1. Provider Investment Case Study
HealthXL | April 2018
1
Boston Children’s
Hospital & Circulation

2. 2
INSIDER CASE
STUDY
CASESTUDY-BOSTONCHILDREN'S
HOSPITAL:CIRCULATION
Circulation provides a Digital Platform to coordinate
convenient and reliable non-emergency transportation for all
areas of healthcare.
In July 2017 Boston Children’s Hospital participated in the
$10.5M Series A funding round alongside Intermountain
Healthcare Innovation Fund and Humana among others.
Read on to learn more about the investment and partnership
between Boston Children's Hospital and Circulation.

3. 3
The Team
The Circulation team is comprised of 20+ individuals from Boston Children’s
Hospital and beyond. The founding team includes:
● John Brownstein, PhD (co-founder)
● Jared Hawkins, PhD (CTO, co-founder)
● Robin Heffernan, PhD (CEO, co-founder)
Collaborations
Circulation collaborates with a variety of partners, including transportation
companies, investors, and health systems.
● Transportation Partners include Uber and Lyft. ​
● Investors include Flare Capital Partners, Providence Service
Corporation, Echo Health Ventures, Intermountain Healthcare
Innovation Fund, Humana, and NextGen Venture Partners.
● Currently, Circulation services over 1000+ health facilities across the
US, in 44 states, including: Boston Children’s Hospital, Mercy Health
System, and Nemours Children’s Health System.
John Brownstein, PhD is a global leader in
HCIT and, in particular, the emerging fields
of informatics and big data analytics. He
runs a 50-person multi-disciplinary team
focused on digital innovations that span
clinicians and consumers. His group is
supported by a multi-million dollar budget
including grants from NIH, USAID, DoD,
IARPA, CDC, Google, Skoll and Gates
Foundation. His work has pioneered
‘digital epidemiology’- utilizing diverse
digital data sources to understand
population health. His work is published in
over 150 peer-reviewed papers, all
focused on new methods and applications
in digital health. This work was recognized
by the White House with the Presidential
Early Career Award for Scientists and
Engineers.
John Brownstein
Chief Innovation Officer
Boston Children’s Hospital
INSIDER CASE
STUDY
CASESTUDY-BOSTONCHILDREN'S
HOSPITAL:CIRCULATION

4. PATIENT
SATISFACTION
4.9/5
AVERAGE RATING
COST SAVINGS
UP TO 70%
SAVINGS ON RIDE
COSTS
ON-TIME
APPOINTMENTS
95%
INCLUDING WAITING
FOR PATIENTS
NO-SHOW
8%
COMPARED TO
INDUSTRY 20-25%
4
Success Metrics
● Circulation has achieved several key financial metrics. Institutions
participating with Circulation see transportation cost savings of up to
70%.
● Similarly, institutions participating with Circulation report an 8% no-show
rate, compared to an industry average of 20% - 25%.
● Circulation has also achieved several key health outcomes. 95% of
patients arrive to appointments on time to institutions participating with
Circulation.
John Brownstein, PhD is a global leader in
HCIT and, in particular, the emerging fields
of informatics and big data analytics. He
runs a 50-person multi-disciplinary team
focused on digital innovations that span
clinicians and consumers. His group is
supported by a multi-million dollar budget
including grants from NIH, USAID, DoD,
IARPA, CDC, Google, Skoll and Gates
Foundation. His work has pioneered
‘digital epidemiology’- utilizing diverse
digital data sources to understand
population health. His work is published in
over 150 peer-reviewed papers, all
focused on new methods and applications
in digital health. This work was recognized
by the White House with the Presidential
Early Career Award for Scientists and
Engineers.
John Brownstein
Chief Innovation Officer
Boston Children’s Hospital
INSIDER CASE
STUDY
CASESTUDY-BOSTONCHILDREN'S
HOSPITAL:CIRCULATION

5. 5
Transferable Learnings for Future Successes:
Lesson One:
● Consumers want to consume health care. Circulation, which has partnered with
Uber and Lyft, reports an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 from extensive user feedback.
This is, in large part, a result of the convenience and ease that Circulation brings
to healthcare logistics.
“Patients and providers expect the same service that they receive outside healthcare –
namely convenience, quality, and reliability,” says Robin Heffernan, PhD, Circulation CEO
and Co-Founder.
Lesson Two:
● Social barriers can inspire healthcare tech. Iora Health, a Circulation client, is
scaling the Circulation platform to a national level. “A key way to ensure that older
adults can make progress on their health goals is by removing significant social
determinant barriers such as reliable transportation,” says Duncan Reece, Senior Vice
President and General Manager for Iora Health.
● Lesson Three: Create a track record of success. Circulation recently announced Lyft
as a partner. Robin Heffernan, PhD, Circulation CEO and Co-Founder, recognizes Lyft
as a “collaborative partner with a track record demonstrating a strong commitment to
the healthcare space.” Relationships with strong, successful partners have enabled
Circulation to scale rapidly, demonstrated by the 1,000+ healthcare facilities supported
by Circulation and the recent closing of a $10.5 million series A round of funding.
John Brownstein, PhD is a global leader in
HCIT and, in particular, the emerging fields
of informatics and big data analytics. He
runs a 50-person multi-disciplinary team
focused on digital innovations that span
clinicians and consumers. His group is
supported by a multi-million dollar budget
including grants from NIH, USAID, DoD,
IARPA, CDC, Google, Skoll and Gates
Foundation. His work has pioneered
‘digital epidemiology’- utilizing diverse
digital data sources to understand
population health. His work is published in
over 150 peer-reviewed papers, all
focused on new methods and applications
in digital health. This work was recognized
by the White House with the Presidential
Early Career Award for Scientists and
Engineers.
John Brownstein
Chief Innovation Officer
Boston Children’s Hospital
INSIDER CASE
STUDY
CASESTUDY-BOSTONCHILDREN'S
HOSPITAL:CIRCULATION

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