The Garage and MedLink Advantage join hands to improve health among rural populations

The Garage, a population health management technology company providing patient-centered solutions to stakeholders across the industry, today announces its strategic partnership with MedLink Advantage. MedLink Advantage, an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) management company, offers a full host of ACO management services to its partners and providers. The management company chose to partner with The Garage after an exhaustive, eight-month search for a technology platform to help its ACO clients achieve better performance and care coordination. The Garage's Bridge platform will help those ACOs improve transitional care, chronic care management and preventative care management programs.

"In the midst of drastic shifts in the healthcare industry, ACOs increasingly find that their unique needs must be met by tailored, robust solutions that help them better serve their populations," said Dr. Don Klitgaard, CEO and Chief Medical Officer at MedLink Advantage. "Throughout our search for a technology partner, we were consistently impressed with The Garage and its unique understanding of our clients' needs. We truly feel that our partnership will not only greatly benefit our clients, but ultimately improve the thousands of lives that our ACOs touch."

Along with its management services, MedLink Advantage provides its clients with managed care contracting and consulting expertise specifically targeted to ACOs in rural areas, such as Heartland Physicians, a Track 1 ACO that manages over 6,000 patient lives. In 2016, Heartland Physicians was selected to participate in the ACO Investment Model, designed to encourage ACO formation in low penetration and rural areas. Through MedLink Advantage's management services, Heartland Physicians achieved shared savings in performance year 2016, and the organization will begin work this year with The Garage's comprehensive Bridge platform.

Bridge will provide MedLink Advantage's clients increased visibility into the care continuum with access to actionable insights and holistic population analysis. In addition to improving patient outreach and provider engagement, this partnership will also allow MedLink Advantage to offer more comprehensive solutions to further ACO success and expand its footprint in rural health.

"Our partnership with MedLink Advantage is a game-changer for rural ACOs for many reasons, and we're thrilled to work with them," said Pranam Ben, Founder and CEO of The Garage. "Both our teams are passionate and committed to advancing high quality care, and spending healthcare dollars more wisely while improving the health of all people and communities. We foresee that our work with MedLink Advantage will have far reaching positive implications for rural ACOs, and we look forward to furthering those organizations' success."​