News roundup: Walgreens settles 10 year running false claims suit for $5M; UniDoc to buy AGNES Connect; launches from Klarity Health, Tunstall UK, HSE Ireland; VITAL WorkLife survey finds yawning gap in clinician/management mental health perceptions

March 27, 2025 | by

Walgreens continues to tidy its accounts. The ten-year-old whistleblower-initiated Federal lawsuit charged that Walgreens violated  anti-kickback statutes for Medicare and Medicaid was settled for $5 million on Tuesday. The claim was that patients at the Cook County Health & Hospital System’s Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center were induced to fill prescriptions at Walgreens’ specialty pharmacy by waiving copayments, an inducement that violated the False Claims Act. The lawsuits were filed in the Federal District Court for Northern Illinois by Sarah Castillo Baier and Rita Svendsen Baier in 2014, then by the Department of Justice and the state of Illinois filing their joint complaint four years later in 2018. The settlement will be divided between the two whistleblowers and the US and Illinois governments. This is Walgreens’ second settlement in the last month and pocket lint compared to the first; their $595 million bill for settling the $1 billion PWNHealth/Everly Health arbitration award came due at the end of February. Crain’s Chicago Business

UniDoc signs agreement to buy AGNES Connect from AMD Telemedicine. The Canadian ‘doc-in-a-box’ remote virtual clinic company has agreed to acquire the AGNES Connect business line, software, and customers to its present H3HealthCube product (right). Their NEIL Connect software for the HealthCube was already built on the AGNES Connect telemedicine clinical exam platform. Interestingly, UniDoc is acquiring the use of the AMD Telemedicine name for AGNES along with related goodwill and trademarks, for which they are paying a low US $175,000 in cash plus a revenue share. The Canadian Securities Exchange may have to approve, but the closing is expected shortly. The H3Health Cube was recently placed in Italy and Ukraine [TTA 13 Feb]. Release

This week’s three launches are:

  1. Klarity Health launches Kiwi Health. Telehealth and independent private practice management platform Klarity Health’s new Kiwi Health is designed as an an all-in-one marketing and communications tool. It provides practices with SaaS tools to set up and promote an online presence in 30+ clinical directories, professional website management, patient intake and scheduling, a patient portal, loyalty, and engagement. Klarity has operations in 40 states with practices serving over 100,000 patients while retaining 94.3% of its doctors–all on a slim raise of $12.5 million. Release
  2. Tunstall Healthcare UK introduces Communicall Digital. This fully digital warden call system is designed for supported housing and retirement communities including extra care environments. It enables residents not only to summon assistance through its alarm feature, but also to manage door entry and room-to-room video calls through a simple touchscreen system. The system also reports resident activity to care staff through the Central Management Platform. It is fully compliant with the UK’s digital transition requirements to the industry-standard BS8521-2 (NOW-IP) protocol. THIIS
  3. Ireland’s Ministry of Health launches the Health Service Executive (HSE) Health App. The initial release will enable Irish residents to access and store their health information including self-declared medications; view a list of medicines received through the Irish Drugs Payment Scheme or Medical Card Scheme; their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC); their medical Long-term Illness (LTI), Drugs Payment Scheme (DPS) and GP Visit cards; flu and COVID-19 vaccination records; maternity service appointments, and information on HSE services. Additional features will be rolled out during 2025. Ireland Department of Health release

Meanwhile, clinicians and their leadership stand waaaay far apart on burnout and workplace mental health. A study from VITAL WorkLife, a mental health provider for healthcare workforces including physicians and nurses, finds that there’s a Grand Canyon of a perceptual gap between clinicians and healthcare employer leadership.

  • 79% of clinicians feel unsupported — while 95% of leaders believe they are addressing healthcare worker burnout
  • 80% of clinicians believe that it’s urgent to address to address mental health challenges in their organization–but only half of the leadership agree
  • Over 70% of clinicians believe that their leadership considers organizational mental health a low-priority issue
  • 98% of healthcare leadership believe that they make workplace mental health a priority, while only 39% of clinicians agree–and believe that organizational performance is far more their concern.
  • 92% of healthcare leadership believe that existing programs are well tailored to organizational needs–but only 16% of clinicians agree. 33% disagree and an addition 51% find themselves in the ‘middle’. 

The online survey of 210 healthcare professionals across the US was taken over a three-week period in January 2025, with a cross-section of healthcare functions including leadership level medical, nursing, HR, and wellness staff, as well as clinicians. The full survey is available for download at this link. Release

A lighter update: Pepper the Robot’s comeback at San Diego State University–now AI-equipped for mental health

June 21, 2024 | by

Our old friend Pepper and sidekick Bernard are back…this time with AI. A new research initiative at San Diego State University’s James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence (JSBAIC) is equipping Pepper (left, SDSU photo) and Bernard (right, file photo) with AI capabilities targeted to early recognition of mental health concerns.  The JSBAIC, with the help of a $5 million grant from the James Silberrad Brown Foundation, has already equipped Pepper with functionality that can recognize changes in emotional states, such as speech patterns, voice pitch, or even eye pupils. The purpose would be to assist clinicians with a robotic early warning system for a potential mental health episode. JSBAIC researchers are working with Sharp HealthCare in San Diego (also a beneficiary of the Brown Foundation) in a clinical trial focusing on children with bipolar disorder. The JSBAIC is a spinoff from SDSU’s Fowler School of Business’ Management Information Systems area. JSBAIC interview with NBC San Diego, Daily Aztec  Hat tip to HIStalk 6/19/24

Pepper and Bernard were originally created by Aldebaran Robotics (now Softbank). TTA has been following their development since at least 2016 when tested as robotic greeters at the Ostend, Belgium AZ Damiaan hospital. Softbank is actively marketing Pepper for uses in healthcare, education, hospitality, banking, and retail. Bernard (NAO) is a personal teaching assistant. Pepper has also appeared before the House of Commons select committee on education [left, TTA 25 Oct 2018] to mixed reviews and earlier fainted during a star turn at CES.

