TTA’s Spring 2: Doctronic’s “AI doc” gets $44M & questions, UnitedHealth sued by religious charity, Oracle may get more VA EHRM scrutiny, Qualified Health’s $125M raise, Cerebral buys ADHD therapy app, more!

March 26, 2026 | by

 

26 March 2026

It was another quiet week, with less funding and M&A activity. The only Oracle news (but plenty of held breaths re the layoffs) is our third below–the House VA Committee is willing to at least discuss further guardrails and reviews put on Oracle as a vendor based on EHRM performance. 2026 rollouts are critical–yet that area faces cuts. UnitedHealth gets more flak from a Catholic non-profit founded by nuns. In funding, Doctronic is getting a big bet on pulling off a human-less AI chatbot for routine prescription renewals. And the Blue Side Turned Up for Qualified Health, Flourish Care, and the death-defying Cerebral.

Please feel free to comment and pass along. Let me know if this is worth it to you!

Chutes and Ladders: UnitedHealth sued by faith-based investor group, Qualified Health raises $125M, Cerebral acquires Inflow ADHD app, Flourish Care’s $5.7M seed

‘AI doctor’ Doctronic raises $40M Series B, but faces controversy on autonomous Rx renewals in Utah and effectiveness claims

Drafted House bill may threaten VA/Oracle EHRM rollout

Last Week’s Hot News, including a Perspectives

News roundup: Microsoft debuts a rebooted Copilot Health, Stryker whacked by Iranian cyberattack, Amazon buys Rivr robotics for delivery, Turquoise Health’s $40M raise, Verily raises $300M to shake off Alphabet control

Perspectives: Telehealth as Infrastructure–Building a Financially and Clinically Sustainable Virtual Channel

And from earlier this month re Oracle:

Oracle’s ‘beat the Street with a club’ Q3 performance

Oracle’s rock-and-hard place in Abilene TX: building out a data center with Nvidia chips that are already obsolete–and the financing it takes (updated)

Breaking–Oracle to lay off thousands due to AI data center cash crunch, possibly as early as next week. What’s next? (Updated)

Breaking–Oracle Health loses five executives sent there to fix Cerner: report. And what is it telling us?

Summing up the speculation: will Oracle sell off Oracle Health/Cerner to finance $300B OpenAI datacenter buildout?

Oh yes, one more….So why is there a ‘100% Written by a human’ flag in the header?

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Telehealth & Telecare Aware – covering news on latest developments in telecare, telehealth and eHealth, worldwide.

‘AI doctor’ Doctronic raises $40M Series B, but faces controversy on autonomous Rx renewals in Utah and effectiveness claims

March 26, 2026 | by

Doctronic’s raise impresses, but so do the questions around its AI tech. Earlier this week a hot AI telehealth startup announced a hefty (for these times) $40 million Series B raise that topped off a Series A of $20 million last September and a $5 million seed round in April. The $40 million was funded by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Union Square Ventures, MANTIS Venture Capital, Davidovs Venture Collective, and Abstract. The New York City-based company was founded in 2023 and only constructed its clinician network in early 2025. It claims to be on track to earn $10 million in revenue in 2026.

The basic health tech sounds not that unusual: a chatbot discusses your medical concerns and questions, much like a Claude for Healthcare, Microsoft Copilot Health, Teladoc, Ro, or even Google Gemini. The next step is a clinician referral, available 24/7 in all 50 states, for a low $39. It also claims to securely retain your information and timeline/meds/labs, not using the data for AI training.

Where the controversy centers is Doctronic’s first-ever state-approved autonomous AI test with the state of Utah. Announced in January, it will test whether a chatbot agent can evaluate and renew existing prescriptions for Utahns without human clinical oversight. In the pilot first phase, the renewals, which include 192 drugs for chronic conditions, will be overseen by clinicians before being sent to a pharmacy, but the intent is to move through this phase quickly to a pilot of full prescription renewal autonomy. Utah is permitting this through the Utah Department of Commerce’s Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy. The goal is to speed renewals of maintenance medications, the majority of activity, thus reducing medication noncompliance. Non-compliance is a leading driver of preventable health outcomes and with health decline, avoidable spending. Utah Department of Commerce release, Doctronic blog

Benefit manager Healthesystems outlined the process for its blog, with a view to the issues. “At the Doctronic prescription renewal portal, patients must confirm that they are located in Utah, enter the medication they want refilled, and then select an in-state pharmacy for fulfillment. Users must then upload their ID, along with a verification selfie and proof of an old prescription and then pay a $4 service fee. The AI system reviews the information to ensure a prescription history exists, after which a health assessment is given, where patients must answer certain questions before the program issues a refill. If the AI is uncertain if a prescription should be renewed, it refers the patient to a Utah-licensed human physician.”

