If you are a startup and you want to succeed, pick a market niche that no one else is in, say a wearable device that provides health information monitoring. No one else is doing that, are they?? Spry Health lands a healthy $5.5 million for its version of such a wearable.
Please, make it stop. Xealht raises $8.5 million in funding to help doctors send electronic copies of health education material to patients and track their use of the materials.
You haven't fingered the pulse of the market if you aren't calling yourself a digital health company, like Peerfit, which raised $2.3 million to help arrange "boutique" fitness classes for health plan members and others. Someone will pay for this?
Ever wonder how many new-fangled pharmacies we need? We are going to find out. Yet another one gets some financing, as NowRx attracts $2 million to deliver drugs to consumers.
From the health plans have too much capital looking for a home department, Omada Health, which claims to offer services that keep pre-diabetics from getting the disease, garners another $50 million in capital in a round led by Cigna.
The digital pharmacy company formerly known as ScriptDash has raised $23 million in new capital and changed its name to Alto. Because it has a higher level of capital? Because it is singing a new tune? Because even with all this new capital, it can't afford an office in Palo Alto, just in Alto? I don't know.
From the too much capital looking for a home department, Doctible has received $2.2 million investment for its software platform to streamline doctor/patient interactions.
According to a report from the HHS Office of Inspector General, the department made over $700 million in improper payments under the HiTech Act to encourage use of EHRs.
EHR and practice management vendor athenahealth is acquiring Praxify Technologies for $63 million. Praxify helps doctors with workflow and care management software.
The Healthy Skeptic is a website about the health care system, and is written by Kevin Roche, who has many years of experience working in the health industry. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements through Roche Consulting, LLC and may be reached at khroche@healthy-skeptic.com.