 

 

 

News roundup: with chronic conditions peaking, Twin Health’s metabolic AI gains $50M, Talkspace and Evernow partner for women’s mental health

December 15, 2023 | by

Chronic conditions on the rise, according to United Health Foundation. The non-profit philanthropic arm of UnitedHealth Group released its annual America’s Health Rankings 2023 report. The report considers 87 measures from 28 distinct data sources for 2022. Topline results in their summary are concerning. 

  • Eight chronic conditions reached their highest level in AHR’s tracking history: arthritis, depression, diabetes, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),  and chronic kidney disease (CKD).
  • 29.3 million adults, or 11.2% of the population, reported having three or more chronic conditions.
  • During 2021 and 2022, depression rates grew to 21.7% or 54.2 million people. Diabetes incidence rose to 11.5% or 31.9 million adults.
  • Disparities are pronounced between demographic groups. From the overview:
    • Hispanic adults were 2.1 times and black adults were 1.8 times more likely, respectively, to have uncontrolled A1C compared to multiracial adults.
    • In 2013-2016, asthma-related emergency room visits were 2.5 times higher among black compared with white adults with asthma.
    • White adults with hypertension were 1.5 times more likely to have their blood pressure “controlled” compared to black adults with hypertension.
  • Premature death increased 9% between 2020 and 2021: drug deaths increased 15%, firearm deaths 7%, and homicide increased 33%.

The report also ranked the healthiest states as New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, and Minnesota. Bottom-ranked: Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Alabama. The annual report includes sub-reports focusing on the health of women and children, mental and behavioral health, seniors, and Covid-19. FierceHealthcare

Twin Health’s AI approach to Type 2 diabetes as a metabolic disease gains a $50 million Series D. This late-year raise in a difficult funding market was led by Temasek with participation from existing investors ICONIQ Growth, Sofina, Peak XV, and Helena, adding to their October 2021 $140 million Series C. Twin Health’s main platform is the Whole Body Digital Twin which models an individual’s metabolism from data points collected daily via wearable sensors, clinical lab parameters, and self-reported preferences. The concept of a ‘digital twin’ to guide both the patient and the care team is a relatively new one, created on an app available to both the patient and their Twin Health licensed clinical care team. Their method is to provide individualized guidance on nutrition, sleep, stress, and activities to heal the metabolism and root causes of diabetes, intending to reverse Type 2 diabetes metrics and medication use within six months. Financially, they also have an attractive model–full risk with employers and health plans, being paid when their employees and members get results. According to their founder and CEO Jahangir Mohammed to Axios, “Twin is currently conducting two randomized controlled trials — one in India and one in the U.S. — analyzing whether people using its approach can successfully enter diabetes remission or “reversal.”  Mobihealthnews, Twin Health release

Addressing both mental and women’s health is an interesting partnership between Talkspace and Evernow. Evernow, which focuses on telemedicine treatment for women 40+ during perimenopause and menopause, is partnering with Talkspace to address mental health issues that are prevalent at that time. Evernorth’s survey using their records of over 100,000 patients found that 61.4% of women surveyed reported feeling symptoms of anxiety and/or depression.

  • Evernow members in multi-month plans will gain free access to Talkspace’s mental health resources in their self-guided program that has 400 self-guided therapy sessions plus on-demand workshops and classes. Virtual therapy offered by Talkspace has a $100 discount.
  • Talkspace members also have discounted access to Evernow programs, with a three-month plan for $129 or a 12-month plan for $348.
  • They are also bundling their programs together for enterprises and employers.

Evernow is also moving into AI capabilities through the Early Access Partnership with Hippocratic AI, a generative AI company developing safety-focused large language models for healthcare. Talkspace recently won a $26 million three-year contract with New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for NYC Teenspace, a free therapy program for those aged 13 to 17. Release, Mobihealthnews, MedCityNews

Perspectives: Creating consistent standards isn’t a once and done job

September 9, 2022 | by

TTA has an open invitation to industry leaders to contribute to our Perspectives non-promotional opinion area. Today’s contribution is from Rhod Joyce, Deputy Director of Innovation Development at NHS Transformation Directorate and previously Head of Partnerships for NHSX. As Deputy Director of Innovation Development within the NHS Transformation Directorate, Rhod works to support the ecosystem in the development, assurance, and deployment of digital tools and services at scale. Key programs include the Digital Health Partnership Award and the Digital Health Technology Assessment Criteria. He drives support for patients to access digital health apps to support the management of long-term conditions and leads the Transformation Directorate’s Partnerships team.

This is the second Perspectives contributed by Wysa, an AI-enabled therapy coach for mental and emotional wellness. It recently was granted an FDA Breakthrough Device Designation prior to premarket review. 