A big reveal is here. The physician review prior to being sent to the pharmacy is for only the first 250 patients; the next 1,000 patients will be reviewed retrospectively. After that, only 5-10% of renewals will be audited after the fact, monthly. The issues for the two Healthesystems reviewers are risk–missing a loss of stability or extended renewals beyond original intent, for instance–and maintenance of oversight. Who is ultimately held accountable for the chatbot’s actions? 

A JAMA Health Forum article (19 March) raises additional issues. There apparently has been no pretesting of the prescription chatbot, only simulation testing. The application references a preprint study in medRxiv, written by equity owners in the company and only about the existing website chatbot. Moreover, the agreement is well-hedged to protect Doctronic. FTA:

If prescription errors injure patients, Doctronic’s accountability is murky. Its contract requires it to compensate Utah for any liability costs the state incurs and Doctronic took out a special malpractice insurance policy. Yet, the terms of service that users of the prescription renewal system must agree to—which seem to have been developed for the company’s AI doctor system—currently state that Doctronic disclaims all responsibility and liability for system accuracy or harmful outcomes.

A further oddity is that the Utah contract relieves Doctronic of the obligation to “generate, maintain, and make available to each patient” the patient’s medical records.

It closes with a short discussion of ‘scope creep’ (Editor’s emphasis): “Once an AI system has secured acceptance, vendors may be able to push updates that include substantial changes without attracting the same degree of scrutiny as the initial adoption. Concerns that low-risk pilot programs may legitimize higher-risk deployments at scale have been expressed about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ new pilot program using AI to conduct prior authorization reviews of some services in traditional Medicare plans.”

And where is the proof that the AI chatbot can’t be spoofed? STAT (Mario Aguilar), who has been following Doctronic, located a February test by UK-based cybersecurity firm Mindgard that tested Doctronic’s existing chatbot and fooled it into into believing deliberate “official” misinformation, a bogus guideline that allowed triple the standard adult normal dose of Oxycontin, a Schedule II controlled substance. Sergei Polevikov in AI Health Uncut (subscription required, but you should) describes it in far greater and scary detail, including his own test. He also points out and analyzes other Doctronic questionable claims, such as volume (claiming 24 million ‘helped’ not borne out by website traffic), problems with the Utah formulary and refilling several problematic drugs, an odd connection with a Belarus company, and whether this should be regulated by FDA.  To be continued.

Comings and goings, short takes and upcoming events: MedStartr Wed night, Mad*Pow acquired, Teladoc’s new COO, JAMA ponders telepharmacy, NHS London anxiety apps partner (updated)

July 31, 2019 | by

MedStartr Hyper Accelerator Pitch Night is tomorrow (Wednesday) night, 6pm, 31 July at Rent 24 in midtown Manhattan. Presenters are from the fourth MedStartr Hyper Accelerator Class including several MedStartr Venture Fund II portfolio companies. Attend through the Meetup link–still only $20 for presentations, snacks, drinks but may be higher tomorrow or at the door. If you missed it, follow MedStartr on Meetup.

And 31 July is also the deadline to apply for the summer session of Health Wildcatters’ Texas Healthcare Challenge on 9-10 August. More information here.

Our friends over at The King’s Fund have several upcoming events of interest:

And our friends at UKTelehealthcare remind us that there are several events coming up where they are organizing or supporting. Click the link on the right sidebar advert for more information on:

  • 1st-2nd October 2019 – HETT (Health Excellence Through Technology, formerly The UK Health Show), ExCel, London
  • 10th-11th October 2019 – Suppliers’ Forum and Providers’ Forum, Barnet & Southgate College
  • 22nd October 2019 – Cambridgeshire TECS MarketPlace,The Burgess Hall, Westwood Rd, St. Ives PE27 6WU

The Mad*Pow design consultancy is being acquired by Tech Mahindra of New Delhi. Mad*Pow’s original focus was on design for health, financial wellbeing, and social impact, and in early days held several interesting NY-area meetings. Tech Mahindra is the digital tech offshoot of the Mahindra multi-national industrial and IT giant. Yet in the Mad*Pow email to industry contacts, “Exciting News! Mad*Pow and Tech Mahindra Enter Formal Partnership” it was positioned as a majority stake and that they would continue to operate under their own name in Boston–neither of which were mentioned in the Tech Mahindra release. Hmmmm……

