Primary care provider Forward introduces CarePod kiosks, raises $100 million for deployment–but will it work this time?

Forward, a primary care provider that works on a membership model and has practices in 14 markets, announced a line extension to their existing practices. CarePods are self-serve closed kiosks designed for placement in malls, offices, and gyms that deploy a variety of AI-powered health apps for disease detection, biometric body scans, blood testing in disease areas, including diabetes, hypertension, weight management, and mental health (depression and anxiety). The CarePods will be deployed in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Access to CarePods and the app starts at $99/month and $1,639/year–the release is not clear on whether that can include in-office visits. It is not covered by insurance, including Medicare or Medicaid.

The technology is an extension of what’s seen in their offices (this NY-based Editor is bombarded with YouTube ads for membership) that uses body scanning, vital signs monitoring, blood testing, heart monitoring, and corresponding apps for preventative care and condition management. While the ads feature human doctors and clinicians, the impression from the ads and website is that the health exams are technology-driven and while there are clinicians, they may not necessarily be there. It is not for getting updated on your vaccinations or diagnosing a rash or fever. Forward claims 100+ primary clinicians at 19 locations. 

Forward raised a $100 million Series E to deploy the CarePods from Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, Samsung Next, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Softbank. It consists of equity financing of more than $50 million as well as debt financing. Forward’s total financing is $657 million with its Series D round (Crunchbase). Forward also boasts a blue chip roster of advisers from Eric Schmidt of Google to Robert Wachter, MD.

In viewing this first from their communications representatives, this Editor was immediately reminded of the last time she saw a closed type of health kiosk. I demo’d HealthSpot Station at the CES preview in NYC in late 2012. It officially debuted at CES 2013. Despite decent takeup, HealthSpot was defunct by mid-2016 having placed only 50 or so stations and burned through a substantial $43 million through its entire short but showy life. Its remains went to now-bankrupt Rite Aid which did nothing reportable with it. HealthSpot had key differences with Forward’s CarePods in that HealthSpot was a place to sit down and have a synchronous virtual visit with a doctor (supplied by Teladoc initially), with vital signs monitoring through self-serve tools in the kiosk. Payment was per use and for the doctor visit. Their problems were placement of rather large units, maintenance, and the general reluctance of people to use monitoring tools at that time within a closed area. Based on the available media, the CarePod technology is much more advanced towards a virtual visit with touch screens, AI assists, sophisticated monitors, and an integrated app that generates care plans. It also builds on an established app and in-office technology. Concerns remain in this Editor’s view about maintenance, especially with the CarePod using much more sophisticated technology, cleanliness, and claustrophobia. FierceHealthcare, PYMNTS

This Editor has also taken a dim view of open kiosks placed in retailers such as CVS Health, Walmart, and supermarkets, such as Higi (bought by Babylon Health but evidently not part of the bankruptcy) and Pursuant Health (the former SoloHealth), having seen all too many of them in dusty corners, neglected, and often with Out Of Order signs. The Forward plan to restrict them to malls, offices, and gyms seems to avoid the retail crunch but one wonders what the breakeven is–or if this is a substitute for office expansion.

A commenter with a far dimmer view than this Editor’s is quoted at length in today’s HISTalk. “The target audience seems to be young, worried well people who prefer faceless machines and tons of prevention-focused data or congratulatory test results to interacting with a clinician. That actually is a pretty good business model. Reviews for the company’s in-person clinics are almost all from customers in their 20s and early 30s.” But the commenter–a customer–is dissatisfied with being completely unable to get someone on the phone, everything done through chat, and wait times to see a real doctor upwards of two weeks.

Friday roundup: LetsGetChecked buys Veritas Genetics, Everly Health adds CMO, Babylon sends chatbot to Higi, ConcertAI’s $150M Series C, AmplifyMD’s $23M, and two ‘Brights’ raise $155M

Home health testing company LetsGetChecked is buying Veritas Genetics and Madrid-based Veritas Intercontinental for an undisclosed sum. Veritas specializes in whole genome sequencing. For LetsGetChecked, they can now build out genomic testing as part of their broad range of at-home test kits and app reporting for a wide variety of wellness, sexual health, and men’s/women’s health. It also opens up targeted panels and tests such as Pharmacogenomics (PGx), cancer screening, carrier screening, and maternal-fetal testing.