Interested contributors should contact Editor Donna. (Pictures and graphs are welcome)

Technology is evolving and becoming more and more commonplace in healthcare. As a result of the pandemic, more people are open to the idea of digital treatment tools, and the NHS has pledged to provide ways to ensure that digital inclusion is accelerated. On-demand healthcare, virtual reality, online treatment sessions, big data, and predictive healthcare are all improving access and outcomes. Online and digital health resources can help with prevention, self-care, shared care and shared decision-making, long-term condition management, and appropriate use of urgent and emergency care.

The challenge for commissioners comes when trying to select which tool is best. There are over 350,000 digital health apps in the market, with an average of 250 new health apps being released every day. The question then becomes, how can commissioners and clinical leads uphold safety standards, whilst putting the best tools in the hands of clinicians and patients?

Historically the NHS has worked to a number of different standards, with various contributions to the Apps Library and a digital assessment questionnaire that had evolved. From a patient-facing perspective that was very complex, but it also raised issues for commissioners who had no common standard to work towards.

In most industries such as banking or travel, there is a baseline standard that everyone adheres to and knows is a minimum – an ISO or equivalent. But healthcare has been lacking. That is why we brought together all the standards so that digital health technologies that are being considered by NHS or social care organizations should be assessed against the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC), regardless of procurement route, by the NHS or social care organization that is buying the product.

It defines standards for clinical safety, data protection, cybersecurity, and technical assurance and interrupts and also with a view of accessibility and usability and they are set out now as the absolute baseline that digital health technologies need to meet to operate safely within health and social care. While DTAC is intended to be a ‘one size fits all’ baseline criteria in terms of safety and security, it is intended to be part of procurement, it is not intended to be the complete question set for procurements and should be supplemented with additional specifications including any policy and regulatory requirements.

Because clinical safety isn’t a once and done thing. Having a set of standards does not mean that once that box is ticked an application is fine and available to use for everyone. It’s necessary to continuously uphold clinical standards and safety logs that prove efficacy and excellence. Every interaction, assessment, and engagement will result in new information that needs to be tested against the appropriate criteria. A clinical safety risk profile is dependent on a daily update.

When we look at developing standards we need to look at a systems focus, national programs, and patient-facing criteria. These areas are three very different things but in the past have been looked at together, which has muddied the waters. DTAC applies to all types of digital health technologies, from electronic patient records to public-facing health apps.

By ensuring that the patient needs and healthcare system requirements are front and center of every development, every innovation, every interaction, we can be sure that we are delivering the right tools for truly personalized care. That commitment can’t be a one off. If we’re going to do the right thing, let’s do it repeatedly. Only with a common set of standards that are continually being addressed and revisited, can we safely operate and allow for the innovation and progression that the NHS needs to meet an increasingly complex and varied range of needs in a modern healthcare setting.

News roundup: RPM at 79 ScionHealth hospitals, 74% of employers like virtual care despite concerns, Alma Health garners $130M, NIH’s $25M for cancer care telehealth research, Parks’ virtual Connected Health Summit 30-31 Aug

August 30, 2022 | by

Winding up August with one last roundup…get along lil’ dogies….

Remote patient monitoring coupled with home care debuting at ScionHealth hospitals. Louisville, Kentucky-based ScionHealth, a network of 79 hospitals in 25 states, is working with Cadence Care monitoring to manage qualifying chronic care patients. Cadence’s Care in Sync RPM will first support managing hypertension, heart failure, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for ambulatory patients in 18 community hospitals across 12 states, with plans to roll out to the full network. Monitoring includes blood pressure, heart rate, pulse oximeter, glucose levels, and weight. These are tracked by care teams backed up by Cadence clinicians and telehealth. ScionHealth was formed from last year’s acquisition of Kindred Healthcare by LifePoint Health to create a network of 61 long-term acute care hospitals and 18 community hospital campuses. Cadence release, HealthcareITNews

What’s not to like about virtual care? 74% of the 135 employers surveyed like the idea, but 84% had real concerns about its ability to integrate virtual and in-person services, leading to duplication of services, unnecessary care, wasteful spending, and a fragmented care experience. These concerns ranged from 57% to 69% of those surveyed. The survey by the Business Group on Health found that these large employers were very interested in virtual primary care, with 32% offering these services in 2022, projecting out to over double — 69% — doing so in three years, 2025. In terms of spending, for the first time cancer care drives more cost than musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, attributed to pandemic-related care delays. Business Group on Health release, FierceHealthcare

A cheery note to close August is that New York City-based Alma Health has raised a Series D of $130 million in this depressed market. While its website is very much patient-facing, Alma is primarily a membership network for mental health providers to help them be in-network with payers and simplify reimbursement to thrive in private practice. Alma claims guaranteed payback for every session in two weeks and credentialing with major insurance payers in under 45 days. It also provides a practice platform for providers in all 50 states. The Series D builds upon its August 2021 Series C of $50 million, with total outside funding since 2018 of $220 million. Investors include lead on the Series D Thoma Bravo, Cigna’s venture arm, and Optum Ventures, plus lead on the Series B and C Insight Partners, lead on the Series A Tusk Venture Partners, with Primary Venture Partners and Sound Ventures. Valuation is estimated at $800 million. FierceHealthcare, Alma release