Verily she rolls along to Harvard. Luba Greenwood is departing the Alphabet/Google subsidiary to lecture at Harvard and work on several boards. She joined them as head of strategic business development and corporate ventures in February of 2018. She will be lecturing at The Paulson School of Engineering in a joint course with the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Mobihealthnews points out other recent key departures at Verily and a puzzling ‘why it matters’ about educating the next generation of digital health employees on a variety of viewpoints where digital health can lower versus increase costs.

Teladoc has a new COO, David Sides, who is joining from a CEO position at Streamline Health, a revenue cycle management company. The previous COO/CFO left after investors alleged insider trading and an inappropriate employee affair. Cited in Modern Healthcare is Mr. Sides’ experience in international markets, where Teladoc has been expanding through acquisitions. Teladoc announced today increased revenue for 2nd Q but earnings are still in the loss column. Yahoo Finance His position at Streamline is being taken by their chairman, Wyche T. (“Tee”) Green, III who will serve as Interim President and CEO. Release. Streamline is on NASDAQ and trading today at $1.35. 

Speaking of puzzling, JAMA indulges in an editorial around DTC telehealth and the conflict they perceive between convenience it entails and lower-quality patient care. Of course, their definition of telemedicine is primarily around telepharmacy. And like DTC medications, they are concerned about how these companies are appealing and growing. “However, it is clear that the companies want to expand to more complex acute care and disease management; for example, Lemonaid Health has expanded to include laboratory testing. Some companies envision a transformation of their platforms into 1-stop shops for comprehensive care.”

This Editor wonders if JAMA would consider two NHS-approved mental wellbeing services, Good Thinking and My Possible Self, partnering to create a tool to tackle depression, stress and anxiety in London, especially the latter in London.  My Possible Self is part of the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator program. Mobihealthnews

CTE found in 99% of former, deceased NFL players’ brains: JAMA study (updated)

July 26, 2017 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h_research_Figure-4.-Annotated-Normal.-Mild-CTE.-Severe-CTE.jpg” thumb_width=”200″ /]Updated for additional information and analysis at conclusion. In the largest-ever case study published of CTE–chronic traumatic encephalopathy—VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS) and the Boston University School of Medicine’s CTE Center found mild to severe CTE pathology in nearly all of the brains of former football players studied. Jesse Mez, MD, BU Medical assistant professor of neurology and lead author on the JAMA study, said that “The data suggest that there is very likely a relationship between exposure to football and risk of developing [CTE].” The CTE is marked by defective tau (stained red in the brain sample pictures, click to expand), which is also evident in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Of the 202 brains donated to the VA-BU-CLF (Concussion Legacy Foundation) Brain Bank:

  • The most dramatic finding is the detection of CTE in 110 of 111 donated former NFL players’ brains (defined as having played one play in a regular NFL season game).
  • In addition, the brains of other football players were studied. CTE was detected in seven of eight Canadian Football League former players (88 percent), nine of 14 semi-professional players (64 percent), 48 of 53 college players (91 percent), and three of 14 high school players (21 percent).
  • The severity increased with length of play, with the majority of former college, semi-professional and professional players having severe pathology. The deceased high school players diagnosed with CTE had mild pathology findings. Age at death ranged from 23 to 89.
  • Player position mattered. Linemen, running backs, defensive backs, and linebackers, who take most of the punishment in football, were the bulk of the donated brains with CTE.

Separately, and with no knowledge of the pathology, backgrounds on each donor were compiled to gather medical history and symptoms. What was striking were the personality changes evident with even mild CTE. Dr. Mez: “We found cognitive, mood and behavioral symptoms were very common, even among players with mild CTE tau pathology. This suggests that tau pathology is only the tip of the iceberg and that other pathologies, such as neuroinflammation and axonal damage, contribute to the clinical symptoms.” 

