Fast funding and sale roundup for Thursday/Friday

August 15, 2013 | by

A quick summary of news on both recent funding, another recently released funding analysis to add to the pile and sales–one completed, one potential:

  • The StartUp Health accelerator is now producing its independent analysis of health tech funding deals, presumably to catch the fire of RockHealth’s recognized quarterly report [TTA 9 July]. The July 2013 Digital Health Insights Funding Report is available in Slideshare format on their website with the most reported news being the 47 percent year-over-year growth to date, contrasting to RockHealth’s 12 percent, though the difference in all three may be the sampling. Practice management, big data and body computing/sensors lead the trends, according to their summary.
  • What is intriguing in the July deals is the whopping $40 million Series A funding of Oscar, which will integrate telemedicine (presumably consults) and free generic medications to its members in New York State, where they’ve stated they will be integrated into the Health Exchange in NY State. One wonders how they plan to do so on insurance exchanges which haven’t even started yet and which will be having their own challenges being a retail platform for health plans. Not unexpectedly you’ll find Khosla Ventures and Thrive Capital on the roster. MedSynergies led with a $65 million Series A for their software which will facilitate hospital networks performance monitoring of practices and provider referrals/scheduling. Internationally, Withings raised a $30 million Series A in July. MedCityNews also delves deeper into what they see as trends.
  • Fitbit just raised an additional $43 million to add to their previous $23 million. While they are still lagging fitness monitoring rival Jawbone UP by $84 million, rumors abound on what Fitbit plans to do with it: a more fully featured smartwatch? Additional apps to keep their user base engaged?–at the risk of overcomplication?   Fortune, TechCrunch
  • Toronto-based Diversinet closed their sale to New Jersey-based IMS Health for what seems like a small amount: (US)$3.5 million. Its MobiSecure technology provides government-security level mobile app security to customers such as AirStrip and the US Army. However, they were embroiled in early days in a breakup with a mobile provider, AllOne Health, and despite all their high-level tech clearances, the income realized, according to Mobihealthnews, was only in the $1 million range per year and declining and losses increasing. IMS Health is best known for its healthcare informatics, but has been involved with Ford’s in-car SYNC in development of the Allergy Alert app [TTA 7 Aug 12].
  • The ‘For Sale’ sign is also up at BlackBerry, with a corporate committee now officially exploring alliances and a sale, in the usual depressing drill. In a company once ubiquitous enough for smartphone usage to be dubbed ‘Crackberry’, and which still enjoys major worldwide market share and enterprise favor, they cannot get traction with new models. This Editor never used or liked BB, but it’s still kind of sad. ZDNet.

For NY health techies–here’s an accelerator roundup

August 15, 2013 | by

A sure sign that Silicon Alley in NYC is actually moving beyond the focus on shopping/retail and gaming to support early-stage companies in health tech is in this AlleyWatch guide to 14 accelerators, some of which are exclusively focused on health tech companies but others which may accept the right idea. It should be noted that both Blueprint Health and StartUp Health (with GE Ventures) have moved beyond the angel-funded to more ‘mature’ companies [TTA 15 July]. NY Digital Health Accelerator is a joint initiative of New York eHealth Collaborative and Partnership Fund for New York City [TTA 23 May]. But those without an exclusive focus on financial services or education (for instance), such as NYC SeedStart, Women Innovate Mobile and Founder Institute, may be viable alternatives to the Blueprint-StartUp-NYDHA nexus. It also balances out the fact that NYC is an expensive place to be a startup–only a little less so than SF. Hint, hint UK, European, Israeli and Latin American entrepreneurs–set up shop in NY, and the Coke and a slice (pizza, that is) is on Editor Donna! 14 New York-Based Accelerators to Help You Launch Your Company

