Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of healthcare:
Ugly first quarter for VCs: The venture capital industry continues to undergo convulsive change, as first-quarter fundraising hit its lowest point since 1993, according to the National Venture Capital Association. Fundraising fell 31 percent to $3.6 billion when compared to last year’s first quarter, and 11 percent when compared to the fourth quarter. Worse, only 32 funds were able to raise money in the first quarter, down from 44 last quarter and 57 a year ago.
As TechCrunch points out, the problem for VCs isn’t simply that everything will be wonderful once IPOs come back–if they ever come back–to previous levels. “The entire VC industry is being turned on its head” as startups, particularly those that have web-based models of business, need less and less capital to get going, TechCrunch says. Given that so many technology startups simply don’t need much venture money now, does that mean drug development startups will find it easier to attract money–essentially by default? Based on how recent biotech startups have fared in the IPO market, it’s no safe bet, but perhaps it’s a glimmer of hope.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
The largest funds raised in the first quarter were Battery Ventures and Oak Investment Partners which both raised $750 million. The biggest new fund was Boston-based Longwood Founders Fund, which raised $50.7 million.
“Fighting a war with too few troops”: The health reform law contained several measures aimed at easing America’s looming physician shortage: bumping up Medicare and Medicaid pay rates for primary care services and shifting unused residency slots to programs that promise to train more primary care doctors and general surgeons, for example. But it’s still not enough, according to a report in American Medical News. By 2025, the nation will face a shortage of 46,000 primary care physicians and 41,000 general surgeons, the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Center for Workforce Studies estimates. Further, at least 21 states and 17 medical specialty societies already are reporting doctor shortages.
The report highlights several other steps that should be taken to ease the shortage, including forgiving medical school debts for doctors who practice in rural areas, reducing the pay disparity between primary care and subspecialties, lifting the cap on federally funded residency slots and delegating more responsibility to nurses and physician assistants. The good news is that, possibly thanks to some reform provisions, more medical students are choosing primary care. Among seniors, 9 percent more chose family medicine in 2010, compared with a 7 percent drop last year, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.
The gamification of healthcare: Could treating health as a game–rewarding points for exercising and eating well, and deducting points for doing the opposite–be the key to health reform? That’s the theory advanced by venture capitalist Tim Chang of Norwest Venture Partners, VentureBeat reports. The idea is based on what’s known as Funware, or the use of video game mechanics in every day life situations. As VentureBeat points out, the key to such a game would be incentivizing people to log not only their 5-mile runs, but they’re candy bar binges, too. Still, with the rapid rise of social gaming, it’s not an idea that should be easily dismissed.
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.
Dangerous prescription labels: Instructions on prescription drug labels are often lost in translation when converted from English to Spanish, a study in Pediatrics found. The culprit was computer translation programs that focus on each word, rather than phrases. Researchers found a 50 percent error rate when examining 76 labels generated by 13 different programs. The reality, according to the study’s lead author, is that computers alone “are not ever going to be the answer.” There’s no substitute for doctor-patient communication–and human interpreters.
Photo from flickr user darkpatator
