Category: Health Tech

Not Just Faxes

Oct 22, 2020

By KIM BELLARD

I missed it when it was first announced in Japan, but fortunately the U.S. mainstream media has finally picked up on the story, with articles in both The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal: Japan’s new Administrative Reform Minister Taro Kono has “declared war” on fax machines, among other paper-based traditions.

Wait, what? “Administrative Reform Minister?” The U.S., or at least the U.S. healthcare system, has to hear about this.

Mr. Kono is a well known Japanese politician, including stints as Defense Minister and Foreign Minister. He is thought of as something of a maverick, at least by Japanese political standards. New Prime Minister Suga installed Mr. Kono in mid-September, making overhaul of bureaucracy a top priority: “Wherever there are problems, I want all of them brought to Mr. Kono for handling on behalf of the nation.”

Mr. Kono set up a hotline for people to report government red tape, which was quickly overwhelmed with thousands of examples. It soon reopened.

It didn’t take long for Mr. Kono to start calling for significant changes. “To be honest, I don’t think there are many administrative procedures that actually need printing out paper and faxing,” he said in a press conference in late September. “My job is to clear the road of obstructions to allow the Ferraris and Porsches of digital innovation to speed through.”

THCB Gang Episode 29 10/22

Oct 22, 2020

Episode 29 of “The THCB Gang” was live-streamed on Thursday, October 22nd. You can see it below!

Matthew Holt (@boltyboy) was joined by regulars: patient safety expert Michael Millenson (@MLMillenson), MD turned leadership coach Maggi Cary (@MargaretCaryMD). Guests were Fard Johnmar (@fardj), Founder of Enspektos, and Denise Pines, who is also the current President of the Medical Board of California. The conversation got in depth about medical boards, their impact and, the future of medical licensing. There was also a lot of disccussion about health care and life for women as they age. Fard & Denise will be hosting a session about #FemAging on Thurs Oct 29. You can sign up for that here.

If you’d rather listen to the episode, the audio is preserved as a weekly podcast available on our iTunes & Spotify channels — Zoya Khan, producer

Tying Health Care Investment to Performance

Oct 16, 2020

By BRIAN KLEPPER and JEFFREY HOGAN

GoodRx’s planned initial public offering recently made the news, notable because the company, launched in 2011, has been profitable since 2016. Evidently, it’s become unfashionable for investors to demand proof of performance, so GoodRx’s results shone like a beacon. By contrast, most health care firms seeking funding convey bold aspirations and earnest promises. Investors throw in with them and hope for the best.

But few new entrants seem to do the necessary advanced due diligence to assess exactly where and how their product, service or innovation should be positioned in the health care ecosystem to derive maximum value. Ironically, COVID has intensified and highlighted the fragility of the health care ecosystem, as well as the greater disruption opportunities available to new entrants.

Health care has become irresistible to investors, the outgrowth of the industry’s dominant players’ spectacular financial performance. Over the past 45 quarters, for example, major health plan stock prices have grown 4-6 percent per quarter, 1.2-2.2 times the growth rates of DJI and S&P (See the table below). Investors hope to either 1) capitalize on the health care’s ongoing culture of overtreatment and egregious pricing, or 2) support and share in the savings associated with rightsizing care and cost.

THCB Gang Episode 28 10/15

Oct 14, 2020

Episode 28 of “The THCB Gang” was live-streamed on Thursday, October 15th! Watch it below!

Matthew Holt (@boltyboy) was joined by some of our regulars: communications leader Jennifer Benz (@jenbenz), data privacy expert Deven McGraw (@healthprivacy), CEO of addiction recovery service Suntra Modern Recovery, Jean-Luc Neptune MD (@jeanlucneptune), CEO of Day Health Strategies Rosemarie Day (@Rosemarie_Day1), medical historian & health economist Mike Magee MD (@drmikemagee), policy & tech expert Vince Kuraitis (@VinceKuraitis). The conversation focused on the looming election, the new COVID-19 Surge, Amy Coney Barrett’s hearing, and health care costs rising in the US costs.

If you’d rather listen to the episode, the audio is preserved as a weekly podcast available on our iTunes & Spotify channels — Zoya Khan, producer

THCB Gang Episode 27, 10/8

Oct 7, 2020

Episode 27 of “The THCB Gang” was live-streamed on Thursday, October 8th! Watch it below!

Matthew Holt (@boltyboy) was joined by some of our regulars: health futurist Ian Morrison (@seccurve), WTF Health Host Jessica DaMassa (@jessdamassa), writer Kim Bellard (@kimbbellard), patient & entrepreneur Robin Farmanfarmaian (@Robinff3), health economist Jane Sarasohn-Kahn (@healthythinker), and fierce patient activist Casey Quinlan (@MightyCasey)! We covered the recent presidential & vice-presidential debates, Trump on steroids, what the future of the ACA looks like, how will virtual care change public health, and more.

