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Category: WTF Health

Leading Innovation in Dermatology | Francesca Wuttke, Chief Digital Officer, Almirall

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BY JESSICA DAMASSA, WTF HEALTH

Almirall is a dermatology-focused pharmaceutical company based in Spain, and its investment in R&D for developing new therapeutics leads the way as the largest within the country’s pharma industry. It’s no surprise, then, that Almirall has also adopted a digital therapeutics and digital health strategy to augment it’s molecular innovations with a ‘beyond the pill’ approach. We sat down with Almirall’s first-ever Chief Digital Officer, Francesca Wuttke, to hear about the pharma company’s digital strategy which is centered on laying the framework for advanced analytical platforms that gather more health data about patients and skin health. For help and fresh ideas, Francesca has opened Almirall’s doors to health tech startups, launching a brand-new accelerator program cutely called ‘Almirall’s Digital Garden,’ to ‘seed’ and ‘grow’ innovative solutions. Are there lots of health startups out there that focus on treating psoriasis, acne, and other dermatological conditions? Francesca tells us what she hopes ‘reap’ from the Digital Garden and how she hopes her broader digital strategy will flourish at the boutique pharma company.

Filmed at Barcelona Health Hub Summit in Barcelona, Spain, October 2019.

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Digital Therapeutic for Chronic Condition Management in India | Abhishek Shah, Wellthy Therapeutics

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BY JESSICA DAMASSSA, WTF HEALTH

As the adage goes, “health is wealth,” and Wellthy Therapeutics is a startup looking to improve the health of patients with chronic conditions in India by making treatment more accessible. Only 5% of Indians are insured and much of the population is not health literate, so CEO Abhishek Shah hopes the Wellthy app will fill a critical gap in care for those with type II diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular conditions, and respiratory illnesses. With 15K users, the startup is focused on scaling up to truly capitalize on the potential of India’s enormous population. Learn more about their big plans, including those for a Series-A, to support that expansion.

Filmed at Bayer G4A Signing Day in Berlin, Germany, October 2019.

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The Digital Physical Therapy Startup for Knee, Neck, & Back Pain | Dan Rubenstein, Physera

BY JESSICA DAMASSA

Bum knees, aching backs, and neck pain are literally a pain-in-the-neck for millions of people – making chronic pain one of the largest areas of healthcare spending. Is it time to disrupt the traditional delivery of physical therapy? Physera CEO, Dan Rubenstein, thinks so, and talks to us about how his healthcare startup is revolutionizing the way physical therapy is being delivered by taking it virtual and driving down the cost. With more than $10M in funding (their $6M Series A was led by BlueCross BlueShield’s Venture Fund) and a major contract with a nationwide health plan provider in the works, the health tech startup is on track to help millions of people feel better and avoid the crazy rush to the PT’s office.

Filmed at HLTH 2019 in Las Vegas, October 2019.

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A New Era for One Digital Health’s First Unicorns? | Maeve O’Meara, CEO, Castlight Health

BY JESSICA DAMASSA, WTF HEALTH

Is Castlight Health suffering a case of ‘first-mover’ curse? One of digital health’s first unicorns, Castlight Health, IPO’d back in 2014 with a valuation of over $3 billion dollars (reportedly, 107 times revenue) at a share price of $40. Today, the stock trades around $1.20, and the company has endured years of frustration from shareholders who’ve complained about customer churn and questioned the company’s business model. A recent change in leadership at the top of the organization has ushered in new CEO Maeve O’Meara, a long-time employee of the trailblazing company, who’s now responsible for blazing a new path toward forward herself. Refreshingly candid about the road ahead, Maeve explains how some new high-touch (but cost-effective) offerings are opening up new markets for the biz and hints at potential partnerships emerging with Big Tech. A must-watch for any digital health startup, investor, or industry analyst who wants longitudinal perspective on health tech’s market resilience and the importance of timing. Maeve, who was a health investor herself before joining Castlight, sums up the challenge of trailblazing tech in healthcare like this: “In healthcare, you always want to be one step ahead and not two steps ahead — you can get burned easily by being two steps ahead.”

Filmed at HLTH 2019 in Las Vegas, October 2019.

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Uber as a Healthcare Company: The ‘Rideshare in Healthcare’ State-of-Play | Dan Trigub, Uber Health

BY JESSICA DAMASSA, WTF HEALTH

Looks like Uber has found its place as a healthcare company. On the heels of announcing a major partnership with Cerner to integrate its platform directly into the Cerner EMR system (and its reach of 220 million patients), Head of Uber Health, Dan Trigub, stops by to talk all things ‘rideshare in healthcare.’ From the regulatory environment shaping non-emergency medical transportation to reimbursement, Dan provides a sophisticated, in-depth description of the market opportunity the ride-hailing business sees in healthcare. How is Uber Health fairing within Uber’s larger business model, which is notoriously known to still be waiting to turn a profit? With more than 1,000 clients and 400% year-over-year growth in the health vertical it sounds like things are picking up.

