The CES circus opens its largest tent yet in health tech, AI, 5G, and more

January 8, 2020 | by

CES kicked off today in Las Vegas (7 Jan), taking over the town in multiple locations, and will be making news through Friday 10 January. Like the circus, there are three health tech ‘rings’ at CES this year: Accessibility, Digital Health (Digital Health Summit), and Fitness and Wearables.

  • Digital Health Summit over the two days of its conference has shifted focus from the gadgets and wearables of their past conferences to prevention, health data, voice tech, machine learning, AI, bioelectronics (low current devices for treatment), behavioral health, and passive monitoring. There’s also a soupçon of star power with Katie Couric and Dr. Mehmet Oz, and some Grizzled Pioneer speakers and moderators such as Laurie Orlov, Chris Otto, Sean Slovenski, and Jane Sarasohn-Kahn. The Digital Health Summit is itself a Grizzled Pioneer as it goes back at CES to 2013–and my, how the players have changed. (Whatever happened to Sonny Vu?)
  • The Wearables Tech Summit is about the form and function of wearables, plus VR, AR (augmented reality), and of course Peleton.
  • Accessibility is sadly a mismatch (mish-mash?) of home networks, 5G, IoT, and a pitch competition.

What’s big? 5G, AI anything, and autonomous vehicles. What’s faded in the stretch? Robots.

Back to health tech…here’s some highlights:

  • Philips has several new or tweaked products at CES this year
    • A smart version of the Sonicare toothbrush that collects and shares real-time toothbrushing data. The BrushSmart program works with Delta Dental of California to analyze the data for insights into oral care. Users get benefits such as exclusive dental care offers, the Philips Sonicare ExpertClean toothbrush and free brush heads when they brush regularly.
    • The Avent mother and childcare app adds a new feature called Baby+ to track baby’s growth and receive ongoing advice specific to each stage of their baby’s development.
    • The SmartSleep system adds the SmartSleep Deep Sleep Headband 2 to actively improve deep sleep with features such as Fall Asleep Sounds, SmartAlarm, and the SleepMapper app. Release
  • OMRON is adding to its heart monitoring services with HeartGuide, the first wearable blood pressure monitor, and Complete, the first wearable that combines a blood pressure monitor and EKG. The company is also launching this summer a heart health coaching and incentive app, OMRON Connect 2.0, that states it changes behavior, combining its two existing apps HeartAdvisor and OMRON Connect. Release
  • Withings’ newest is the ScanWatch which will be able to take an ECG and monitor for sleep apnea. The ECG has three leads on the watch on the side of the watch’s bezel and an SpO2 sensor to monitor apneic episodes and oxygen saturation. FDA and CE approval are pending, and when released later this year will cost $249 to $299 depending on size.  ZDNet
  • ZDNet and TechRepublic have a running special feature on CES’ big trends for business. The annoyance factor you’ll have to endure is the running CBS commercials for various programs.
  • Mobihealthnews rounds up interesting devices and software such as the Nanit baby sleeping bag that monitors an infant’s breathing, Reliefband’s low current anti-nausea band, Samsung’s Ballie rolling robot plus collaborations with Kaiser Permanente (cardiac rehab) and IrisVision (low vision/macular degeneration assistance), and more.
  • John Lynn, another Grizzled Pioneer, in Healthcare IT Today typically diverts from the mainstream coverage in spotlighting smaller companies in atypical areas. Examples are France’s Adok smart projector with the potential to be used collaboratively in practice offices, new connected apps for Neofect’s smart gloves for arm/hand rehab, two air filters to monitor both inside and outside air quality (as a social determinant of health!), Xenoma’s wired pajamas for fall detection, the Mateo bath mat which can measure weight and body mass, and a smart diaper from Smardii.

More to come in the next days!