Preliminary to the current study was UNITE (more…)

Catch-up: what you may have missed whilst on holiday

August 31, 2016 | by

This was the month when the UK Press seemingly finally woke up to the existence of STPs (Sustainability & Transformation Plans). This article by Derek du Preez and this in Digital Health are two one of a few that pick out the hope that digital health can help with making the NHS more sustainable. Sadly the headlines were grabbed with concern over closing hospital beds, which politicians in the UK still seem to consider to be a Bad Thing. Even though hospital beds have been reduced in most European countries over recent years, and those such as Denmark now trumpet reductions in hospital beds as progress, we have still to break the connection in people’s minds in the UK that beds are a good surrogate for health service delivery volume, (even though when pressed no individual seems keen to spend longer in hospital than absolutely necessary, or would prefer a treatment as an inpatient over treatment as an outpatient.)

Though not directly connected, the NHS offered over £100m to acute care trusts for “global digital excellence” – in line with the previous comments, perhaps the money could alternatively be spent on the UK building on its excellent primary care IT with the specific intention of moving more treatment out of hospitals…and follow that up with a proposal to put the hospital that is judged to be the least “globally digitally excellent” (more…)

Telemedicine finally gets some respect: WSJ

June 28, 2016 | by

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/long-windy-road.jpg” thumb_width=”250″ /]Telemedicine consults between doctors and with their patients are, at long last, progressing on the Long And Winding Road, according to this sizable recap in the Life and Health section of this weekend’s Wall Street Journal. The focus is on virtual visit growth in the US, but it opens with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) connecting their doctors in Africa with their specialist network worldwide. Mercy Health provides 24/7 ICU/ER support for 38 local hospitals out of a Virtual Care Center outside St. Louis manned by ICU specialists. Their results? A 35 percent decrease in patients’ average length of stay and 30 percent fewer deaths than anticipated. The important statistics here are on acceptance: 72 percent of hospitals and 52 percent of practices are finally integrating some form of telemedicine into care; 74 percent of large employers are covering telemedicine cost–yet awareness is still lagging among prospective patients, with only 39 percent familiar with it according to a recent survey. Challenges remain in reimbursement (more…)

‘Separating the wheat from the chaff’ in medical apps daunting: JAMA

April 17, 2015 | by

Medical apps may not be strangers to doctors’ offices anymore but they also realize that apps are difficult to recommend responsibly to patients or even to find, because there is no real guidance or validation. This current article in JAMA online confirms the perception and the need for care integration that both Editors Charles especially and Donna have pointed out lo these many years. However this Editor is quite disillusioned at the attempts to date to ‘curate’ apps with the Happtique failure and the relatively low profile to date of IMS Health’s AppScript and professional review site iMedical Apps and the stated intentions of SocialWellth which purchased Happtique. The reality is that the numbers are against it–IMS Health in their study estimated 40,000 medical apps–in 2013. For apps that want to take the high road, it’s economically difficult, but could be rewarding in the long term. The WellDoc BlueStar diabetes tracking and management support app did with FDA clearance and prescription-only use, but few so far can see a revenue model there. Also MedCityNews.

Intended use determines degree of health app regulation–and also how you communicate your attributes and performance claims. Bradley Merrill Thompson, who performs an invaluable service by advising our field on regulation, compliance and interacting with FDA, demonstrates how a developer can determine where the intended use of an app might fall (more…)

EHRs *do* take more time! (JAMA)

September 12, 2014 | by

If your doctor or nurse is frustrated by their EHR, it’s not because they are a technophobe or klutzy on the keyboard. According to a research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine (8 Sept), internal medicine physicians reported a loss of time of 48 minutes daily due to EHR use. 411 internal medicine attending physicians and trainees who worked in an ambulatory practice and used an EHR system responded to a 19-question survey in December 2012 by the American College of Physicians. The trainees reported a lower time loss–18 minutes. No conclusion is reached for this difference. Other findings indicated what took more time: (more…)

A cornucopia of appy items!

April 22, 2014 | by

Abilitynet’s top ten apps

When so many items that present themselves for publication are in one way or another pushing a commercial angle, it is so nice to be able to highlight a completely altruistic listing of apps aimed specifically at helping disabled people.

It would clearly be wrong to deprive Abilitynet’s website of the traffic, so rather than list the apps, we will merely comment that they seem very well chosen to cover as wide a range of disabilities as possible. The presence on the list of a number of widely used apps underlines the oft-made observation that if you design something with disabilities in mind, it is easier for everyone to use.

Distimo app analytics

For those wanting to explore the success of their apps and what works in terms of promotion, or who are interested in app download ranking, Distimo has a hugely impressive website, well worth exploring as everything is free.

The absence of much info on health and wellbeing apps is notable though, perhaps because (more…)