Filmed at HLTH 2019 in Las Vegas, October 2019.

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Hospital Innovation in Madrid: Harder than in U.S.? | Julio Mayol, CMO, Hospital Clinico San Carlos

BY JESSICA DAMASSA, WTF HEALTH

Is healthcare innovation more challenging in a public healthcare system? We sat down with the Chief Medical Officer & Director of Innovation for the Hospital Clinico San Carlos, Dr. Julio Mayol, to find out! A large, academic research hospital in Madrid, Hospital Clinico San Carlos is an 800-bed facility that has served Madrid since 1717. The hospital counts the entire population of the city (all 6.5M of them) as their patient base and, as such, takes a different approach to integrating new health technology and innovations. Dr. Mayol unpacks the way he leads population health initiatives in his institution, talking through his approach for engaging physicians, external partners, and patients alike to improve the quality of care. Is it different than the way it works in the U.S.? Tune in to find out!

Filmed at Barcelona Health Hub Summit in Barcelona, Spain, October 2019.

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The Applied Health Signals Category of Health Tech | Jennifer Schneider, Livongo

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BY JESSICA DAMASSA, WTF HEALTH

Before Livongo set digital health records for its IPO, it started 2019 by launching a brand-new category of healthcare company: the Applied Health Signals company. How is this category different than what we already think of when we think about digital health and healthcare? How is it distinct from health tech’s other emerging classification, digital therapeutics? Jennifer Schneider, Livongo’s President, explains why the company started the new category, which is intended for those who are working at the intersection of data science, clinical impact, and behavioral outcomes. Could your company be an Applied Health Signals Company? Listen in to hear Jenny talk about how Livongo’s “AIAI engine” drove the decision to start the new classification. If your tech works like hers…maybe you are!

Filmed at HLTH 2019 in Las Vegas, October 2019.

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Solving the ‘Supply Side’ of Scaling up Behavioral Health Care | Russell Glass, CEO, Ginger

BY JESSICA DAMASSA, WTF HEALTH

The ‘virtual-care-for-behavioral-health’ space is getting a bit crowded these days, particularly as demand for such services reach new heights among patients. Russell Glass, CEO of health tech startup, Ginger (formerly known as Ginger.io) thinks his company has solved the supply-and-demand imbalance with their unique model that offers on-demand coaching, video therapy & psychiatry, and self-guided content by a range of different mental health care providers. Trained behavioral health coaches serve as the front-line of Ginger’s service, then act as care coordinators to bring in fully-licensed therapists and psychiatrists as needed. With 60 enterprise clients, double-digit patient engagement rates, and outcomes beating standard of care rates, Ginger’s got traction — and also cash. The company’s raised more than $70 million, having closed a Series C (with a follow on) in late 2019. Russ details scale up plans AND answers the question that all you health tech pundits are no doubt dying to ask: what happened to the ‘.io’?!

Filmed at HLTH 2019 in Las Vegas, October 2019.

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Radiology Gets an “App Store” for its AI Tools | Ben Panter, Blackford Analysis

AI in radiology is not new. In fact, the field is swarming with various apps and tools seeking to find a place in the radiologist’s toolkit to get more value out of medical imaging and improve patient care. So, how does a radiology team pick which tools to invest in? Enter Blackford Analysis, a health tech startup that has, simply put, designed an “app store” for radiology departments that liberates access to life-saving tech for radiologists. CEO Ben Panter explains how the platform not only gives radiologists access to a curated group of best-in-class AI radiology tools, but does so en-mass to circumvent the need for one-off approvals from hospital administrators and procurement teams.

Filmed at Bayer G4A Signing Day in Berlin, Germany, October 2019.

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Disrupting Healthcare Payment with Mobile Platform M-TIBA | Maarten Ras, CarePay

BY JESSICA DAMASSA, WTF HEALTH

What’s the future of healthcare payment? Could it be mobile?? CarePay is a health tech startup that is revolutionizing the way people in Africa send, save and spend funds for medical treatments via their mobile app M-TIBA. Maarten Ras, Regional Commercial Director shares how M-TIBA digitizes healthcare insurance schemes for the Kenyan government, allowing patients access to their healthcare benefits — and a way to pay for medical services — from their phone. A dream-scenario for health systems around the world that are looking for versatility, transparency and accountability in payment management, but is it really scalable? We find out who’s using M-TIBA right now, and how far CarePay is trying to go. Surely, a startup working so closely with national governments (including one that enrolled 2.5 million people just four months ago) is bound for big things?

Filmed at Bayer G4A Signing Day in Berlin, Germany, October 2019.

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