Calling all pitchers! Join us at Baker Botts on 5th February for a great evening

December 18, 2019 | by

Baker Botts (UK) LLP, in association with the Digital Health & Care Alliance and Ascendant Corporate Finance, invites you to join them for the DHACA/HTF fourth annual pitch event on Wednesday 5 February 2020 at their London office close to Bank tube station. The evening will feature a number of healthtech/medtech sector companies presenting their business for five minutes each, followed by two minutes of Q&A from the audience and panel of funders. Prizes will be awarded by Baker Botts Partner, Neil Foster, to the most fundable company and best presentation (as voted on by the panel and audience). Attendance is free.

Stuart McKnight, Managing Director of Ascendant Corporate Finance, will be the keynote speaker and will discuss key venture investment trends in the digital health and medtech sectors including highlighting the biggest deals and the most active investors.

We are particularly keen to have the best companies pitching so if your company would like an opportunity to pitch at this event, please download a copy of the pitch form by clicking here and return it as soon as possible it to Abigail Brookes at abigail.brookes@bakerbotts.com and definitely by Friday 10 January 2020. This event is also a great opportunity to meet and network with like-minded people, organisations and investors.

In order to qualify to pitch, you should be a private company within the healthtech or medtech sector, seeking funding within the next year. Successful applicants will be informed no later than w/c 13 January 2020.

Finally just to add that the Digital Health and Care Alliance is also running our next DHACA Day at Baker Botts on 18th March – you can book here, now. The agenda is in active development so keep checking.

Call for abstracts extended: ISG’s 12th World Conference of Gerontechnology (Norway)

October 18, 2019 | by

ISG’s 12th World Conference of Gerontechnology, to be held on 18-20 May 2020 in Trondheim, Norway, has extended its call for conference abstracts to Friday 15 November. There are two types of abstracts:

  • Format No.1 – Free Paper, Poster, or an individual presentation as part of a symposium
  • Format No.2 – ONLY if you are the Convener of a Symposium

The link to the call for abstracts is here on their site. 

The conference will be held at the Clarion Hotel & Congress, located at Brattørkaia 1 in historic Trondheim. The conference theme is “Measures to achieve better quality of life and active healthy aging”. From the website, the conference “addresses the potential power of technology to both enhance quality of life older people and prevent age-related disabilities through health promotion. Technological solutions can also support independence and meaningful activities, and they can prevent loneliness, boredom and helplessness. This aligns with the main goals of gerontechnology which is divided into seven achievements: Satisfaction and enjoyment; Prevention; Support; Compensation; Caring; Care support; and Care organization.” More information is here. To register, see this page. Hat tip to Professor Anthea Tinker of the Institute of Gerontology, King’s College London.

News and event roundup: Amazon PillPack, Humana joins CTA, NH’s telemedicine go, Fitbit Lives Healthy in Singapore, supporting Helsinki’s older adults, events

September 12, 2019 | by

Now that we are past the unofficial end of summer, it’s time to spin that lasso and rope us some news.

Amazon’s PillPack loses a critical data partner. Electronic prescriptions clearinghouse Surescripts terminated their data contract with ReMy Health, which supplied PillPack with information on patients’ prescriptions. Surescripts found fraud in several areas of their relationship with ReMy Health including medication history, drug pricing, and insurance billing. Now PillPack has to obtain it the old-fashioned way–by asking the patient. This can lead to errors and inaccuracies in things like dosages and whether a drug is brand-name or generic. Now PillPack, in the lurch, is seeking a direct relationship with Surescripts. Seeking Alpha, CNBC

Health plan Humana is the first payer to join the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Humana has been building up his data analytics and digital health capabilities with new ‘studios’ in Boston and hiring USAA’s CTO.  It’s piloting an app for Medicare Advantage patients to connect them with pharmacists and medication management via Aspen RxHealth plus working on a virtual digital primary model with telemedicine provider Doctor on Demand. Fierce Healthcare

New Hampshire is joining the telemedicine reimbursement bandwagon, with its legislature and Gov. Sununu approving primary care providers and pediatricians to bill Medicaid and private insurance for telemedicine visits starting in January 2020. This also ties into rural telehealth. AP, Mobihealthnews. 