LetsGetChecked, based in Dublin and NYC, has raised $263 million to date through a 2021 Series D from investors such as Casdin Capital, HLM Venture Partners, and Optum Ventures. Veritas Genetics and Veritas Intercontinental are very early stage companies HQ’d near Boston with $61 million in funding through several venture rounds. Veritas was founded by Harvard and MIT genomics experts to make genetic testing more available and affordable. The release implied that Veritas principals would be joining LetsGetChecked. The acquisition is expected to close shortly. Release, Mobihealthnews

New CMO at Everly Health.  Liz Kwo, MD will lead their clinical strategy as chief medical officer. A competitor of LetsGetChecked, Everly Health is the parent of direct-to-home testing Everlywell, enterprise-focused Everly Health Solutions, and recently acquired Natalist in the fertility and pregnancy testing area. Comparing the two, LetsGetChecked occupies a more clinical and condition-specific space (e.g. thyroid antibodies, hormones), while Everlywell is positioned in the general wellness testing area, e.g. allergies. Dr. Kwo previously was with Anthem as Deputy Chief Clinical Officer and is an interesting combination of clinician and digital solutions/advanced data analyst. Release, FierceHealthcare

Babylon Health’s recently acquired Higi mobile app now has Babylon’s well-known AI-enabled symptom checking chatbot. Higi’s main business are in-store health ‘stations’ that measure blood pressure, pulse and weight, plus diabetes and heart disease risk through symptom checkers. The integration with the Babylon app also demonstrates for other Babylon partners how their chatbot can be used. Mobihealthnews

ConcertAI, the former Concerto HealthAI, raised $150 million in Series C funding from Sixth Street for a total $300 million and boosting its valuation to $1.9 billion. ConcertAI specializes in life sciences and healthcare enterprise AI and RWD SaaS solutions for use in precision medicine. It has partnered with Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and has begun a collaboration with lab-testing giant Labcorp to launch precision oncology studies. Its parent is SymphonyAI, a larger AI company in other areas such as retail. Release, Mobihealthnews

AmplifyMD, a telemedicine platform for medical facilities to connect to specialist doctors, raised a $23 million combination Series A/seed round from F-Prime Capital, with the seed co-led by Forerunner Ventures and Greylock. Their target market? Over 3,300 medical institutions with a lack of specialty access, which are often in rural or small regions of the US. Their specialties are cardiology, neurology, psychiatry, pulmonology/critical care, infectious disease, nephrology, and hematology/oncology. Release 

Two mental health ‘Brights’ raise a total of $155 million. Brightline Health, a pediatric mental health company for at-home therapy targeted to kids and teens, raised a $105 million Series C for a valuation of $705 million. The round was led by KKR with current investors GV, Optum Ventures, Oak HC/FT Partners, Threshold Ventures and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. It was co-founded by Livongo veteran Naomi Allen who left Livongo shortly before the Teladoc acquisition. The funding will be used for staffing and to broaden its offerings. Mobihealthnews, Bizjournals, Bloomberg

The other ‘Bright’ spot in mental health company funding is Brightside Health, which raised a $50 million Series B financing round led by ACME Capital and Mousse Partners, for a total of $81 million. Brightside is for adults combining an app-driven mental health assessment, therapist match and connectivity, and automated matching to medication if needed. They market membership to payers, providers, and employers as a benefit. Mobihealthnews, FinsMes

 

Connecting JPM and CES dots: Babylon Health tripling revenue in ’22 to $1 billion–how? And Bosch tiptoes back into healthcare.

Dig for dots with your Editor….Babylon Health used their JPM forum last week to announce that with some US agreements signed, they expect by the end of this month to top $80 million per month, closing in on $1 billion this year, based on signing US value-based care agreements. The US agreements add an estimated 88,000 organic new members, bringing global managed lives to over 440,000. The $1 billion in revenue is nearly triple their 2021 preliminary closing revenue of $321 million. Interestingly, the US agreements were not specified in the release.

