In addition to all the smart, insightful speakers talking about innovation in healthcare and all the entrepreneurs in the startup showcase at CONVERGE last week, there were more than 50 other startups at the event. Here are a few of the most promising ideas and growing companies we heard about in Philadelphia.
No more facility fees for emergency care
One doctor I spoke with is working on a free-standing emergency room. The idea is to provide urgent care that is more complex than what a minute clinic can provide. A free-standing center would not have a facility fee, which means cheaper care for patients. The entrepreneur was not ready to share many details, but I am looking forward to writing about the company soon.
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Getting paid for prevention
Prescribe Well sounds like many other wellness ideas out there, but this one has an actual business model behind it. This platform helps doctors get paid for providing weight-loss counseling. Susan Schramm-Apple has licensed a technology platform from Merck and is working with Shahid Shah to build the product. It is a doctor-centric solution that sits on top of the office’s EMR. It uses an algorithm to identify a patient’s risk factors and suggests a wellness plan. The technology also incorporates the new wellness provisions of the Affordable Care Act to tell the doctor about new reimbursement opportunities. The system also tracks patient metrics so the doctor can get paid for the visits. Schramm-Apple was part of the Merck Innovation Team and Merv Turner, her former boss at the company, is involved in her new venture.
A (non-creepy) dating site for doctors and patients
Here’s the elevator pitch for NaviGo Health: “It’s eharmony.com for doctors and patients.” Anthony Stedillie is building a tool to assess the communication and learning styles of both patients and doctors. Patients could use the information to increase the odds of finding a doctor who can provide the kind of care they want. Doctors could use the information to find the most effective way to communicate with a particular patient.
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Flickering diagnostic
EyeIC is making it easier for docs to spot subtle changes in eye health. Their Matched Flicker software automatically alternates between two superimposed eye images. It’s like the “which one is better, A or B?” conversation at the eye doctor, but with medical images. The “find the differences” challenge on their site is a great illustration of the software. It took me 25 seconds to find three of the five differences.
A portable, multi-modal brain scanner
I first met Adam J. Simon at Datapalooza last month in Washington D.C. He presented the company’s neuro diagnostic system at the consumer app showcase. Cerora’s MindReader uses a single-led EEG sensor to track brain activity, a microphone to record the voice and a computer test to capture the reaction time and accuracy. This data is analyzed by Borealis — the company’s proprietary software. Simon is building the technology to help people with concussion (mTBI) and Alzheimer’s disease make treatment decisions.
Modernizing patient surveys
HCXperience does patient satisfaction surveys in real time. Caseworkers approach hospital patients before disharge to ask them to complete a survey on a tablet. Healthcare systems need a better completion rate on these surveys because the ACA ties a small part of Medicare reimbursement to patients’ satisfaction scores. Their video illustrates why the current paper-based system produces more waste than actual feedbabck from patients.
Open-source home monitoring
Zivtech combines wireless medical devices and open source software to make in-home monitoring easier. It connects with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled medical and sensing devices in a patient’s home, either through a mobile app or base station using Rasberry Pi (a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard). The system uploads the data from these apps to its servers, where it can be shared with any application that offers an API. It also allows care coordinators to set up alerts for the monitors and to create custom email or text alerts that are triggered when vitals exceed a certain level. Zivtech’s healthcare group LivIT uses this platform to offer remote patient monitoring as an SaaS option.
Med reminders + points + analytics
Yes, another prescription reminder app, but this one autopopulates the meds. Gyan Patra, the co-founder and chief architect of RxNetwork, told me that the target customer is pharmacies, which allows the medication information to be added to the patient’s account automatically. The platform offers location and time-based alerts that could be set to go off when a customer comes into a pharmacy on an errand unrelated to prescription drugs. Pharmacies can offer points to customers for refilling and taking meds, and check on adherence using RxNetwork’s analytics.
Starting the hard conversations
Connect2LiveWell is another brand new company. The idea is to help family members, patients, and healthcare providers address some of the frightening and difficult conversations related to healthcare decisions. This could include end-of-life care as well as treatment choices. Monica Gilbert, a strategist and entrepreneur, is just getting started with the service. She has worked for Wyeth and Pfizer.
Closing the caregiving loop
Judy Spiegel wants to create a communication loop that connects patients, caregivers and doctors. Her target customer is an adult caring for an older parent or relative who isn’t quite ready for a tablet or a smartphone. The first product from No Brainer Technology is an app designed to monitor daily routines, tasks and medical care. Life Share Care will help make caregiving easier, help the patient feel safer and reduce stress on caregivers.