Internationally….Fitbit is partnering with Singapore’s Health Promotion Board (HPB) for the Live Healthy SG behavioral change program, based on the Fitbit Premium program, starting in late October. Mobihealthnews A-P   In Finland, Digital Service Center Helsinki is creating digital tools and virtual care systems to enable older adults to safely and independently live at home, including socialization to prevent loneliness. It’s a significant challenge as over 22 percent of Finland’s population is over 65. Mobihealthnews Europe-UK

Events:

The 9th International Digital Public Health Conference series (#DPH2019), 20-23 November, Marseille, France. This conference is billed as the digital health partner of the 12th European Public Health Conference and brings together the areas of public health, computer and data science, medtech, and NGOs. Conference information here.

Aging 2.0 New York Global Innovation Showcase 4 December, NYC. One of a series of global Aging 2.o events, startups will present aging-focused innovations. Want to pitch? It’s still open–apply here. Register to attend here. Additional information on this and on CREATE’s Design for Older Adults Workshop on 21-22 October at Weill Cornell is here.

 

News roundup: The state of Finland’s health tech, American Well-Cisco team for TV consults, Tech for Quality Care in Manchester 9 July

June 20, 2019 | by

Finland shows its sisu in health tech startups. It’s a country you wouldn’t think of readily as hospitable to startups, but they’ve leveraged their tech skills (think the pivots that Nokia has accomplished) to create patient outcome and remote patient monitoring companies that are making an impact in Europe. Some which are making an impact are Meru, Kaiku, and Navigil. Venture capital is ‘thinnish’ which leads to companies seeking seed and development funding from government sources and later on, foreign investors. Mobihealthnews is profiling these companies in conjunction with Business Finland, a government entity. HIMSS and Health 2.0 also had their European conference in Helsinki, and this article discusses how their national health service, Kanta Services, leverages digital health in e-prescribing, they have a national database called the Patient Data Repository that collect patient data records to make them accessible to providers and patients, and the My Kanta patient portal.

Back to the 1990s? Tech device maker Cisco is teaming up with American Well to convert TVs to a video portal via a set-top unit. This is targeted to older adults and those with multiple chronic conditions who may not be comfortable with laptops, tablets, or smartphones, but wouldn’t mind using their TV to connect to a doctor. How it work seems to require a ‘smart TV’–the patient would activate the device on the TV, connect it to Wi-Fi, and initiate the video consult with the doctor and caregiver. No information on timing, markets, or pricing at this time. CNBC. Why does this sound like a klutzy non-starter to this Editor, who went through the fad of interactive TV in the Mad ’90s? It seems to need more than just consults.  Mobihealthnews notes that Quil Health, a Comcast-Independence Blue Cross joint venture, is targeting pre- and post-care support through the TV. Comcast is also rumored to be working on an Alexa-like ambient sensor based device to monitor basic vital signs and fall detection.

Using Technology for Quality Care on 9 July is a free half-day conference/workshop at Kings House Conference Centre, Manchester. It is the first of a series of regional workshops in the North West region to learn from local areas where councils, care providers, and suppliers work together using technology to support care. More information is on this PDF and on the Local Government Association website. Hat tip to Reader Adrian Scaife who just recently joined Alcuris Ltd. as Business Development Manager.

Global news roundup: Italy’s digital health summer school, GSK Impact Awards, Propel@YH for Yorkshire & Humber digital health, Aging 2.0 engages seniors

May 23, 2019 | by

Smart Homes for Healthy Ageing, 24-27th June 2019, Artimino, Florence (Italy) might be just the thing as an learning adjunct to enhance your summer holiday. The four-day conference concentrates on supporting people living with dementia (PLwD). It is designed for early career researchers and delegates who are focusing on the research and development of smart homes and health services for PLwD. Registration deadline is 31 May. 2.5 ECTS equivalency and conducted in English. See the attached PDF for session information and the website for more detail on the conference. Hat tip to Cristiano Paggetti of the Medea Project via Editor Steve.