Does this tie in with the Higi acquisition [TTA 7 Jan], or are there others? Looking back on the Higi buy, we see one of the investors coming over from Higi is Glen Tullman, CEO of Transcarent and Managing Partner of VC 7wireVentures. His comments about Babylon in that release glow:

“Babylon’s innovative value and risk sharing models fit well with market leaders and innovators, including Transcarent, because they believe that, with the appropriate use of technology, data science, and good old-fashioned clinical care, you can impact the member satisfaction and quality of care, while, at the same time, reducing costs. This is the formula everyone has been searching for and the combination of Higi and Babylon bring us all one step closer.”

Higi is not large enough (though they claim ‘millions’) to boost Babylon’s revenues into the stratosphere, but some of Transcarent’s business very well might.

  • Transcarent earlier acquired BridgeHealth, a surgical and value-based benefits provider claiming 1 million members.
  • In October, Transcarent inked an agreement with Walmart to provide services for self-insured employers linking them to Walmart’s, including drug prescriptions.
  • Transcarent is on a funding roll of its own, with its own announcement at JPM in landing a $200 million Series C.

We’ll see if this Editor’s dots connect correctly….

Remember Bosch and health tech? Bosch was one of the ur-companies in remote patient monitoring with Health Hero/Health Buddy plus other telehealth/telecare businesses. Once upon an early 2010s time, they were a major supplier to VA Home Telehealth along with Viterion, Cardiocom, and Medtronic. After multiple setbacks, rounded up by TTA here, they exited European telehealth/telecare in January 2015 and shuttered Health Buddy six months later. So it’s déjà vu all over again to see Bosch technology used in a three-way project with Highmark Health in Pennsylvania and their Pediatric Institute of Allegheny Health Network (AHN) in Pittsburgh. AHN will be using Bosch’s SoundSee sensor-based tech to capture patient breathing audio that is then analyzed via Bosch’s proprietary AI and machine learning to detect pediatric pulmonary conditions. Clinical studies at AHN will be starting this quarter. Bosch’s Intelligent IoT group responsible for SoundSee is located at Bosch Research in Pittsburgh. Bosch has patented SoundSee for multiple applications in industrial and healthcare monitoring. Release, FierceHealthcare

Buried in the release is Bosch’s other step back into health tech. Vivatmo me, a breath-gas analyzer device that allows patients to accurately determine levels of inflammation, documenting them via an app–a very interesting concept–has been commercially available from March 2020 in Germany and Austria. It may be introduced in the US.

Short takes: 2022’s big kickoff with Babylon-Higi, Vera-Castlight buys; will funding slow down in ’22, eye-tracking telehealth for MS, vital signs tracking lightbulbs at CES 2022, and three catchups!

Babylon Health closed out 2021 by acquiring health kiosk Higi for an undisclosed amount. Babylon had earlier invested in Higi’s Series B [TTA 30 May 20] and was reported in October to be exercising its $30 million option to buy Higi after closing their SPAC. Release

Vera Whole Health, an advanced primary care provider and clinic group based in Seattle, is acquiring Castlight Health, a data and care navigation platform. Vera will acquire Castlight in a $370 million all-cash deal. Strategic partners and investors include Anthem, Morgan Health (the JP Morgan Chase & Co business for the transformation of employee healthcare), Central Ohio Primary Care, and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice funds. Former Aetna chairman and CEO Ron Williams will become chairman. Release.

Which leads to the usual question…will funding in 2022 continue the hot streak of 2021? It’s one opinion, but Lee Shapiro of 7wireVentures, formerly with Livongo, is sensing a slowdown, citing increased interest rates (money), the US midterm elections (which don’t affect the rest of the world), less new money, and investors wising up on the length of time any healthcare or health tech investment takes to pay off. 2021 with 79 digital health M&As plus an abundance of SPACs that tailed off by end of year will be hard to match. Mobihealthnews