Health tech growing in Brazil

August 15, 2013 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Saude.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]We hear relatively little about health tech developments in Latin America–and in a region with huge healthcare needs and population at all income levels, it has great potential. EmpreenderSaúde (roughly ‘to undertake health’) is looking to change that with events (including Meetups, Twitter @EmpreenderSaude and a Facebook page) that present local healthcare entrepreneurs and help to educate them on both business and healthcare. This report on their 6 August meeting features diagnostic medicine company Grupo Fleury and Projeto Dom, an initiative supporting not-for profit healthcare organizations; Saútil, a online information site providing information on Brazil’s public healthcare system; healthy food company Natue; and Medicinia which is a secure website for physicians to follow-up with their patients. The face of the rising stars on the EmpreenderSaúde website

ITALIA Project Launch Event (UK)

August 12, 2013 | by

18th September 2013, The Oculus, The Gateway, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury   10am to 5pm

Unfortunately not a Ferrari in your driveway, the ITALIA (Innovative Telehealth and Assisted Living Ideas and Applications) Project initiated by Buckinghamshire New University’s institute, the Centre of Excellence for Telehealth and Assisted Living (CETAL),  is a public/private year-long initiative to develop the telehealth applications of the future. The kickoff event will bring together companies with products, ideas or technologies, clinicians and commissioners from organizations such as Buckinghamshire Business First (BBF) and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. More information here (PDF download) and Bucks New University News. Admittance is free but registration on Eventbrite is requested. Our Contributing Editor Charles Lowe is scheduled to be a speaker. Hat tip to reader Stephanie Carrington of BBF.

‘Wired for health’, making case for mHealth

August 12, 2013 | by

STSI (Scripps Translational Science Institute), directed by the famous Eric Topol, MD,  is undertaking a 200-person six-month research study to determine the results of telehealth monitoring for three conditions (diabetes, heart arrhythmia and high blood pressure) coupled with an active disease management program. Half of the survey group will receive a Withings Blood Pressure Monitor, an AliveCor Heart Monitor and an iBGStar Blood Glucose Meter delivered via Qualcomm Life’s 2net Hub and Platform to a web portal or mobile device; the remainder will not but will be part of the disease management program. Subjects will be drawn from Scripps Health employees and family, which to this Editor may be stacking the deck–most employees of a health system presumably are health-conscious.  Participants also include Scripps Health, HealthComp (third-party healthcare administrator which will monitor health status), Accenture and Sanofi Diabetes. Though the release promises ‘social networks’, the only reference this Editor could find is interactivity between the person and the health care team.  Scripps press release. MedCityNews  Hat tip to former QuietCare colleague José Molina (via LinkedIn)

FDA publishes medical device interoperability standards (US)

August 8, 2013 | by | 1 Comment

While FDA is still dithering about issuing draft guidance on mHealth, it looks like medical device manufacturers can break out the champs, because FDA has now recognized 25 standards on medical device interoperability and cybersecurity. According to Bakul Patel of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health at FDA, “Making sure devices are interoperable requires the creation, validation, and recognition of standards that help manufacturers develop products that are harmonious and can “plug and play.” It’s an alphabet soup of industry standard abbreviations–IEEE, ANSI, AAMI, ISO, IEC and ASTM–and it’s purely voluntary, but various groups such as Continua and AAMI (Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation) have praised this ‘first step’, and being published, it is now open for comment.

According to the Continua LinkedIn group announcement from Executive Director Chuck Parker, the 25 standards can be grouped into three categories:

  1. Risk management standards for a connected and networked environment
  2. Interoperability standards that establish nomenclature, frameworks and medical device specific communications and including system and software lifecycle processes
  3. Cyber security standards from the industrial control area most relevant to medical devices.