The King’s Fund, which is having its Digital Health and Care Congress as your Editor is writing this, announced on 16 May the outcome of one of its projects: the GSK IMPACT Awards to ten charities which have improved health and wellbeing. Each company receives a £30,000 donation, two places on a free training and development program, and an invitation to join the GSK IMPACT Awards Development Network with free meetings and events. The overall winner, Suffolk Carers, as the lead receives a bonus £10,000 to use in its work supporting unpaid carers of all ages across Suffolk. The other awardees are: The Children’s Sleep Charity,East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services,Grassroots Suicide Prevention, Healthy Minds, Off the Record Youth Counselling Croydon, Positive Life, Rape Crisis South London, Refugee and Migrant Centre Black Country and Birmingham, and Support in Mind Scotland. Nine runner-ups received a £3,000 donation. Congratulations to all!

Yorkshire & Humber AHSN (Academic Health Science Network) announced their first-ever digital health accelerator, Propel@ YH, at the ‘Transforming Lives Through Innovation’ Annual Conference 9 May in Leeds. It targets building a relevant business case for the NHS. The six finalists are DigiBete, Healthcare Engineering, HeteroGenius, Medicsen, Medicspot and Scaled Insights. The Leeds-based program is in partnership with mHabitat, an NHS-owned specialist and expert in the application of digital to health and care.

And closer to home, Aging 2.0 Atlanta and Kansas City are conducting a free webinar on Driving Senior Engagement with Education & Socialization on 30 May, 11am-12.30pm ET. From their notice, “Social isolation, loneliness, lack of engagement, a shrinking world and a diminished sense of purpose are all issues effecting (sic) seniors today.” Presenters are Lynne Beachner of Senior Learning Network and Amber Carroll of COVIA Well Connected.  More information here. Registration direct link. 

Next DHACA Day 9th July, London – seeking new members (psst–it’s free)

May 16, 2019 | by

DHACA, the Digital Health and Care Alliance, with some 850 members currently, is having a new membership drive among SMEs working in the UK’s digital health & care space, following the kind offering of new sponsorship by Kent Surrey and Sussex AHSN and UCL Partners. 

The organisation’s objective is to help members develop their innovative products and services commercially, to achieve successful sales to the NHS. DHACA works right across the UK.

If you aren’t a member, you can sign up here to ensure you are kept aware of important news and of DHACA events. Membership is entirely free and members’ details will of course never be passed on to any other organisation.

Whether or not you are currently a member, booking is now open for the next DHACA Day. This event is primarily aimed at informing members working in the digital health & care sector of the major recent changes they need to be aware of, and how best to navigate them to make greater sales to the NHS and other health & care organisations. There is a small charge of £30+VAT to provide lunch, otherwise all other costs will kindly be covered by the event Sponsors, Baker Botts, in whose premises at 41 Lothbury (the opposite side of the Bank of England to the Bank Tube) it will be held.

The draft agenda includes talks by Luke Pratsides, Clinical Lead, Digital Development, NHS England about NHSX, Sam Shah, Director of Digital Development at NHS England and James Maguire, Clinical Advisor in Digital Innovation & AI at NHSX on NHS England’s digital development strategy, Mark Salmon, Programme Director, NICE on their HealthTech Connect and Evidence Standards, Neil Foster, Partner, Baker Botts on Finance for digital health start-ups, Neil Coulson, Partner, Baker Botts, on IP protection and the GDPR, Rob Berry, Commercial Director, UCL Partners on how the AHSNs can help SMEs and much more. Neil McGuire, Clinical Director of Devices, MHRA, has also been invited to update attendees on MDR implementation – a most important topic.

DHACA is keen to get members’ views on how they’d like it to be organised and governed in order to deliver what members want, so there will be time in the middle of the day for this too.

Should be a great day!