XRHealth, a telehealth clinic that provides treatments in patients’ homes based on virtual reality treatment, has integrated Tobii‘s eye-tracking technology into the XR platform and the Pico Neo 3 Pro Eye VR headset. XR Health provides rehabilitative and pain management therapies via VR. The Tobii system will enable treatment using the headset for multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s, and other neurological conditions. According to the release published in Multiple Sclerosis News Today, “detecting subtle changes in eye movement can help diagnose these diseases at an early stage, as well as assess disease progression and response to treatment. Tobii‘s eye-tracking technology is able to detect those changes in real time, providing data and insights to clinicians during therapy sessions.” Hat tip to Editor Emeritus Steve Hards

CES 2022 is on this week, far less splashy than before as an in-person/virtual hybrid event. Debuting at CES is the Sengled Smart Health Monitoring Light. Looking like a standard LED lamp bulb, it contains sensors that network and can take passive vital signs measurements of sleep quality, breathing, heart rate, and motion of occupants in the home. The more bulbs the better, of course. Whether or not they can detect falls, as the article touts, is likely an inference on motion. They feed into either Alexa or Google Assistant, plus Sengled’s app, using Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar operating in the 2.4 GHz range. Expect it to be coming out towards the end of the year and probably twice the price of conventional LED smart bulbs. TechRadar Hat tip to Adrian Scaife via LinkedIn

Catching up…

Walgreens and VillageMD continue on the ‘go big or go home’ highway with nine more Village Medicals at Walgreens in San Antonio, Texas. Plans are to build 600 Village Medicals at Walgreens in more than 30 markets by 2025, growing to 1,000 by 2027. HealthcareFinance

Centene, the health payer conglomerate, finalized its $2.2 billion acquisition of Magellan Health, a major behavioral health management company. It will likely be CEO Michael Neidorff’s swan song, as an activist investor forced his retirement (at age 78 after over 25 years at the helm) this year and significant board changes. Magellan’s former COO and president Jim Murray will become Centene’s chief transformation officer, a new position, lead what they term the Value Creation Office as well as the Centene Advanced Behavioral Health division. Forbes, Centene release

And suitors with a spare billion or so may be lining up to buy IBM Watson Health. The first offers came in on 4 January with the winner to be announced possibly by end of the month. IBM spent over $4 billion over time to build up Watson Health, but now wants out, badly. Axios

Babylon Health’s SPAC closing later this month at $4.2 billion value, buys California medical practices

Ali Parsa, CEO of Babylon Health, confirmed to FierceHealthcare yesterday that Babylon Health will be going public later this month via a SPAC. This is proceeding as closed in June with blank-check Alkuri Global Acquisition Corp., led by former Groupon CEO Rich Williams [TTA 1 June].

The pro-forma equity valuation is estimated as $4.2 billion, with Alkuri providing $575 million in gross proceeds to Babylon, including $230 million in a private placement from investors such as AMF Pensionsförsäkring and Palantir Technologies. The new Babylon Holdings Limited will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BBLN.

After developing its GP in Hand triage service with the NHS starting in 2017, now claiming 102, 000 users, it has weathered controversies from clinical commissioning group (CCG) reservations to gender bias in its chatbot (‘Heart Sister’ Carolyn Thomas) to a litany from @DrMurphy11 to the BBC Two’s Newsnight treatment [TTA 9 Jan 20, 27 Feb 20]. However, Mr. Parsa believes that their value proposition (technically, a written document) is sound and that they are now poised for growth.

Newly developed products include Babylon 360, a digital-first value-based care service that includes the option for telehealth visits, and Babylon Cloud Services, a suite of digital self-care tools for patients and doctors, including an AI-enabled symptom checker. Expansion has been as far flung as Rwanda and the US, although in the crowded US telehealth market, Babylon has found it difficult to make a strong  impression versus Teladoc and Amwell, though they cover three million lives and has licensed providers in all 50 states.  They recently bought two California-based medical practices, Meritage Medical Network and First Choice Medical Group, opening an office in Palo Alto. Babylon also optioned to buy Higi health kiosks after a $30 million investment [TTA 30 May 20], which may close after the SPAC. Still, Mr. Parsa is staking the future on the US, where over 40% of global healthcare money is spent. 

Babylon has been growing 400% year to year for a few years with $79 million in 2020 unaudited revenue, a 394% year-over-year increase, and a projected $321 million in 2021, $710 million by 2022, and $1.4 billion by 2023. Hampering this sunny picture are Babylon’s continued losses: $76 million first half of 2021, less than their PY net loss of $91 million. 

