Tom Henke, a former high-level executive at health insurer Medica, is seeking to raise more than $2 million for a home diagnosis testing company called QuickCheck Health Inc. that he started last year.
QuickCheck has raised about $264,000 so far, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The company is seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for devices that people can use at home to test whether a sore throat is strep, for example. Urinary tract infection is something else people might test for at home.
Henke declined to comment on Thursday. However, I grabbed a coffee with him about a year ago, when he was still getting started on the idea. He said at the time that it’s been possible for years for people to test themselves for simple ailments; the hurdle has always been that physicians can’t trust that patients at home will give accurate reports of the results. They might simply want an antibiotics prescription — no matter what.
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QuickCheck’s devices get around the issue because a person using one of the test devices doesn’t get a positive or negative result. The device spits out a code that a person enters on a website or reads over the phone to a call-center representative. QuickCheck is in the process of assembling a network of health providers who will initiate immediate online clinic visits to provide prescriptions for antibiotics or other needed medications if the code turns out to be positive.
Henke himself has a strong resume. Medica is one of the largest health insurers operating in Minnesota. Henke held a senior vice president position at Medica during his time there and was the company’s chief innovations officer.
QuickCheck’s chief medical officer, Dr. Mark Mesnik, was previously CMO at MinuteClinic, which moved its headquarters in 2009 from Minneapolis to Woonsocket, Rhode Island, home of its parent company, CVS Caremark Corp.