(Disclosure: this Editor is also DHACA CEO) 

 

News, events roundup: FDA clears AliveCor’s first 6 lead ECG, Jawbone Health rises from ashes, Let’s Get Checked’s $30M check, Health Wildcatters’ $35M ‘how to’ breakfast

May 14, 2019 | by

AliveCor receives FDA clearance for KardiaMobile 6L, the first FDA-cleared personal 6-lead device. From the AliveCor release, the description: “In addition to the two electrodes on the top of the device, there is one additional electrode on the bottom. The user places her thumbs on each of the two top electrodes, and places the bottom electrode on her left knee or ankle. This formation, known in cardiology as the Einthoven Triangle, allows cardiologists to view electrical activity in the heart from six perspectives or “leads.”” The information is sent to the mobile device’s software including KardiaAI bradycardia and tachycardia detection features cleared recently for the single-lead KardiaBand, as well as deeper information into arrhythmias. The single-lead ECG space that AliveCor pioneered with first their snap-on then the KardiaBand is now crowded with the Apple Watch, Withings, and numerous others. It’s a big step forward for the company. AliveCor has opened pre-orders now at $149, to be delivered starting in June. Hat tip to co-founder Dr. Dave Albert. 9to5Mac, Biospace (release), Mobihealthnews. 

Save Your Jawbones, the Founder Rises Again. Yes, Jawbone founder Hosain Rahman just raised $64.5 million for a new company. The new outfit, dubbed Jawbone Health, will offer a “personalized subscription service where we take all of this continuous health data about you and we combine that with a lot of machine intelligence . . .” to prevent avoidable diseases. After having burnt to a crisp $1 billion over 10 years on wireless speakers and fitness bands, again Mr. Rahman goes into territory which isn’t exactly unique with the footprints of the aforementioned Apple Watches, Withings, Spry Health’s Loop, EarlySense, etc. But hey,  SignalFire and Refactor Capital in the Bay Area, Polymath Ventures and Meraas in Dubai like his style. Even TechCrunch is arching an eyebrow.

Let’s Get Checked checks in with $30 million raise. This NYC-based direct-to-home supplier and manufacturer of in-home test kits raised a $30 million Series B from Leerink Transformation Partners, Qiming Venture Partners USA, and Optum Ventures after last year’s $10 million Series A. Customers can order in-state physician-approved laboratory tests via LetsGetChecked.com or through partner retailers, including CVS, Walmart, Pharmaca, and McKesson online stores, with delivery in 1-2 days. Tests covering wellness, men’s and women’s health are processed by CLIA-certified reference labs with results sent to a secure online account in 2-5 days, with the customer referred to in-state physicians for interpretation of results and further action if needed. PrivaPath Diagnostics markets in the US, Canada, Ireland, and Europe. Release

Speaking of raising money, how about $35 million for your med device startup? Health Wildcatters is hosting one of their Pulse Health Startup Education Series breakfasts (7.30-9am) in Dallas on Tuesday 21 May with main speaker Ken Nelson from Bardy Diagnostics, which just had a $35.5 million Series B, presumably letting everyone in on the secret. Registration and more information here.

Events, dear friends, events in London from painting to leadership

May 10, 2019 | by

‘Framing the Future’, Paintings in Hospitals 60th Anniversary. Monday 13 May at 6pm, Royal College of Physicians

What is the past, present and future role of arts in health? Considering the past pioneers and future innovations of visual arts in health and social care is a panel including Edmund de Waal OBE (artist and author), Dr Errol Francis (CEO of Culture&), Dr Val Huet (CEO of the British Association of Art Therapists), Prof. Victoria Tischler (Professor of Arts and Health at the University of West London) and Ed Vaizey MP (Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing). This event is waitlisted, but was fascinating enough to warrant a mention.

HealthChat with Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England, Thursday 23 May at 5.30pm, The King’s Fund

Organized by UK Health Gateway, this evening with Ms. May will delve into issues such as workforce, her priorities, and how she will unite nurses in planning for the future? Tickets through Eventbrite are £19.95 – £39.95.

HealthChat with Rashik Parmar MBE. Monday 10 June at 5.30pm, The King’s Fund

Organized by UK Health Gateway, this evening with Mr. Parmar who is a Fellow of IBM, the leader of IBM’s European technical community and an IBM Distinguished Engineer will be about technology, data mapping, and AI. Tickets through Eventbrite are  £19.95 – £39.95.