Babylon Health leads a $30 million Series B for Higi health kiosks, continuing US push

Here’s an interesting investment by Babylon Health. Earlier this week, diagnostic/symptom checking app Babylon Health was reported to lead a $30 million Series B investment in Higi. Higi has about 10,000 health monitoring kiosks (Smart Health Stations) placed in various US retail locations like supermarkets (Stop & Shop, Shop Rite), pharmacies (Walgreens), workplace and community locations. A user can check their blood pressure, pulse, weight, and BMI for free, along with uploading data from one of 80 connected devices and apps. What then happens is that Higi stores that data on their platform for the user, who can log in and access it from the Higi app on their computer or smartphone.

Higi claims 62 million people have used a Higi device for a total of 372 million tests. This Editor has seen them in some local stores, usually in a corner, sitting forlornly or with an out-of-service sign. (Sanitization, of course, is a real concern.) 

So what is Babylon’s interest in Higi? The US health data, of course, which Babylon can put into their database and improve their modeling. Babylon also is gaining a foothold in the US with high-profile partners such as Mount Sinai in NYC and with health plans in Missouri, New York, and California. For Higi, the tie with Babylon increases their clinical data information base and adds access to a symptom checking app. 

In the Series B, Babylon Health was joined by Higi’s Series A investors, 7Wire Ventures, Flare Capital Partners, Jumpstart Capital, Rush University System for Health, and William Wrigley Jr. Confusingly, on Crunchbase, these investors are listed as a Series C,  not a Series A. They list a B funding round with lead partner Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Partners, without a funding amount, with the previous round as venture, so possibly the Series B failed. Higi’s funding to date is over $61 million not including the new round. TechCrunch, Higi blog

News roundup for the New Year: NHS £40m diet on login times, Germany’s ‘cheesy’ health ID security, Livongo and Higi partner, MTBC picks up CareCloud

NHS investing £40 million to cut health service login times, £4.5 million on digital assists for independent living. Announced by secretary Matt Hancock, the objective is to move to reduce the time to log in over the 15 systems NHS clinicians and staff may have to use with a patient. The test of a single sign-on system at Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool reduced it from 105 seconds to 10. The Department of Health and Social Care is also providing £4.5m to local authorities to fund digital programs aimed at aiding independent living for recipients of adult social care. Guardian

Germany’s health data network security is ‘swiss cheesy’. Germany’s physicians are in the process of being networked into the national health system through an electronic doctor’s card and practice ID card which identify and sign them in. Similarly, patients will have their own chipped ID card. A special research project by NDR, Der Spiegel, and  IT security experts belonging to the Chaos Computer Club (CCC), found that they could send all three to a cheese monger’s shop in Lüneburg. Looks like their security has a few ‘holes’ in it. Tagesschau.de

Livongo’s diabetes/chronic condition management platform and health kiosk Higi are partnering in 500 retail pharmacies in Michigan for a Livongo-branded health screening and tracking program, using Higi’s measurement, tracking, and Livongo’s wellness programs. Mobihealthnews

CareCloud acquired by MTBC for $17 million cash and about $41 million in total consideration such as warrants and perpetual preferred stock. Both companies are in similar businesses related to medical practice management, EHR integration, and patient communications. It reflects the deep falloff of value in the absurdly overcrowded field of EHR and practice management businesses since Meaningful Use wound up: Allscripts’ acquisition of Practice Fusion for $100 million in January 2018 [TTA 14 Aug 19] and reduced prospects for other HIT players such as Athenahealth, Watson Health and Waystar [TTA 25 Apr 19]. Total investment in CareCloud was north of $150 million in ten funding rounds (Crunchbase) which makes the price a knockdown for the investors like Norwest, Intel Capital, First Data and PNC. Seeking Alpha, MTBC release, commentary on HISTalk.