NIH’s $25 million for research into telehealth and cancer care. Four universities and institutions will lead NIH/National Cancer Institute-funded research on the effectiveness and demographic makeup of those using telehealth as part of their cancer care:

  • NYU Grossman School of Medicine: the Telehealth Research and Innovation for Veterans with Cancer (THRIVE) Telehealth Research Center will work with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to uncover information about the impact of demographics on care delivery
  • University of Pennsylvania: Telehealth Research Center of Excellence (Penn TRACE) takes another aspect, telehealth strategiesand their impact on shared decision-making for lung cancer care 
  • Northwestern University: Scalable Telehealth Cancer Care (STELLAR), which will study how telehealth can be used to manage and limit behaviors such as smoking and inactivity
  • Memorial Sloan-Kettering:  MATCHES (Making Telehealth Delivery of Cancer Care at Home Effective and Safe) Telehealth Research Center, focusing on telehealth’s effectiveness on treatment of breast and prostate cancer, including remote patient monitoring and telehealth. 

mHealth Intelligence, NIH release

Not too late for Parks Associates’ virtual sessions as part of their Connected Health Summit series. Two new Summit Sessions will be online Tuesday 30 and Wednesday 31 August. More information and registration here.

Aug 30 – New Opportunities in Connected Health Services: Monitoring and Home Care
• Health and Safety Monitoring
• Home Care Services

Aug 31 – Successful Strategies for Engaging Consumers
• Choice in Care: Telehealth, Kiosks, and Retail Clinics
• AI in Health: Creating Personalized Insights
• Wellness and Consumer Engagement

Part of Wednesday’s session will include “Who’s Paying for Healthcare? New Business Models”. There’s a surprising finding–74% of US internet households with children at home have used telehealth services in the past 12 months versus 32% without kids at home, and 70% are likely to use telehealth the next time they are sick. If you cannot make these sessions, their last virtual  TTA is a past supporter of the Connected Health Summit. Parks release.

The clunk continues: Q2 2022 digital health funding fades to $4.1B in Q2, down 50% from 2021

July 13, 2022 | by

Digital health funding continues to take a plunge. Knocked about by the hangover from the pandemic, a grinding war between Russia and Ukraine, gasoline prices jacked up worldwide, and knock-on inflation and looming stagflation, funding continues to slide. The decline in Q2 digital health deals and funding to $4.1 billion more truly reflects the downturn than Q1’s relatively buoyant $6.1 billion, which benefited from the carryover of deals negotiated during 2021’s boom and closing then [TTA 6 April]. Year over year, it was half of 2021’s high of $8.3 billion.

  • 2022’s first half (H1) total of $10.3 billion was down 31% from 2021’s $15 billion. Despite this, it is 63% above the pandemic-stricken 2020’s H1 $6.3 billion. 
  • Average deal size has dropped to $31.2 million from 2021’s full-year $39.5 million and even 2020’s $30.6 million, accounting for inflation in the past two years. Looking at funding size by series year over year, Series A funding is flat but funding for Series B, C, and D+ have dropped substantially.
  • No startups went public but four digital health companies announced plans to go public or were reported to be planning public exits. One SPAC was announced in June to close in Q3, that of VSee and iDoc Telehealth with Digital Health Acquisition Corporation. SPACs, as this Editor has noted, have gone from Funding Hero to Zero under 2022’s economics, causing many SPACs to crack (Owlet, Talkspace) and increased scrutiny by the Feds [TTA 9 June]. SOC Telehealth, an early SPAC, went private after a 90% share price drop [TTA 8 Feb].
  • Average monthly M&A has dropped substantially. 2021’s monthly average of 23 has dropped to 20 in Q1 and 13 in Q2, for a H1 average of 16.
  • Most popular funding areas are mental health (a far ahead #1 at $1.3 billion), oncology, and cardiovascular. Diabetes dropped from #2 to #4, skewed last year by Teladoc’s acquisition of Livongo. Oncology rose to #2 from #6 in 2021. For mental health, given increased Federal scrutiny and legal problems of companies like Cerebral plus the expansion of Teladoc and Amwell into the area, this Editor does not expect telemental health companies to continue to attract this level of funding but may be attractive for M&A.
  • Disease monitoring (a/k/a RPM) as a value proposition moved from #8 to #3 in investment at $1.4 billion. R&D and on-demand healthcare remained in their #1 and #2 positions.

As TTA has noted previously, this was all to be expected. Will 2022 funding perk up like 2020’s did through Q3 and Q4, or fall off like in 2019 as money sits on the sidelines? Rock Health does try to put a rosier shine on the retrenchment in its roundup, as has venture capital–reality can be good for you. Another depressive factor is regulatory uncertainty in multiple areas and Federal involvement, which some companies can work to their advantage. The Rock Health summary discusses this at length. Also Mobihealthnews. 

US telehealth usage increases slightly in August, reversing months of decline

November 4, 2021 | by

A permanent or temporary lift for telehealth claims? FAIR Health, which is the non-profit that analyzes healthcare costs and health insurance information, has been tracking telehealth claims monthly since January 2020. This Editor has previously noted the peaks coming during the height of the pandemic (April 2020, 13%) and the rapid deflation after then to settling down during the summer to about 5%. In August, claim volume increased to 4.3% from 4.2% in July. It’s 2.4% mathematically, but still a decline from May’s 5%.

