Patient Pattern Rises to Top of Shark Tank

Steven Buslovich, MD, MSHCPM, is not just a geriatrician. Some, he says, call him a “born geriatrician.” So it’s only fitting that someone so passionate about his work would develop innovative technology to improve quality of care for frail older patients. Dr. Buslovich is Co-Founder and CEO of Patient Pattern, winner of the Audience Choice Award in the Society’s recent Shark Tank competition, held during the Annual Conference in March. Dr. Buslovich and his team won for their innovative software that enables medical directors to manage and oversee their entire facility population, identify priority at-risk patients, and improve meaningful outcomes.

Like most innovators, Dr. Buslovich’s vision arose out of need. He says, “When I finished my fellowship and took on the medical director role in several nursing homes, I was challenged to improve care but had few population health and surveillance tools at my disposal to gain an adequate understanding of the big picture. I established Patient Pattern to provide better care.” The company features a team of geriatric experts, technologists, and health economists who have come together to innovate practical solutions.

Dr. Buslovich and his team started by creating an evidence-based frailty index that enables practitioners to calculate a frailty risk score—predictive of poor outcomes including readmission, wound care, etc. He says, “As a result, we were able to provide proactive, patient-centered care. And by more effectively predicting risk, we were able to have more impactful conversations with the patients and families.” He adds, “We realized that we can aggregate lots of data available in the facility and make it available to medical directors. This enables us to trend risk and poor outcomes over time and present this to clinicians in meaningful, impactful ways. This, in turn, gives clinicians the tools they need to impact care at the bedside and identify problems in real time.”

Patient Pattern is already making a difference for many facilities. Dr. Buslovich says, “We are seeing changes occurring quickly and quality improving. Facilities are improving their star ratings in as little as three months. We’ve had facilities go from two stars to five in less than two years.” At the same time, he notes that practitioners can see and measure their impact quickly and document and track their efforts to improve quality.

As soon as he heard about the Society’s Shark Tank competition, Dr. Buslovich knew this was a perfect fit for Patient Pattern. “The value for us—to demonstrate product to our target market and gain validation for our vision—drew us to the competition. There is so much energy right now around clinical analytics and decision support, and everyone is seeking tools and technology to improve patient care,” he says. “The Shark Tank audience was very interested in what we’re doing, and it was rewarding to have physicians from small and large groups alike wanting to know more about our products.” Dr. Buslovich says, “Currently, we are available in over 3,000 facilities across the country; and we’re working to make it accessible to many more. Our Shark Tank win will help with this.”

Dr. Buslovich fell in love with the field growing up close to his grandparents. “I grew up with an appreciation of older adults and their interests and values. I always had an affinity for helping this population.” He adds, “I always felt that they deserve respect, dignity, and great care. And I enjoy the challenges and opportunities involved with caring for these complex patients.”

Click here for more information about the Shark Tank winners, and click here to learn more about Patient Pattern.