Hat tip to Roy Lilley and his NHSManagers.net newsletter for the above three events

Ninth annual leadership and management summit. Wednesday 10 July starting 8am for the full day. The King’s Fund

The King’s Fund’s annual leadership event is for senior leaders in health and care organizations across the public, private and third sectors. Topics will be centered on leadership capabilities and cultures that enable teams to deliver better patient care and value for money, while also delivering continuous improvements to population health. Speakers include the Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP and Simon Stevens, CEO of NHS England. More information and registration here.

 

Events coming up soon–and in the autumn: Hunter College 13 May, Aging 2.0 London 21 May; NYeC’s November Gala, Connected Health Summit (16-18 Oct) poster call

May 7, 2019 | by

Health Tech and the FDA: What You Need To Know, Monday 13 May, from 5-7pm is a discussion on what you need to know if your health or medtech service or device needs FDA approval. The main presentation is by Rebecca Wood, Partner at Sidley Austin LLP and former Food and Drug Administration Chief Counsel, and moderated by Charles Platkin, PhD, JD, MPH, the co-executive director of the Hunter College Center for Health Technology. Tickets are free but registration is required here (Eventbrite). Location is Hunter College, 2180 Third Avenue @ 119th Street, Main Auditorium (on 2nd Floor), NYC. Hat tip to Sonia K. Gonzalez in the Health 2.0 NYC Community.

And in London 21 May, conveniently the evening before the Digital Health and Care Congress, warm up at Aging 2.0 London to learn how age-tech “Zebras” (Z) a/k/a businesses, can take advantage of age-tech advances and hear from a panel of five from start ups, investors and government on the opportunities, challenges and realities of the UK tech business. Hurry–the website indicates only 25 tickets left. London, 21 May, 5.30 pm at Google for Startups London Campus, 4-5 Bonhill Street London.

Save the date, and plan ahead! The New York eHealth Collaborative, a regional non-profit organization that promotes the integration of health information through exchanges (HIEs), hosts an annual Gala that is one of the major events on the local New York healthcare business calendar. This year, the Gala will be the evening of 20 November at the Edison Ballroom in Manhattan. Your Editor attended in 2017 (missed 2018) and it was a memorable event. It annually honors three to four national healthcare executives who are also leaders in healthcare technology. If you are at all engaged with healthcare systems and technology in the New York metro area, it’s worth your time and fisc to attend this event to be the company of over 250 C-suite executives, leaders, and policymakers. Gala and Awards website  

Your Editor still misses their conferences, the last of which was one of the best she ever attended in (unbelievably) 2016 [TTA 17 Jan 17]. In 2014, their conference was also the site of an epic Eric Topol/Ezekiel Emanuel ‘face-off’ of radically diverging visions. That was hard to top! Their Executive Director Valerie Gray shares NYeC updates on YouTube including updates on Federal health tech initatives: TEFCA enabling nationwide health information exchange, and two similar proposed rules from CMS and ONC on interoperability, both with comment periods ending in June. 

Call for Poster Abstracts starts 27 May for the Connected Health Conference in Boston 16-18 October. Now a joint presentation of PCHAlliance and Partners HealthCare, the Call for Abstracts for Posters starts on 27 May and ends 27 June. The 2019 theme is Designing for Healthy Habits and Better Outcomes. For more information and application, see here. Winners receive a complimentary registration to the conference for the presenting author and discounted tickets for co-authors. TTA has been a past media sponsor of both the Connected Health Conference and NYeC’s Digital Health Conference.

The King’s Fund Digital Health and Care Congress arrives soon on 22-23 May

May 1, 2019 | by

Less than two weeks and counting to The King’s Fund’s Digital Health and Care Congress on 22-23 May in London.

Keynote speakers include Tara Donnelly, Chief Digital Officer of NHS England (opening Wednesday) and The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (closing keynote on Thursday). General session panels and breakout session speakers include social care professionals, private sector executives, NHS managers, academics, and public policy makers. There’s breakout sessions aplenty on diverse topics, including four (W2A, W3A, T2C, T3C) chaired by our own Editor Charles Lowe of DHACA.