Of all telehealth claims, COVID-19 reappeared in the list of top five telehealth diagnoses nationally in August 2021 at 2%, the first time it had done so since January 2021. The vast number of claims–58.8%–were for mental health conditions, a slight change from July’s 60.7%, and decreased across every region. Also increased: acute respiratory diseases and infections, rising from 3.5% to 4.2%.

The largest increase in telehealth claims occurred in the Southern states, rising from 3.1% percent of medical claim lines in July to 3.5% in August. 

FAIR Health’s monthly tracker includes claims from the private (commercial) insurance population, including Medicare Advantage, and excluding Medicare fee-for-service and Medicaid. FAIR Health release, Becker’s Hospital Review

News roundup: update on UnitedHealth/Change Healthcare DOJ check, Tunstall adds new CTO, Amwell’s gloomy second half, Teladoc’s Aetna deal, Fitbit and LifeScan diabetes

August 14, 2021 | by

Just the news, no deals. UnitedHealth Group’s $13 billion acquisition of diversified health IT/imaging/payments company Change Healthcare has hit another snag. Back in March, the US Department of Justice requested specific information as part of DOJ’s review of the merger under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Act (HSR). Both UHG and Change have agreed with DOJ to not certify compliance with the request before 15 September, then wait an additional 120 days, based on a 7 August Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. This could be shorter if DOJ formally advises them that their investigation is closed. Announced in January as a giant addition to UHG’s Optum unit, this now looks like the sale will close sometime in December–if it is not derailed. Becker’s Health IT with a brief recap. This was not a good week for UHG as they had to pay $15.6 million to settle a US Department of Labor finding that they did not pay out-of-network mental health claims at parity, wrongfully denied others, and flagged still others for utilization reviews. FierceHealthcare

Tunstall Healthcare announces a new Group Chief Technology Officer. Gary Steen joins Tunstall from broadband provider TalkTalk where he was Group Managing Director for Technology. He will lead Tunstall’s innovation and development function globally including all solutions and products from Tunstall’s technology delivery centres in the UK, Sweden and Germany. Previously, he was with MDS Global, a software services business active in Europe, Australia, and the US. Tunstall release.  Hat tip to Jenny Marston at Lucky North.

Amwell projects that Covid-19 will depress second half telehealth results by 200,000 visits and $8 million. CEO Ido Schoenberg MD made this surprising projection on the second quarter investor call, but the projection may be sound. His rationale is that there will be not much of a cold and flu season, as the latest virus variants will have people masking up and social distancing (and presumably avoiding indoor crowds. As we’ve noted previously, the Brothers Schoenberg tend to be contrarians on various headline trends (e.g. looking askance at Amazon Care biting into the enterprise telehealth business and hospital-grade in home care). One would assume that if more stay away from in-person care, telehealth would increase beyond the current claims rate of 5% especially in mental health which is half of telehealth claims. But this could be some clever sandbagging for investors, as he went on to say in the call that if the impact of Covid isn’t as bad as we think, there’s always the flu! FierceHealthcare

Amwell’s frequent sparring partner in various courts, Teladoc, announced that they would be powering Aetna Virtual Primary Care for their Aetna members in national self-funded employers. This is a trifecta of Teladoc’s physician-led care team model, Aetna’s provider network, and CVS Health services at MinuteClinics and where available, CVS HealthHUBs. The virtual visits will have no co-pay for as well as select in-person CVS Health services. CVS Health release, FierceHealthcare

Fitbit is, believe it or not, still around. They announced a partnership with LifeScan diabetes monitoring to integrate its health tracking apps with the company’s glucose monitoring devices for diabetes management. The Fitbit tools that track activity such as daily activity, nutrition, and sleep will provide tracking of impact on blood glucose levels. FierceHealthcare

News and deal roundup: another big mental health app funding, Happify Health’s prescription therapy app debuts, Alcuris approved by Scottish Digital Telecare for cybersecurity

July 30, 2021 | by

It does seem that behavioral health apps are falling from the trees and into pots of gold. Unicorns have become so…everyday. The latest is SonderMind, a Denver-based therapist matchmaking site for both video telehealth or in-person sessions. With a $150 million Series C round, it is claiming a valuation ‘well north’ of $1 billion. Main funders were Drive Capital and PremjiInvest. Previous funding was $32 million since 2017. The new funding will support expansion from the current 10 states to national. SonderMind first asks the prospective patient to complete a short questionnaire on care needs, insurance, and payment information, then connects them to a licensed mental health professional within a day or two. For their approved therapist group, they work with them to determine the types of patients they’d like to treat. FierceHealthcare

Another behavioral health company, Happify Health, announced Ensemble, its first prescription app. Formally called a PDTx (Prescription Digital Therapeutic), it will be for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). It’s a cognitive therapy with ‘Anna’, an intuitive support app with a patented dialogue flow. Ensemble is classified as an investigational medical device at this point. Happify plans to seek a 510(k) clearance in the future. It is designed to be used in support of other mental health treatments and can be integrated into a physician’s EHR.

The app’s development was facilitated by a recently renewed FDA guidance issued in April of 2020 that lets digital health companies go to market without clearance for digital health treatments for eight psychiatric disorders including those in Ensemble. Chris Wasden, head of DTx at Happify Health, was interviewed by Mobihealthnews. We note that Happify has been around since 2012 when mental health wouldn’t get you more than one free drink at a digital health conference. In March, they scored a $73 million Series D.

