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Australia Healthcare Market: Telehealth, Digital Health Expected to Boom Post-Covid19 | WTF Health

By JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH

As healthcare systems around the world grapple with the coronavirus, ‘virtual-first healthcare’ is fast becoming the global response of private and public healthcare systems alike. In Australia, the federal government recently committed to investing $500M to built out its country’s ‘virtual-first’ healthcare infrastructure, so we caught up with Louise Schaper, CEO of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH), to find out what that means for telehealth, remote monitoring, and digital health companies looking to capitalize on the market opportunity in Australia.

With a population of 25 million people (roughly the number of people in Florida) and a set of newly-minted reimbursement codes that makes telehealth available to all of them via the government-funded public healthcare system, the appetite for investing in new health tech solutions has grown ravenous.

Says Louise, “Anyone who has solutions that are already market-tested and approved, I’d actually expand your networks globally now. There’s not a section of the globe that hasn’t been impacted by [covid19] and we’re all needing to work out how to deliver healthcare differently.”

As in other parts of the world, the government codes reimbursing telehealth and other virtual-first services are temporary (Australia’s are set to expire September 30, 2020), but organizations like the AIDH, the Australian Medical Association, and others are advocating for their permanence and are optimistic.

The prevailing sentiment is that, like in the US, the benefits of virtual care to healthcare consumers and clinicians are going to be difficult for the government to ignore. Add to that the potential of linking virtual care to the Aussie government’s AUD$2 billion dollar build of its MyHealthRecord system — a centralized, cloud-based EMR that holds the healthcare data of 90% of all Australians — and the prospect grows even more appealing.

Join us as we talk through the basics of the Australian healthcare system and get an insider’s look at the demand for digital health, remote monitoring, and telehealth Down Under.

Covid-19 & Digital Health in Italy: “10 Years of Evolution in 10 Days” | WTF Health

By JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH

“It’s fair to say that, in Italy, we are doing 10 years of digital health evolution in 10 days.”

Our “man-on-the-street” in Italy (well, man-sheltered-in-place in Italy) Roberto Ascione, CEO of Healthware, reports in on the Covid-19 outbreak and what’s happening with digital health startups, health system partners, and hospitals as Italians continue battling at the forefront of the coronavirus outbreak.

A few weeks ahead of the U.S., there are many things to learn about Covid-19 testing, treatment, outcomes, and timing from the experience in Italy, including some foresight on how pathways for telehealth and digital health continue to evolve as conditions become more serious and the outbreak progresses. (For all you Gretzky fans, this is “skating to where the puck will be” kind of stuff…)

Some navigational guidance on this chat which took place March 26, 2020:

  • Update on Italian Covid-19 outbreak from health industry insider
  • 10:25 minute mark: Digital Health startup case study, Paginemediche, self-triage chatbot data from 70K Italians, data sharing with Italian government & WHO, telehealth model flipping to give overwhelmed physicians opportunity to triage and “invite” patients based on needs
  • 19:10 mark: How to work with Italian digital health startups to advance Covid-19 work
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Consulting for Health Tech Startup CEOs From the Guy Who Knows | Matthew Holt, SMACK Health

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By JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH

To hear Matthew Holt tear apart a pitch deck—or worse, a demo—one thinks of another Brit with a penchant for criticism and tell-it-like-it-is tough love. Could Matthew Holt be the Simon Cowell of health tech? Or maybe he’s got a point underneath all that gruff? Having co-founded Health 2.0, Matthew helped bring digital health and health tech startups into the mainstream by providing a friendly forum for entrepreneurs and established healthcare incumbents. Along the way, he’s suffered through his fair share of demos and pitches, and watched all corners of the healthcare market as it reacted to (and invested in) tech health solutions. Now bringing that 30 years of wisdom to startups seeking coaching, help with strategy, business model design, fundraising, and, of course, demoing and pitching, Matthew explains how he hopes to help the current class of up-and-coming health startups via his consulting biz, SMACK Health.

Filmed at HLTH 2019 in Las Vegas, October 2019.

Who’s in Your Supply Chain?

By KIM BELLARD

Tesla is now, by market cap, the second largest auto manufacturer (after Toyota).  Its market cap exceeds U.S. auto makers Ford, G.M., and Fiat/Chrysler — combined.  This despite selling less than 400,000 vehicles in 2019, a figure that is more than the prior two years combined.   

Tesla has made its bet on the future of electric cars.  It didn’t invent them.  It isn’t the only auto manufacturer selling them.  But, as The Wall Street Journal recently said: 

Investors increasingly see the future of the car as electric—even if most car buyers haven’t yet. And lately, those investors are placing bets on Tesla Inc. to bring about that future versus auto makers with deeper pockets and generations of experience.

 A recent analysis suggested a big reason why, and its findings should give those in healthcare some pause.  Tesla’s advantage may come, in large part, from its supply chain.

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Behind the Big Deal: Teladoc Health’s Acquisition of InTouch Health | Joe DeVivo, InTouch Health

By JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH

It was a seminal moment in virtual care as Teladoc Health acquired Intouch Health for $600 million, effectively taking its mostly direct-to-consumer telehealth platform directly into more than 2,500 care providers — or, as they say, “from hospital to home.” We caught up with InTouch Health’s CEO, Joe DeVivo, to hear his thoughts on the deal, including what it means for the further advancement of virtual care and for the digital health industry at-large.

Filmed at J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, January 2020

What’s Ahead for Livongo & the Health Tech Market in 2020? | Glen Tullman, Livongo

By JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH

What does Glen Tullman, Chairman of Livongo, expect from the health tech market in 2020? Livongo may have started a “race for the exits” in digital health with its 2019 IPO, and Glen says he “wants a healthy, consumer-facing digital health market” to help his own business thrive. Does that mean he anticipates more IPOs from the health tech sector this year? We get Glen’s predictions after we catch up on Livongo’s recent moves to partner with DexCom and test a new pathway to reimbursement via Express Scripts’ Digital Health Formulary.

Filmed at J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, January 2020.

Health Catalyst’s New Data-Driven Life Sciences Business | Sadiqa Mahmood, Health Catalyst

By JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH

As if an IPO weren’t enough big news for Health Catalyst in 2019, the company also launched a brand-new life sciences business, basically setting forth a new solution for a completely new set of healthcare clients. Sadiqa Mahmood, Senior VP for Medical Affairs, explains how Health Catalyst is building off their deep expertise analyzing clinical care data and adding to it the molecular data typically collected by pharma companies, biotechs, med device manufacturers, and even digital health companies in order to open up a new era of precision medicine. The idea is to enable these innovators to better define patient cohorts for targeted therapies by creating a more robust data-set that integrates clinical measures. Was this strategy part of Health Catalysts’ larger plan to go public? How have life sciences companies responded so far? Sadiqa gives us some insight on Health Catalyst’s growth plans.

Filmed at Frontiers Health in Berlin, Germany, November 2019.

Health in 2 Point 00, Episode 108 | OneMedical IPO, Hinge Health, & Humana

Today on Health in 2 Point 00, we’re starting out with a riddle: what’s the similarity between the 49ers Super Bowl performance and digital health? Find out on Episode 108, where Jess and I discuss other news in health tech starting off with another IPO, OneMedical. Now worth more than Livongo at $2.7 billion, this went better than anyone could’ve expected. Hinge Health raises $90 million in a Series C round, offering physical therapy at home and tapping into the loads of waste that goes towards back surgeries. Finally, Humana partners with a private equity company to expand primary care centers, what is the deal with this? —Matthew Holt

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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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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