As the FierceHealthIT article cited, interoperability failure is a top 10 health technology hazard according to the ECRI Institute.  One can hope the new standards can be applied retroactively to current devices which are not being patched and updated because manufacturers fear running afoul of FDA clearance regulations and counter that ‘discouragement’. [TTA 8 Aug] AAMI News, Federal Register 6 August, FDA Voice (blog article by Bakul Patel)

The five-point digital health checkup meets the FBQs

August 8, 2013 | by

Checking up on some of the issues that the D3H crowd (Digital Health Hypester Horde) tends to skip merrily by, Dan Munro’s analysis hits several nails on the head and then some, with his points touching on our FBQs–the Five Big Questions*–we first outlined exactly three years ago (integration was added last year).

  1. Who has the rights to your data? You or only your doctor? (#3) And why not you?
  2. Need drastically improved standards of safety and security in devices. From those black hatted device hackers to the lack of updates by manufacturers and FDA‘s apparent discouragement–it may not be an an FBQ, but it impacts #5, data integration.
  3. Accuracy. Are these devices accurate or only ‘kinda’? How do you play off accuracy versus convenience?
  4. Privacy–what about it? Business models call for sale of ‘de-identified’ data which can be tracked back and re-identified. (#1) And what does your activity say about you-ooooo? (#3)
  5. The business model. Aside from who’s paying for the device and how much (#1, #2), #3 is still there–who’s looking at the data if you purchased the kit? And who’s liable for interpretation–and errors?

5 Point Digital Health Checkup (Forbes)

* The Five Big Questions (FBQs)–who pays, how much, who’s looking at the data, who’s actioning it, how data is integrated into patient records. 

FDA’s discouraging role in medical device security

August 8, 2013 | by

According to a Wall Street Journal report (unfortunately firewalled), hospitals are pointing a very long finger at medical device manufacturers for not updating software and leaving devices open to breaches. Yet the manufacturers readily cite FDA’s most recent guidance as prohibiting software updates and security patches without resubmitting their devices for approval–something a spokesperson for the FDA denies as long as the update is for cybersecurity only. If the draft guidance issued in June is actually finalized, it will go the distance in helping manufacturers and hospitals. Hospitals Say Device Manufacturers Resist Boosting Cybersecurity (iHealthBeat)

Big data in healthcare’s Tower of Babel: interview with Eric Topol

August 8, 2013 | by

A short interview in iHealthBeat with Eric Topol, MD, Lydon Newmann of Impact Advisors and Lee Pierce from Intermountain Healthcare shows the bright side of business intel/’big data’. All that structured and unstructured data collected on individuals can be put to good use by data warehousing and analysis–a success story is Intermountain’s reduction of induced births from 30 percent to 5 percent. Yet the wins outlined are single system. Eric Topol agrees with this Editor that “The problem that exists is they lack any ability to transfer information from one to the next. There’s no interoperability. So we have a Tower of Babel.” Audio (and a dissenting comment) here, PDF transcript here.

Microsoft Kinect now as sign language translator

August 8, 2013 | by

The versatility of Microsoft Kinect continues to astound, with uses ranging from human rehab/physical therapy to equipping robots with anticipatory powers for your drink to Ellie the Virtual Analyst. Add sign language translation to this list. The latest is Chinese sign language simultaneous translation via Kinect that will permit deaf and hearing individuals to understand each other. Sign languages are their own entity with grammar and rules that make the spoken/written language nearly foreign to the user. The system developed by Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Computing Technology and Microsoft Research Asia joins the one developed for American Sign Language last year. Wired.co.uk  Hat tip to Toni Bunting, TTA and TANN Ireland.