The ‘health kiosk’ idea is alive and kicking from New York to France

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Kiosk1.jpg” thumb_width=”200″ /][Photo: NYP] The $40 million+ failure of HealthSpot Station last year [TTA 14 June 16] might have signaled the demise of the health kiosk (telemedicine + multiple vital measurement devices) concept. Basic stations with consumer engagement/mobile tie-ins such as Higi have been gaining traction at retail locations [TTA 30 Mar] such as RiteAid (which bought the assets and IP of HealthSpot) and Publix supermarkets. CVS MinuteClinics in northeast Ohio and Florida have allied over the past two years with Cleveland Clinic and American Well to integrate records and telemedicine. But the kiosk model is gaining a second life with these recent iterations.

  • NewYork-Presbyterian, Walgreens (Duane Reade) and American Well: Kiosks located in private rooms at select Duane Reade drugstores (left above) connect to NYP OnDemand using American Well telemedicine and Weill Cornell Medicine emergency medicine physicians. In addition to the live consult, the patient can send select vital signs information to the doctor using a forehead thermometer, a blood pressure cuff, a pulse oximeter, and a dermascope for a high-resolution view of skin conditions. Pediatric emergency physicians are available through NYP OnDemand weekdays between 6 – 9pm. Prescriptions are e-prescribed to the patient’s preferred pharmacy. The first kiosk opened this week at 40 Wall Street with additional locations to open in 2018. NYP OnDemand telemedicine consults are also available to NY area residents through the Walgreens website. American Well release, Healthcare IT News, MedCityNews
  • H4D (Health for Development): French doctor Franck Baudino wanted to reach those who live in what the French term ‘health deserts’ in their rural areas. Over the past nine years, he developed a booth-type kiosk connecting to a live doctor and with vitals instrumentation. The Consult Station is fully equipped with a wide range of vitals instrumentation, including vision, audio, eye, and blood glucose, functioning almost as a remote doctor’s office. In France, to gain access, all users need do is pop in their carte vitale. Reportedly the kiosks can treat 90 percent of common illnesses. Prescriptions are printed out in the booth. Consult Stations are now in France, Italy, Portugal, Philippines, Canada, Belgium, UAE and were recently cleared by FDA as a Class II device. ZDNet  

Higi and Interpreta’s data mix partnership–questions on consent, data security

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Interpreta-Higi.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Higi (also higi), which has placed health monitoring kiosks in over 11,000 US retail locations and a 5.5 million signup base, and data cruncher Interpreta announced that they are partnering to blend Higi’s vital signs data with Interpreta’s claims, clinical and genomics data analytics. Based on Mobihealthnews’ article and the joint release, an individual’s health information taken at higi retail stations will be “prioritized within Interpreta in real time”. They also claim that for the first time, insurance payers and providers will be able to leverage biometrics data, clinical, claims and additional genomic information a person may obtain from genetic testing services into a ‘personalized care roadmap’ that closes gaps in care. This is positioned as a big advance in population health and it all sounds great.

Perhaps not so great are the details. What about consent and data security? Aside from absolutely no mention of patient consent and HIPAA compliance in the above news, this Editor suspects that past, current and future Higi users may not be made aware that their vital signs data recorded with Higi will be 1) sent into a non-Higi database and 2) integrated with other information that appears in Interpreta’s database. How is this being done? Is consent obtained? What then happens? Is it used on an identified or de-identified basis? Where is it going? Who is doing what with it? Can it be sold, as 23andme’s genomic information is (with consent, but still…)? “Interpreta works in the realm of precision medicine, continuously interpreting and synchronizing clinical and genomics data in real time to create a personalized roadmap to enable the orchestration of timely care.” but they do this for providers and health plans who are then responsible for privacy and data integrity. Consent for Higi to keep a record of your blood pressure when you drop into your local RiteAid or ShopRite is not consent for Interpreta to use or manipulate it. These questions should have been addressed in the release or an accompanying fact sheet. We welcome a response from either Higi or Interpreta.

And one last and exceedingly ‘gimlety’ observation by this Editor: kiosks get hacked, and here we have not a price to a McDonald’s meal but a portal to deep PHI. Here’s a two-part article in an industry publication, Kiosk Marketplace, if you are skeptical. Part 1, Part 2 

higi kiosks get ‘vitamin B’ from BCBS Venture Partners, acquires EveryMove fitness incentive app

higi, the wellness kiosk + consumer engagement program, received an infusion of ‘vitamin B’–as in Series B–from Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Partners. The exact amount is undisclosed in reports. This adds to their Jan 2016 $40 million venture round (Crunchbase). BCBS Venture Partners is the investment arm of the BlueCross BlueShield trade association, which licenses the BCBS names to insurers.

