SHOREVIEW, Minn. (January 8, 2020)—Muse Healthcare announced the launch of its advanced machine learning technology for hospice providers. The solution analyzes hundreds of thousands of data points from millions of visits, vital signs, orders and more to identify which hospice patients are most likely to transition within seven to 12 days. Equipped with that information, hospice providers can more appropriately schedule care intervals and levels to best serve their patients, their families and enhance hospice care quality.

"This tool provides the clinical team with additional insights they need to identify a patient's final days,” said St. Croix Hospice’s chief medical officer, Dr. Andrew Mayo. “Anything that enables us as caregivers to positively intervene earlier—=at a critical and intimate point in a hospice patient's life—is of utmost value."

The technology comes as a solution to some of the industry’s most central challenges.

For instance, in March 2019 MedPAC emphasized the lack of increase in Service Intensity Add-on (SIA) payments. According to the report, the lack of SIA payments highlights hospice's failure to provide additional care in the last seven days of life.

Additionally, in October 2019, the government accountability organization (GOA) reported what they identified as hospice's biggest misses. One of which pertains to the level of care a hospice patient receives in his or her final days. According to the report, “83 providers (80 for-profits and three non-profits) did not have hospice staff (such as nurses, physicians, or nurse practitioners) visit beneficiaries within the last three days of their life—a critical time in providing quality care, according to researchers GAO interviewed.”

Muse predicts when a patient is seven to 12 days from transitioning. From there, it alerts clinical supervisors when a patient would benefit from additional scheduled skilled visits. The clinical supervisor can then easily schedule the appropriate visits in their EMR. The solution enhances care coordination, communication and end-of-life care quality by ensuring the right cadence and level of care in a patient’s final days.

Muse’s model achieves unparalleled performance by learning from each additional patient visit and outcome. The science is considered a true deep learning neural network—the only one of its kind in the hospice space.

“It’s our mission to equip clinicians with world-class analytics to ensure every hospice patient transitions with unparalleled quality and dignity,” said Muse chairman, Tom Maxwell. “Hospice is a vital care service that when done well, is a godsend to so many.”

Muse is the brainchild of three impassioned industry veterans:

  • Jennifer Maxwell—Co-founder of leading home health and hospice consulting firm, Maxwell Healthcare Associates and former state industry executive.
  • Bryan Mosher—Data scientist and creator of one of the industry’s first predictive technologies.
  • Tom Maxwell—Home health and hospice tech leader and hospice agency investor.

“When looking at the data in the hospice space, it was apparent that we could be doing more for patients, “said Muse CEO and data scientist, Bryan Mosher. “In further analyzing industry trends and provider needs with Jennifer and Tom, we knew we could create something that could exponentially improve the patient’s experience and the provider’s business model.”

“Muse came about because together we saw the challenges in the hospice space first-hand and wanted to do something about it,” said Muse president, Jennifer Maxwell. “Hospice patients deserve the best. Muse gives them the gift of living their final days to their fullest. I’m so thrilled to bring this capability to our industry, its patients and their families.”

Visit musehc.com for more information.