Digital Health Days (Sweden)

August 8, 2013 | by

21-22 August 2013, Stockholmsmässan, Stockholm, Sweden

If you prefer to cool off from summer’s heat in Stockholm, the first annual Digital Health Days is “designed to provide the perfect mix of visionary expert panels, learning workshops and demonstrations of real solutions.” It is both a conference and exhibition–and looks to be diverse based on the program (in English). Speakers include Don Jones of Qualcomm, IBM hosting a presentation on Watson and certainly a different mix of companies. Events include a health hackathon and the Digital Health B2B meeting sponsored by the Stockholm Business Region Development; pre-organized one-to-one meetings bring together partners and investors for European companies. (Registration for this only is here and free).  Website, registration

Connected Health Symposium 2013

August 7, 2013 | by

24-25 October 2013, Boston Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center

The Connected Health Symposium is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in a new venue and with the theme “Collaborations and Innovations to Engage Patients and Elevate Care.”  It will likely draw the 1,500 or so attendees it has in recent years. It is a round robin of interesting seminars (almost too much) as well as continuing with “TED-style keynotes, book signings, debates, interviews, probing panels, innovative product demos and plentiful networking opportunities”.  Based on the speaker list, what will also carry over is an emphasis on Washington policy, hospital and payer issues. Preliminary agenda is here and registration information here. Organized by Partners HealthCare Center for Connected Health.

Note: Early bird discount of $200 expires on 15 August.

New England Home Healthcare Consortium Summit 2013

August 7, 2013 | by

3-5 November 2013, Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut

To meet the rapidly expanding challenges and needs of baby boomers, nationally recognized industry experts on home healthcare, aging, and emerging technology will gather for the region’s first-ever New England Home Healthcare Consortium Summit . Seven speakers will share their insights and provide solutions to prepare the industry to effectively address such critical issues as increasing cost pressures, the affects on families and friends, as well as baby boomer demands for expanded care needs, including new technologies. The agenda is here, and largely on aging and care issues although speaker Greg Wellems, CEO of Imagine! in Boulder, Colorado, an organization which serves the cognitive and developmentally disabled, will speak on the role of technology in improving support. The Monday opening keynoter, Alexis Abramson, has also been a fan of health tech since early days in 2006 (she covered this Editor’s former company with one of the earliest major media stories on QuietCare). Website, registration   Hat tip to reader Laura Abbott

First ‘Lucky Thirteen’ StartUp Health/GE program company sold

August 7, 2013 | by

Breaking News

One of the ‘Lucky Thirteen’ companies, Arpeggi, which entered the joint StartUp Health/GE Ventures program back in April [TTA 4 Apr], has been sold to another early-stage company in the genetics analytics, data management and diagnostic space, Gene by Gene. It is the first acquisition of one of the joint program companies and according to StartUp Health spokesperson Nicole Kinsey, “this is a strong sign of how well the program is is working to accelerate and scale digital health startups. This new combined company will be a major competitor to companies like 23andme and will really offer the consumer market much greater access and affordability to DNA testing and sequencing services.” The Arpeggi group and tech platform will be incorporated fully into Gene by Gene, and according to Unity Stoakes, President of StartUp Health, the latter will now enter the StartUp Health/GE Ventures program. Release (PDF)

Systems sharing data, still behaving badly

August 7, 2013 | by

A straight-shooting article in Healthcare Technology Online provides a overview of the EHR and Health Information Exchange (HIE) mess in the US. Essentially our major EHR systems (Cerner, McKesson, athenahealth, Greenway, Epic) don’t interchange data well, if at all–and the 600-odd practice EHRs were built on siloed designs, existing software and used proprietary formats, often in a rush to take advantage of Federal subsidy programs in Stage 1 Meaningful Use–as HTO’s EIC Ken Congdon stated, “electronic filing cabinets”–and heavily outsourced. Well, it’s now ‘uh-oh’ time as a key part of Stage 2 MU is interoperability. Basically we now have a set of what this Editor would term ‘paste ons’ and ‘add-ins’ to facilitate data exchange between systems that speak different languages (Editor’s emphasis):

…direct protocol (a standards-based method for allowing participants to send authenticated and secure messages via the National Health Information Network), as well as those developed by HL7 (Health Level Seven), a nonprofit global health IT standards organization, provide EHR users with the building blocks for exchanging data. Blue Button, an application developed by the VA that allows patients to download their own health records, is also being adopted and manipulated by EHR vendors and independent developers as a way for providers to exchange data between systems. Moreover, regional and state-run HIEs offer healthcare providers in several parts of the country a network they can join (and technology infrastructure they can leverage) to share health data with other HIE members.

