quo.
Not only do we bring oncology care closer to home, we also provide 24/7 monitoring so patients have alternatives when the side effects from treatment become intense. It’s not just a matter of comfort. There’s also the matter of money. Reducing ER visits and avoidable hospital admissions helps to decrease the total cost of care, both for patients and the system.
By the numbers, cancer is already financially crushing. The site of care can make a dramatic difference. As an example, Keytruda, one of the world’s most prescribed cancer drugs, costs 3x more when delivered in a hospital as compared to the home. And that doesn’t factor in the care benefits of having a single dedicated nurse at home vs the 10:1 nurse-patient ratio you find in most infusion centers.
We believe that this kind of compassionate, cost-efficient care would be appropriate for roughly half of all cancer patients. We also believe that every patient should have access to proactive, 24/7 symptom management and medical management support regardless of where they live or what type of cancer they have.
We have a long way to go, but the race has begun — honoring Brian’s life and reimagining what’s possible for yours.
2. Site of Care Management. Artemetrx. http://www.artemetrx.com/solutions/site-of-care-management/ on 06.21.2017. Accessed 13 November 2019.
3. Community Oncology Alliance Payor Exchange Summit, Oncology Payment Reform, October 28, 2019, Tysons Corner, VA and other updated reference and Trilliant Health, 2020, allowed amounts for Houston CBSA for specific J-Codes.