And in the UK, social alarm system Alcuris announced that their Memo Hub, Memo App and the Connec+ platform have been added to the list of Scottish Digital Telecare security-assessed suppliers. They were reviewed as part of cybersecurity for third parties which process personal data. Digital Telecare is part of the Scottish Local Government Digital Office and evaluates suppliers on their business processes as well as requiring independent Penetration testing (PEN testing). In their statement, “Alcuris welcomes the Digital Offices’ “Once for Scotland” approach and recognises the value it provides across Scotland. We would like to see a “Once for the UK” approach adopted and today we have written to the Telecare Services Association (TSA), to ask if they can collaborate with the Digital Office to enable the benefits of their security assessment programme to be available across the rest of the UK.”  Hat tip to Adrian Scaife of Alcuris for the release.

Funding roundup, 16 Feb: virtual mental health gains two (more) unicorns, Zocdoc’s fresh $150M, Owlet’s $325M SPAC

February 17, 2021 | by

Virtual behavioral health continues its hot run with two companies’ funding launching them into Unicorn Stratosphere valuations. The latest is San Francisco-based Modern Health which closed a $74 million Series D investment round, led by Founders Fund with participation from Lachy Groom. Total funding now exceeds $167 million over the past two years. The company claims a valuation of $1.17 bn plus status as the fastest entirely women-founded company in the US to hit the magic unicorn mark. Modern Health provides for about 220 mid-sized companies an app platform combining therapy, coaching, and self-guided courses in 35 languages. On 1 February, Modern Health acquired Kip, another mental health platform that was also woman-founded, for an undisclosed amount.

In January, corporate mental health provider, Lyra Health, gained a Series E of $187 million, bringing its valuation to $2 bn. Lyra claims 2 million members in large companies like Pillsbury, Uber, and Morgan Stanley. Talkspace, a direct-to-consumer digital therapy provider, went public earlier in January via a $1.4 bn SPAC. [TTA 29 Jan] According to Crunchbase News, among mental health startups, 141 were venture-backed within five years to the tune of $1.3 bn in investment. The pandemic and ‘lockdown loneliness’, as we’ve noted, kicked digital health and mental health funding into overdrive. FierceHealthcare, Crunchbase 

Patient appointment setter Zocdoc also gathered $150 million in fresh funding–what’s termed growth financing from Francisco Partners, bringing their total financing to $376 million in 10 rounds. Zocdoc has changed its model in the past two years from a subscription basis–priced per provider–to a per-booking charge. They also added virtual visits. Zocdoc now claims to be profitable and has grown its network by 50 percent in some states. It was one of the early healthcare unicorns, controversial in its business practices as far back as 2016, with customer churn, low margins, and high customer acquisition costs leading to unprofitability [TTA 11 May 2016, 21 Jan 2019], plus a former CEO suing about his ouster after eight years. HISTalk, Zocdoc release

Owlet socks it to a Q2 SPAC. Baby monitoring system Owlet Baby Care becomes a unicorn of just over $1 bn through a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) merger with Sandbridge Acquisition Corporation, backed by Sandbridge Capital and PIMCO private funds. It will trade on the NYSE (OWLT) and close in Q2. Anticipated value is as much as $325 million through cash ($230 million) and concurrent private placement (PIPE) of common stock ($130 million). Owlet started in 2013 with a ‘Smart Sock’ (left) using pulse oximetry to monitor baby heart rate, oxygen levels, and sleep patterns with readouts via their app, but has expanded to include an Owlet Cam. Owlet stated 50 percent revenue growth in 2020 after approximately $50 million in net revenue for 2019. Amazingly, Owlet in seven years raised a modest $48 million through 27 investors concluding with a two-year Series B. Awwww-worthy indeed. Release, Mobihealthnews

Telehealth claims rose 3,060 percent to October, settling in to over 5 percent of all claims–led by mental health (US)

January 9, 2021 | by

Utilization statistics confirm telehealth’s staggering rise and stabilization. US private insurance telehealth claims data, collected by non-profit FAIR Health in the year October 2019 to October 2020, rose from 0.18 percent of medical claim lines in October 2019 to 5.61 percent in October 2020, a 3,060 percent increase. While the percentages may be low, this tracks with the rise and fall of telehealth visits from February tracked by the last Commonwealth Fund/Phreesia/Harvard University study in October to about 6 percent of medical visits [TTA 29 Oct 20] as well as Epic’s tracking into September [TTA 2 Sept].

According to FAIR’s claim data, telehealth utilization peaked in April at 13 percent, falling in May to 8.69 percent, 6.85 percent in June, and 6 percent in August. This followed the trends reported by both Commonwealth Fund and Epic.

Telehealth visits ticked up September to October, tracking with the rise of positive COVID diagnoses. Telehealth share of medical claim lines rose 10.6 percent nationally, from 5.07 percent in September 2020 to 5.61 percent in October 2020. 