They also took the opportunity to announce their acquisition of the EveryMove fitness tracker/wellness incentive app primarily marketed to employers. The tie-in is that higi’s wellness program also integrates data from 80 different devices, wearables, and apps, plus the kiosk locations. higi claims 11,000 locations at places like RiteAid, Publix and Stop&Shop; 36 million users, 4.5 million who’ve signed up for a higi account and 200 million screenings. Where they need improvement is the number of sticky users who stay with them over time, which is where an employer-based program like EveryMove fits. Built in Chicago, PRNewswire release

Now Publix supermarkets getting into telehealth (Tampa, Florida)

On the lighter side, as you’re doing your food shopping this weekend, think about the lucky souls of the Tampa Bay area who soon will be able to fit in a virtual doctor visit between picking up a dozen eggs and the laundry detergent! The BayCare Health System will be installing private rooms at select Publix supermarkets with video conference capability plus some medical diagnostic equipment, including stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs. BayCare currently provides telemedicine and consults using the BayCareAnywhere app. The telemedicine system they are using is not disclosed.)

Publix is no stranger to telehealth/telemedicine, having earlier piloted with The Little Clinic (now owned by Kroger supermarkets) in a dozen locations, exiting in 2011. BayCare will also partner with the higi wellness stations already in some Publix markets to send patient results to BayCare physicians (their app system is not mentioned). Based on the BayCare Anywhere pictures, their target market are busy families, young singles and couples, and older children where the supermarket is convenient and often 24/7. (But where are the older people, quite populous in FL year round, who don’t have to be online or download an app?) WLRN (radio and TV)

Exciting new sessions, more startup funding at #MedMo16 NYC–now 25% off! (updated)

New Venue!
City Winery, 155 Varick Street, New York, NY
9am – 3:30pm (cocktail reception after) Monday 28 Nov; 9am – 3pm Tuesday 29 Nov
Information. Registration. TTA Readers use code Telecare25 for a 25% discount.

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/MedStartr_red_grey_sm.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]MedStartr and Health 2.0 NYC present Momentum, a full two-day conference focused on finding, partnering, piloting, and investing in the best new ideas in healthcare. Here are some updates on this event the Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving Weekend:

  • The MedMo16 Mega Challenge is awarding to participating startups in up to three pitch contests showcasing some of the coolest new early stage companies. 20 will be competing for over $750,000 (up from $500,000) in funding. Review the finalists here.
  • 70 speakers, five panels and nine talks from healthcare leaders like Rich Park of City MD (urgent care), Khan Siddiqui of Higi (gamified health kiosks), Regina Holliday of the patient activist Walking Gallery and more, featuring:
    The Unicorn Panel with leaders from some of the hottest companies like Pager (on-demand doctors) and Change Healthcare (revenue cycle management)
    Healthcare Innovation in the Trump Era, moderated by Fard Johnmar
    Ask the VC where we will let the crowd pose questions to leading investors in healthcare

Tickets are regularly priced as below–but our Readers get 25% off the full rates below. Use code Telecare25 when registering:

  • $75 for early stage startup founders, students and patient advocates ($56.25)
  • $155 general – expires 21 Nov–$395 thereafter ($116.25/$296.25)
  • $250 healthcare ecosystem stakeholders, investors and care providers ($187.50)
  • $450 non-healthcare ecosystem stakeholders ($337.50)

Tables and sponsorships available from $750.

MedMo16 is also the kickoff for the MedStartr Venture Fund which adds to the crowdfunding impact of MedStartr–now up to 94 health projects. TTA is a supporter of MedStartr and Health 2.0 NYC and Editor Donna is a MedMo16 event host. Hat tip to Alex Fair of #MedMo16 and MedStartr. Tag #MedMo16 and follow @MedStartr.

