Sarasota startup targets health industry

SARASOTA — Steven Rothman, the co-creator of the Rothman Index, has launched a new firm, Alive Sciences.

In a statement the company said it will use the startup to market the Florence Rothman Patient Monitoring Index to non-acute health care providers, such as continuous care retirement centers, skilled nursing homes and home health care agencies.

According to the company, the Rothman Index comprises information from a patient's health indicators, such as vital signs and nursing assessments, and forms a score that helps health care professionals understand a patient's condition at a glance. The company said the index can help detect subtle changes in a patient's condition that may affect his or her care.

The Rothman Index is used in more than 30 hospitals in the U.S., including the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital, Yale New Haven and Seattle's Children's Hospital.

Rothman, is a former MIT think tank analyst and director of research for the Florence A. Rothman Institute, a nonprofit research foundation.