In every month, mental health led the top five diagnoses in the 30-50 percent range, cresting above 51 percent in October. This points to a greater acceptance of telehealth treatment in this specialty, which is positive, but also the distressing rise in CoronaDepression which TTA has been tracking in both the US and UK [TTA 18 Dec 20]

‘Exposure to communicable diseases’ were, up to September, not consistently among the top five reasons for telehealth visits. They re-emerged on the list in October. In other months as well as October, ‘respiratory diseases and infections’ may have been where active COVID was categorized. Other telehealth conditions were ‘joint/soft tissue diseases’ and ‘developmental disorders’. CPT/HCPCS codes are also listed for reference.

To view FAIR Health’s monthly national and regional analyses, go to their Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker. Release.

News roundup: Milken Institute’s telehealth brief with ATA push on Congress, GoodRx confirms 62% are CoronaDepressed, Johns Hopkins’ COVID mortality risk study and calculators

December 18, 2020 | by

The hot US health tech issue is retaining, consolidating, and adding to the gains that telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM) made during the pandemic. The influential Milken Institute (formally the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, Center for Public Health, and FasterCures) has published a short white paper on how best to increase access to telehealth services and support innovation as part of that aim. Their five core recommendations are: 

  1. Permanently lift Medicare location restrictions on telehealth to ensure that older adults can receive a variety of services in their homes and communities, regardless of where they live. (This was also recommended by the Taskforce on Telehealth Policy (TTP) [TTA 18 Sep] which was jointly formed by the ATA, NCQA, and the Alliance for Connected Care.)
  2. Meet the growing need for behavioral health care by addressing barriers to remote care and expanding the availability of telebehavioral  health services.
  3. Increase equitable access to telehealth services through digital technology, literacy programs, and broadband coverage.
  4. Support development and implementation of innovative telehealth and mobile health technology for prevention, well-being, clinical care, and research.
  5. Develop and document clear data sharing standards to support transitions of care across acute, post-acute, and long-term care settings, including care provided in the home and in residential care facilities. 

The consensus is that CMS’ 2021 Physician Fee Schedule post-pandemic (public health emergency=PHE) does not do nearly enough in that it returns–of legal necessity–to the status quo ante geographic restrictions, though it devised a temporary Category 3 to store over 50 telehealth billing codes [TTA 3 Dec]. The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) was joined by multiple organizations on Monday in pressing Congressional leaders to extend national telehealth ‘flexibilities’ as part of the $1.4 trillion omnibus spending deal that is needed to avoid a government shutdown on Friday (yes, this Friday) at midnight. The organizations joining the ATA on the letter to Congress are the Alliance for Connected Care, College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, Connected Health Initiative, eHealth Initiative, Health Innovation Alliance, HIMSS, and PCHAlliance. ATA release.

We are shocked, shocked that CoronaDepression worsens in those already suffering. Prescription discounter GoodRx analyzed prescription fill trends for anxiety and depression meds and found that they reached an all-time high in 2020–9.5 percent higher than the previous high in 2016. It peaked in April as the pandemic was underway, and possibly reflected some stockpiling.

Of their sample of 1,042 individuals diagnosed with anxiety and depression prior to the pandemic:

  • 22 percent responded that their symptoms were “much worse”
  • 40 percent said they were “worse”
  • 28 percent stated that symptoms were the “same”
  • a surprising 10 percent said symptoms were “better” or “much better” 

One of the main factors in that 62 percent reporting worse/much worse was the length of quarantine. “Those who reported quarantining due to COVID-19 were far more likely to report “worse” or “much worse” symptoms compared to those who did not quarantine. Over 70% of those who reported quarantining for more than one week said their depression and/or anxiety symptoms were “worse” or “much worse.” Loss of job and income, plus COVID-related events affecting friends and family, were also key in worsening symptoms. Many also had difficulty reaching their doctors/therapists and renewing medication. The study was conducted 1-10 November. GoodRx study

More depressing news (sic) of mental health challenges to older adults in the Isolation Age: The Future of Remote Care Technology, Lockdown Loneliness feared more than COVID, and the PLOS One study.

But cheer up and carry on, your COVID mortality risk may not be as bad as you think. A team of researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health created a COVID mortality risk calculator, based on algorithms calculating factors such as age, gender, sociodemographic factors, location, and a variety of different health conditions. Risk scores are grouped into five categories from lower than average/close to average to high.  While primarily for public health authorities to prioritize populations for vaccination, uninfected individuals can use it to determine their personal risk of future infection and complications after infection. It’s easy to use and your results may surprise you. There is also an interactive US map of the risk level of major cities, counties, and states. The study is published in a paper that appears in the journal Nature Medicine.  Johns Hopkins release, risk calculator

Lockdown Loneliness feared more than COVID-19 by nearly 1 in 6 over-65 Britons: study

December 10, 2020 | by

Even with Margaret Keenan, 91, being the first person outside of the Pfizer clinical trial to receive a COVID-19 jab (that’s a vaccination to us Yanks) at Coventry Hospital on V-day 8 December, the Lockdown Blues will continue to play for the foreseeable future, right through the holidays and festive season. Last month this Editor noted a multi-country PLOS One study that pegged UK self-reported loneliness at 27 percent in the survey (March-April) period. 49 to 70 percent of respondents reported feeling isolated. Overall, “Being younger, female, having lower socioeconomic status, a pre-existing mental health condition, and living alone increased the odds of being lonely.” The survey was conducted via social media, so many of the findings detailed the effects among a younger group of adults.