Is the clock at the funding pub pointing to ‘last call’? (Updated)

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/crystal-ball.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]And we were having such a good time! UPDATED Having ridden a few hype curves (in health tech and out–remember airline deregulation?) and with the bruises to prove it, this Editor believes that she can spot a Cracking Market at forty paces. The hands on the clock appear to be near closing time, even as we party on. After all, DTC telehealth is forecast to be $25 bn in the US by 2025 (GrandView Research), if we make it that far!

Where are the sharp noises coming from?

  • The continuing fail of unicorns like Theranos [TTA 4 May and prior], now resorting to bullying the Wall Street Journal and negotiating with the alphabet (SEC, DOJ, FDA, CMS…), and the troubles of Zenefits. 
  • Another notable unicorn, the doctor booking site ZocDoc, being called out at last on their customer churn, low margins, and high customer acquisition costs. (As well as an irritant to doctors and office managers) New York Business Journal
  • Extremely high and perhaps insane rounds of funding to young companies with a lot of competition or a questionable niche. Higi is an odd little kiosk + consumer engagement program located in primarily Rite Aid drugstores–odd enough to score $40 million in its first venture round. (Ed. note: I shop at Rite Aid–and have never seen one.)This is after the failure of HealthSpot Station, which burned through approximately $43 million through its entire short but showy life. The low-cost, largely exchange plan insurer Oscar Health raised $400 million this February  ($727 million total) while UnitedHealth and others are dropping money-losing plans in most states. Over 50 percent of exchange co-ops went out of business in 2015, leaving doctors, health systems and patients holding their baggage. Again, low margins, high cost and high customer acquisition costs.
  • We’ve previously noted that funders are seeking ‘validation in similarity’–that a few targeted niches are piling up funding, such as doctor appointment setting, sleep trackers and wellness engagement [TTA 30 Dec 15]
  • Tunstall’s continuing difficulty in a sale or additional financing, which influence the UK and EU markets.
  • NEW More patent fights with the aim of draining or knocking out competition. We’re presently seeing it with American Well litigating Teladoc over patent infringement starting last year, which is only now (March) reaching court. It didn’t stop Teladoc’s IPO, but it publicly revealed the cost: $5 million in previously unplanned lobbying and legal costs, which include their fight with the Texas Medical Board on practicing telemedicine–which is beneficial for the entire industry. (But I would not want to be the one in the legal department explaining this budget line.) Politico, scroll down. But these lawsuits have unintended consequences–just ask the no-longer-extant Bosch Healthcare about the price of losing one. (more…)

Rock Health: 1st Q funding deals up nearly 50%, approaches $1bn (US)

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/RockHealthChart1.001-1200×845.jpeg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Funding’s up, but the digital darlings have changed. The stock market and tech sector may have been uncertain kicking off 2016, but digital health wasn’t. Rock Health’s first report for 2016 exudes optimism. Compared to the same quarter in 2015, funding increased nearly 50 percent to $981.3 million, the highest amount since 2011. But the devil may be in the details:

  • Five deals accounted for 56 percent of the volume (in descending order: Flatiron Health (clinical intel for cancer care), Jawbone, HealthLine (consumer health info), Health Catalyst (data warehousing) and Higi, an odd little kiosk + consumer engagement program nationally placed in Rite Aid stores–odd enough to gain $40 million in its first venture round
  • Seed and Series A raises were still well over half–54 percent, over the 50 percent in 2015
  • Later stage deals (Series D and above) shrank to 13 percent in 2016 from 35 percent
  • Top categories also demonstrated the fickleness of funding favorites. Only two categories in the top six were carry-overs from 2015: wearables (driven by Jawbone) and consumer engagement. New favorites: analytics/big data, population health management, consumer health information and EHR/clinical workflow.
  • There were no venture-backed IPOs in the quarter, and public company performance was down (9 percent y/y)

The new picture favors what to do with the data–finding trends and putting them to use both consumer and clinical sides. And exits were popular as well: 187 was the Rock Health count, with fitness wear Asics‘ acquisition of the Runkeeper fitness wearable and provider One Medical acquiring the Rise app. Will the trend continue in 2nd quarter? Stay tuned….Rock Health Q1 Update