If you are UK-based or do business there, and you haven’t signed up, we’ll make it easy. This link here or on the right sidebar will take you straight to the program site. When you’re there to register, don’t forget to use the code Telehealth_10 to get an exclusive 10 percent discount for our Readers. TTA is pleased to be again an official supporter of the Digital Health and Care Congress.#KFdigital19

Win the Trillium II prize and get €1,000!

April 18, 2019 | by

The Trillium II EU project has just extended the deadline for entries to the Trillium II prize to 15th May, so there’s still plenty of time to enter. The prize of €1000 will go to the organisation that comes up with the best proposal to publicise and deploy the International Patient Summary (IPS). This is an internationally-agreed standard for summarising a person’s health record – as it is adopted worldwide, wherever someone is in the world a clinician will be able instantly to see and understand the main aspects of that person’s health record. This will particularly result in improved patient outcomes, faster treatment, lower healthcare costs and reduced medical errors. It will be of particular interest to readers whose products or services access local health records, as it should mean that in future they no longer need tailoring to the specifics of those records.

Details are here – note that to enter you will need to contact Lene Taustrup at lta@medcom.dk

To date, not many entries have been completed, so the probability of winning with a new entry could be high.

(Disclosure: this editor is CEO of DHACA, the Digital Health & Care Alliance, which is a participant in this EC-funded project).

International news roundup: ATA dispatches, compete for funding in Helsinki, Spry FDA-cleared for COPD, Merck acquires ConnectMed Kenya

April 18, 2019 | by

There’s not much news so far from the just-wrapped ATA 2019 conference in New Orleans, but POLITICO Morning eHealth highlighted a drop-by by Sen. Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, urging attendees to demonstrate to their local politicos that telemedicine is safe and effective–and be ready to answer questions about fraud or misuse. Louisiana’s Ochsner Health System is branching into retail with the O Bar, cleverly designed to look like an Apple Store to merchandise wearables and other health tech devices. For Ochsner patients, they can enroll into RPM programs and have their data directly input into their Epic EHR. American Well released a survey of 800 doctors, with the unsurprising finding that 22 percent have used telehealth to treat patients, but this is up 340 percent since 2015; also that the doctors finding telehealth most attractive to practice are also reporting high levels of burnout. Looking for more substantiative news from NOLA.

It’s Helsinki for pitching your digital health idea in June. The 11th edition of the interestingly named EC2VC Investors Forum and Pitch Competition is now part of HIMSS/ Health 2.0 Europe 2019. Healthcare startups and SMEs looking for funding can apply, with 12 companies to be selected to present before a jury panel of digital health investors. The format is a four-minute pitch, followed by six minutes of Q&A. More information and to apply by 6 May, with finalists selected by 13 May. The event is 11 June from 13:00 to 16:00 at Messukeskus Helsinki Expo & Convention Centre. 

Spry Health’s Loop wearable device gained FDA clearance. Spry is a RPM device company with a wrist-wearable device that measures pulse oximetry, respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure (research only) through optical sensors. While users can receive reports on the display and alerts, it is primarily meant for clinical monitoring by physicians in healthcare systems. The RPM is meant to detect signs of patient deterioration and exacerbations early so that actions can be taken. For the present time, the company is focusing on the device’s use in COPD patients. Certainly there is a large market in the US–there are 12 million diagnosed patients, with COPD the third leading cause of death with over 120,000 deaths per year. Mobihealthnews, BusinessWire, MDDIOnline

Merck acquires Kenyan digital health startup ConnectMed. The pharma company is purchasing ConnectMed’s telehealth applications in Kenya serving about 8,000 consumers, as well as related management systems. Merck will use the platform in conjunction with its Curafa point of care clinical and pharmaceutical services. Started in September of last year, these are run by local independent pharmaceutical technologists, clinical officers and nurses for underserved populations in Kenya. ConnectMed will cease operations. During its lifetime, it developed three DTC digital health services in Kenya and South Africa. WT/Startup Africa

Spring is here, so are some events to enjoy–and broaden your horizons

April 10, 2019 | by

AI in healthcare: hope or hype? MedStartr, Rent24NYC, Thursday 18 April, 6 – 9pm

Our colleagues at MedStartr are hosting a panel discussing a hot topic: AI in healthcare. Panel and speakers include Melissa Honour, IBM Watson, Artificial Intelligence Portfolio Lead; Joseph Gough, EVP Innovation, Remedy Health;  Samantha Nazareth, MD, Gastroenterologist, writer, broadcast commentator, and healthcare analyst. More to come! Cost is $20 but there are drinks and snacks throughout. Register on Meetup. TTA is a media partner of Health 2.0 NYC and MedStartr.

