Ascertain Secures $10 Million for Agentic AI Platform Scaling via Series A Funding

Today, Ascertain, a healthcare technology business that uses AI to empower care teams, received $10 million in Series A fundraising. Deerfield Management led the financing round, with Northwell Health playing a strategic role. In order to provide better patient care, quicker care journeys, and more economical care delivery throughout the healthcare system, the investment will quicken the expansion and increase access to Ascertain’s AI-powered solutions.

Ascertain’s AI-powered case management solution, designed for payers, independent provider groups, and health systems, streamlines time-consuming processes so that case managers may concentrate more on enhancing the effectiveness and caliber of patient care. Ascertain increases productivity and makes it possible for teams who were previously understaffed to function more successfully by managing administrative duties including documentation, prior authorizations, and compliance. Up to 60% of case managers’ time is spent on manual administrative duties, which leaves less time for high-impact activities like managing high-risk patients and creating care plans. Health organizations are finding it challenging to meet patient demands due to a severe labor shortage, with over 100,000 unfilled vacancies for administrative and case management positions in the US.

Julian Harris, M.D., Operating Partner, Healthcare Services at Deerfield Management, stated that Ascertain sets itself apart by “using artificial intelligence to reimagine healthcare workflows from the ground up, rather than just making existing workflows more efficient.” “The company is bringing new and improved ways to care for patients, as well as increased efficiency and decreased friction for partners.”

With the help of its centralized transitions-of-care administration team, Ascertain has been producing impressive results for Northwell Health. By launching a pilot program to handle authorizations, the company demonstrated how Ascertain can free up more staff members’ time to concentrate on patient care rather than administrative duties.

“At a time when clinicians and team members are faced with increasing administrative burden and manual work, Ascertain’s ability to automate and streamline workflows allows for focus to be redirected towards patients and their families rather than tasks,” said Mark Solazzo, President of Strategic Initiatives and Chief Operating Officer at Northwell Health. “This collaboration has demonstrated that Ascertain’s technology effectively addresses the unique challenges of complex healthcare organizations. Building on the experience with Northwell, Ascertain is well positioned to partner with fellow health systems to drive greater efficiency and improve patient care.”

Northwell Health is a part of the Aegis Digital Consortium, which consists of 11 top health systems working together to create and expand AI-enabled technology solutions, including Ascertain, to address the most urgent quality, cost, and equality issues in healthcare.

Mark Michalski, M.D., the CEO of Ascertain, offers extensive experience at the nexus of technology and healthcare from his work at Amazon, Butterfly Network, Hyperfine Research, and Mass General Brigham. The Ascertain team has improved and modified their agentic AI solution under Mark’s direction such that it is adaptable, simple to implement, and compatible with current processes and systems. Mark will remain with Ascertain and take on the role of Chief Information Officer at Deerfield Management as the business grows. Ascertain will relocate to Deerfield’s offices in New York City, Cure.

“Developing and implementing AI solutions is essential to increasing operational efficiencies, reducing the administrative load on payers and providers, and facilitating information sharing,” Michalski stated. Working together with Deerfield, Northwell, and Aegis gives Ascertain access to a variety of data, workflows, and distribution channels, which we think will help healthcare professionals become even more efficient.

Amidst severe staffing shortages, case managers frequently struggle with disjointed systems and fragmented processes as they work to guarantee that every patient receives the appropriate care at the appropriate time. To ensure that patients receive the right care at the right time, Ascertain empowers case managers by giving them a single interface to manage communications with payers and clinical teams, surfacing the critical medical information they need for conversations with patients and their loved ones, and automating time-consuming, manual tasks like navigating portals and filling out forms.