Some systems work well–EHR and pharmacy systems seem to. However, EHR to EHR interfaces are up to the provider and are expensive. Sharing/translation does not mean that all information makes it over without getting ‘bruised’ or having to be reentered manually.  HIEs, acting as a focal point for data exchange, are also generally non-profit; the exchange platforms cost millions to develop and further millions to maintain–and buy-in is low, as the article states. Fixing The EHR Interoperability Mess (free registration may be required)

(Updated 8/7 pm for Editor Donna’s POV) This is what happens when you rush adoption and development processes that should take years in order to gain quick subsidy money, and non-healthcare entities (that is you, the US Government) encouraged this, distorting the process. The private and public waste of scarce healthcare funds is appalling, and the disruption to the healthcare system is unforgivable–especially in practices where doctors and managers in many cases have been sold a bill of goods, and they are revolting by changing EHRs, going back to paper or retiring. And the Government should look to itself first. Look no further than to the multiple failures of two branches of the US government, Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, which have the responsibility for current and veteran members of our Armed Services. They have failed spectacularly in serving Those Who Have Served not only the integration of their two EHRs but also in updating their basic architecture [TTA 27 July ‘Pondering the Squandering’… and 3 Apr ‘Behind the Magic 8 Ball’ both review the sad details.] The belief that HIEs with limited funding will solve the interoperability problem is Magic Thinking. At least one move in this direction makes sense: the CommonWell Alliance of six EHR heavy hitters to work on ‘data liquidity’ [TTA 5 Mar announced at HIMSS], but this may be another ‘uh-oh’ and face saving.

With basic, necessary health and patient information stuck in systems and getting lost in translation, how can anyone rationally expect that personal data from telehealth devices will be integrated anytime soon, in any meaningful way? Does this mean that parallel, separate systems and platforms will continue to develop–and yet another wave of integration?  

Alere Connect gains FDA approval for MobileLink

August 7, 2013 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/topper-mobilelink1-1140×180.jpg” thumb_width=”175″ /]We had been surprised at how quiet Alere Connect, the former MedApps, has been since its acquisition a year ago. Their latest news is that their newest and quite streamlined gateway hub, Alere MobileLink, has received FDA clearance to add to its recent CE Mark certification, clearing it for introduction in both US and Europe later this year. The US announcement also indicates that it will be packaged with Alere’s INRatio 2 PT/INR Monitor as part of home patient monitoring of anticoagulant medications programs through Alere Home Monitoring. This Editor notes that anticoagulant monitoring is ‘high-value’ and for remote monitoring, fairly different. Like the earlier MedApps HealthPal, it is also ‘vendor neutral’ compatible with multiple telehealth devices for glucose meters, weight scales, blood pressure monitors and pulse oximeters. Much of the emphasis of the new Alere Connect is how it integrates tightly with Alere’s programs and Connected Health informatics, care management and accountable care solutions, which is confirmed by CEO Kent Dicks’ quote included in the release: “The Alere Connected Health platform has the ability to connect flexibly with devices and systems regardless of their manufacturer and origin. The platform captures and analyzes data with robust analytics, and then backs it up with comprehensive health management services.” No information on rollout in UK or Europe. Release.

For long-time followers of MedApps, their HealthPal wireless hub is still being supported by Alere but will not at this point be integrated with INR monitoring. Also pending FDA clearance is a home health information tablet, Alere HomeLink.

Flashback: Integration of devices with service delivery providers was a major point brought up in our discussion of the MedApps acquisition value back in January, What a telehealth device company may be worth.  “What may be a better way is that device developers joint venture themselves from the start with health or service providers. And that those already seeking financing seek provider partners.”–Editor Donna