28 percent of older Britons also believe that lockdown and enforced isolation have affected their mental health. A new study from SECOM CareTech that concentrated on older adults confirms even more depressing (sic) mental health findings in the older age group. Of their survey group of 500 people in the UK aged 65 and over (infographic at left):

  • Nearly 1 in 6 were more afraid of loneliness than COVID-19–and this is a group at high risk, with over 50 percent with one or multiple chronic conditions. A sample verbatim quoted: “I get depressed being in the house all the time, but I am too frightened to take the risk of going out even for a walk.”
  • Over half are worried about spending Christmas without their family. Another verbatim: “I seem to have nothing to look forward to now and the prospect of Christmas looks grim.”
  • 28 percent confirmed that COVID-19 had affected their mental health–of those, more than a quarter indicated that loneliness or not being able to see their family was a contributing factor.
  • 39 percent also reported that they had trouble sleeping. Verbatim: “I’ve had sleepless nights since the Covid-19 pandemic & lockdown… I’m constantly worried with the whole situation.”

What to do? Neil Fitzwalter, the care technology manager at SECOM CareTech, said, “More needs to be done to help those in long-term lockdown. That’s why we will be calling each of our CareTech customers on Christmas Day to wish them a Merry Christmas and make sure they’re okay.” Those on the monitoring teams will also be ‘signposting’ customers in the event they are experiencing a mental health crisis.

 

Drug discounter GoodRx plans US IPO; Ginger mental health coaching raises $50 million

August 11, 2020 | by

The bubble bath got soapier with more IPOs and big raises on tap. 

GoodRx, the relentlessly advertised prescription discount scheme with spokespeople Martin Sheen and son Charlie, has filed initial paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a potential initial public offering (IPO). This has been in the rumor mill for a while. Timing would be about 4th Quarter or early in 2021, according to Reuters.

It may at least a partial exit for Sand Road PE giant Silver Lake Partners, which took a one-third interest in GoodRx in August 2018, creating an estimated value at $2.8bn. CNBC  Both their growth since then and key hires have indicated preparation for going public. According to MedCityNews, their revenue is up by 55 percent since 2018 and they now employ 350 people. As mentioned above, they advertise heavily on TV with celebrity endorsers. In June, two IPO-experienced executives joined the company (release): new president Bansi Nagji, McKesson’s former chief strategy officer who was on Change Healthcare’s board during its IPO; and CFO Karsten Voermann from acquisition company Mercer Advisors and who led Mercury Payment Systems through its 2014 IPO.

Ginger, formally known as Ginger.io, raised $50 million in Series D funding. Lead investors are Advance Venture Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Cigna Ventures, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, and LinkedIn Executive Chairman Jeff Weiner. Ginger provides on-demand mental health coaching as part of employee benefits within the US. Their release claims 200 companies, health plans Optum Behavioral Health, Anthem California, and Aetna Resources for Living, and tripled revenue in the past year. According to Crunchbase, this is their ninth funding round with a raise total of $120 million. Mobihealthnews

Digital Mental Health for Adults – a one day conference at the RSM on 23 September 2019 in London

September 6, 2019 | by

The next event run by the Royal Society of Medicine’s Digital Health Council, on 23rd September, focuses on digital mental health for people over 18. There are two main sides in the high level discussion around this topic. There is an increasingly active (and commercially burgeoning) group of companies and individuals who believe that there are a digital tools that can help to screen, manage and in some cases treat people with mental health issues (or who suspect they may have one). Some of these are simply ways of digitally enabling remote conversations between mental health care providers and those that require advice or care. Some are AI driven tools that to some degree replace the human element of care and support. The event will discuss whether this not only addresses workforce issues but also delivers clinical efficacy.

On the other hand, many believe that the use of digital technologies can adversely affect the mental health of people who use them, often to excess. Do the potential benefits outweigh these negative factors, or is a digital detox something that your GP may soon be prescribing?

Come along and get involved! Booking is here – tickets start at £20 (RSM student rate) for the day including a delightful lunch.

VA’s REACH Vet uses algorithms and AI to predict critical mental health needs–including suicide risk

June 27, 2019 | by

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been using artificial intelligence and patient data as part of a suicide prevention program for veterans–a top clinical priority for VA. The REACH Vet program, started in 2017, uses predictive algorithms to identify risk factors for suicide in millions of veteran patient records for medications, treatment, traumatic events, overall health, and other information. It then uses the information to determine the top 0.1 percent of veterans at any facility at the highest risk for suicide in the next year. Clinicians then call these veterans for about an hour’s conversation, offering to help them create a mental health care plan.

In its first year (2007-8), the program reached more than 30,000 veterans and identified about 6,700 active VA users a month. According to the short article on findings published by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center in 2018, “veterans who engaged with REACH Vet were less likely to be admitted to an inpatient mental health unit, and more likely to attend mental health and primary care appointments compared to those not in the program. REACH Vet infrastructure includes a coordinator at every VA facility and a national team of clinicians who provide overall program support.”

There are pros and cons to this proactive approach–the pros being a reduction in veteran suicides and evidence of higher suicide risk in the three-to-six months of starting–and ending–an opioid prescription; and the cons being that some of the algorithms may be inaccurate–a veteran could be inaccurately ‘dinged’ for risk or a traumatic involuntary hospitalization. VA is still refining its algorithms in areas such as changes in medication dosage (including opioids) and clinical notes for mention of negative personal issues. POLITICO Health Care