If you’d rather listen to the episode, the audio is preserved as a weekly podcast available on our iTunes & Spotify channels — Zoya Khan (@zoykskhan)

Attention, Walmart Patients

Oct 6, 2020

By KIM BELLARD

When Walmart announced earlier this summer that it was opening an insurance agency to sell Medicare-related products and services plans, I thought, “that’s it?” When Walmart announced later in the summer that it was partnering (first with Microsoft, then with Oracle) in the bid to buy TikTok, I thought, “well, isn’t that interesting?” And when Walmart announced a few days ago that it was partnering with Clover Health to offer Medicare Advantage plans, I thought: “it’s about time.”

You know Walmart. 265 million people (worldwide) shop at its stores each week. Ninety percent of Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart store. It is estimated that 95% of Americans shop at Walmart during the year. In over 200 U.S. markets, it accounts for at least 50% of grocery sales. It is the fifth largest pharmacy chain by revenue.

And Walmart has been shaking up healthcare for some time. Way back in 2006, it introduced its $4 Prescriptions program that upended pharmacy pricing. In 2008, it started offering in-store retail clinics, initially in partnership with hospitals and now operates on its own.

THCB Gang Episode 26, 9/24

Sep 24, 2020

Episode 26 of “The THCB Gang” was live-streamed on Thursday, September 24th! Watch it below!

Joining Matthew Holt (@boltyboy) were some of our regulars: health futurist Ian Morrison (@seccurve), patient advocate Grace Cordovano (@GraceCordovano), patient & entrepreneur Robin Farmanfarmaian (@Robinff3), health care consultant Daniel O’Neill (@dp_oneill), and patient safety expert Michael Millenson (@MLMillenson). The conversation revolved around the dismantling of the ACA, conservatives causing chaos in the government, the dismissal of pre-existing conditions, and the state of women’s health rights after the passing of RBG. It was both an emotional & impactful conversation.

If you’d rather listen to the episode, the audio is preserved as a weekly podcast available on our iTunes & Spotify channels — Zoya Khan

WeChat to Many, WeDoctor to Some

Sep 22, 2020

By KIM BELLARD

You’ve probably heard about TikTok, especially lately. President Trump wanted a ban on it, and seems to have endorsed a deal for a U.S.-based version of it. The hundred million U.S. users, and probably their parents, are undoubtedly watching the sequence of events with mixed amusement and concern.

But you may have paid less attention to what’s been going on with WeChat, another China-based app. WeChat was part of the original proposed ban, which a federal judge blocked this weekend, hours before it was due to go into effect (the Commerce Department plans to appeal). The ban is on “transactions,” which, in WeChat’s case, covers a lot of ground.

TikTok was overlooked by authority figures for a long time because it was mostly used by young people and mostly for what seemed, to them, to be trivial purposes. Not so with WeChat; it is deeply engrained in users’ lives, including for their health.

WeChat is owned by Tencent Holdings, one of China’s internet giants. It has been described as a “Swiss Army knife” app, able to do many tasks – not just messaging and social networking, but also games, shopping, and payments. You can order food or book travel. For many users it is a primary source of news, which is part of the problem.

THCB Gang Episode 25 9/17

Sep 17, 2020

Joining Zoya Khan (@zoyak1594) on Episode 25 of “The THCB Gang” were regulars patient advocate Grace Cordovano (@GraceCordovano), writer Kim Bellard (@kimbbellard), policy & tech expert Vince Kuraitis (@VinceKuraitis), data privacy expert Deven McGraw (@healthprivacy), and guest Rosemarie Day, Founder & CEO of Day Health Strategies (@Rosemarie_Day1). Rosemary’s book “Marching Towards Coverage” is out now. The conversation revolved around new health technology policies, Medicaid Expansion programs, the 2020 election, and the steps to get to universal health coverage. Oh, and you can take Rosemary’s quiz about what type of a health activist you are!

If you’d rather listen to the episode, the audio is preserved as a weekly podcast available on our iTunes & Spotify channels — Zoya Khan

Kids & Mental Health: Brightline Aims to “Grow Up” Pediatric Behavioral Health Care with Tech

Sep 16, 2020

By JESSICA DAMASSA

Despite the fact that kids make up 20% of our national patient population and that their parents are likely just the tech-savvy market of health consumers that most digital health companies are targeting with their own virtual care solutions, very little has been done to use technology to ‘transform’ the way that they take care of their kids. One of the founders hoping to push this market into a growth spurt is Naomi Allen, co-founder & CEO of pediatric behavioral health company Brightline.

From seed to Series A in just 8 months ($25M total funding), Brightline is already looking to scale out its full-stack clinical model to help tackle the behavioral health issues that are often under-diagnosed and under-treated in kids. Naomi says that 75% of all severe mental illness manifests before age 14, but that only 1 in 5 kids will ever even get a behavioral health diagnosis. And more shocking? Of those that are diagnosed, only 1 in 5 of those kids will ever even receive any care.

The supply-and-demand equation is off — stymied not only by a clinician shortage, but by literally poor reimbursement from health plans concerned about the lack of quality metrics, measurements, and processes in pediatric behavioral health despite the prevalence of those kinds of quality guidelines around adult mental health care.

So, how is Brightline going to fix this? Technology, clinicians, coaches. A full-stack clinical model with a “scaffolding” of support for parents built around it using telehealth, digital tools, and, for those health plans, metrics. Tune in to find out more about their business model, what Brightline’s kids are saying, and how you can find their services yourself if you think your child might need help.