Devices & Diagnostics, Health IT, Hospitals, Startups

Putting predictive analytics in hands of primary care physicians, wearable tech among DC to VC winners

Big data once again stole the show at an innovation challenge, as developers find new […]

Big data once again stole the show at an innovation challenge, as developers find new ways to integrate software into their web-based and mobile apps. The DC to VC challenge at the Health 2.0 Fall conference in Santa Clara cast a spotlight on two companies for its cash award, according to a statement from Morganthaler Ventures.

Kinsa, which produces a Smart Thermometer, won the Consumer category. The thermometer is the first in its series of smartphone-dependent tools to help people track their health. The idea is for users to not only use the thermometer when they feel unwell, but also to contribute to a “health map” to show in real time which regions reflect rising temperatures that could indicate virus pockets. The  early stage venture-backed startup is led by Inder Singh, a former executive vice president for Clinton Health Access Initiative.

In the Steven Spielberg movie Minority Report, detectives depended on a trio of psychics to predict when crime would strike next. The police force would then take preventive measures such as arresting the suspect ahead of time. Amplify Health, which won the Enterprise category, takes a slightly different twist for its primary care tool. It uses patients’ data to provide them with a window on who has been following their doctors and nurses’ instructions and who has deviated from them. It helps them identify patterns that indicate undiagnosed chronic conditions.

It fits in with the Obamacare healthcare reform which puts more emphasis on primary care physicians to improve preventive care and identify potential health problems earlier.

One thing that I find a little big brother-ish is a component listed on Amplify’s website to help identify patients who have self-referred to an outside specialist. Really? It’s one thing to call out patients on adherence. It’s quite another to flag up patients because they don’t have their doctor’s permission to see a specialist. It’ll be interesting to see how physicians use that particular tool — whether it becomes a weapon to punish patients or a learning tool to better understand what their patients want and need and potentially identify which specialists they should use for referrals.

Among the crowdpleasers selected for the people’s choice awards were wearable tech company OMSignal. Its clothes contain sensors that can track breathing, heart rate, calorie intake, activity and even emotional well-being through a heart rate variability, according to its website.

Benefitter, a software-as-a-service solution for agents, brokers, consultants, employers and employees. Just in time for the health insurance exchanges, the solution helps users navigate health insurance and healthcare reform.

 

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