Validating Your Digital Health Solution: Why, When and How. Partners HealthCare Pivot Labs, Liberty Hotel, Boston, Monday 22 April, 6-9pm

On the journey to commercializing your health tech product, there are multiple ways to test it. It can be difficult to determine where to start, how to do it and what to evaluate. During this free session, Partners HealthCare Labs will address why validating your digital health solution – whether for clinical or economic outcomes – can benefit your product. RSVP at this link.

Two coming up very soon via Aging 2.0 NYC:

Thursday-Friday 11-12 April: The Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) will hold a two-day workshop on Design For Older Adults at Weill Cornell’s Division of Geriatrics. If you are designing technology, consumer or health products, or living environments for older adults, this is a unique opportunity to network with colleagues and glean advice from leading experts in aging and design. Because of the highly interactive nature of this workshop, attendance is limited to 35 attendees. Aging2.0 members receive a discount. Email Adrienne Jaret at adj2012@med.cornell.edu or call 646-962-7153 (mention Aging2.0).

Monday, April 29: Aging2.0 and CaringKind will host the third annual Technology for Caregivers showcase from 1:30pm-7:30pm at CaringKind’s headquarters at 360 Lexington Avenue. This one-day event will give caregivers and the Aging2.0 community the opportunity to try the latest technology for caregiving and dementia, and provide startups the opportunity to showcase their products. Last year’s event was featured on CBS and saw more than 300 caregivers interact with 25 innovative startups. If you would like to have your company featured contact us at newyork@aging2.com. Register here.

And finally, we’d be remiss in not mentioning next week’s ATA19 which will be held 14 – 16 April in New Orleans at the Convention Center. Less and less referring to itself as the American Telemedicine Association, the conference is also less significant than it once was due to the specialization of health tech, the rise of HIMSS earlier in the year, as well as early fall’s Health 2.0 and the Connected Health Conference. Nevertheless, for many companies in the field it is still a must-attend if not a must-exhibit. Registration is still open here.

Events, dear friends: MedTech London, Aging 2.0 Philadelphia, speakers wanted for Connected Health Summit

February 28, 2019 | by

MedTech London, 11 April, London South Bank University

LSBU, SEHTA and the GLA have an event that blends commercial partnerships with academics and developing research collaborations.  The event also includes information on the latest NIHR Funding Programme and the Simulation for Digital Health programme supporting healthtech start-ups, SMEs and the Knowledge Transfer Programme Scheme by Innovate UK. The day’s agenda and registration is here.

Aging 2.0 Philadelphia: 13 March evening

Caregiving is becoming a new frontier for innovation. This free evening hosts a panel of caregiving and home care experts. More information and registration is here.

Connected Health Summit’s Call for Speakers: 27-29 August San Diego

Parks Associates’ Connected Health Summit has opened invitations for speaker submissions on two general topics–Innovation and Partnerships and Empowering Consumers with Connected Health–each with seven sub-topics. Interested applicants should submit here by 29 March. TTA has been a media partner of the Connected Health Summit over the past few years.

The King’s Fund Digital Health and Care Conference announces Matt Hancock as Day 2 keynoter

February 27, 2019 | by

The latest word is that the Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will be giving the keynote address on the second day (23 May) of The King’s Fund’s annual Digital Health and Care Congress. If you are UK-based or do business there, and you haven’t signed up…what are you waiting for? This link here or on the right sidebar will take you straight to the program site. When you’re there to register, don’t forget to use the code Telehealth_10 to get an exclusive 10 percent discount for our Readers. TTA is pleased to be again an official supporter of the Digital Health and Care Congress.