MedCitizens

MedCitizens: StartUPDATES

This week, check out the news from behavioral health startup NeuroFlow and predictive healthcare analytics business Cardinal Analytx Solutions. 

The StartUPDATES is a member feature of MedCitizens, a community of MedCity News startups. Submit here and join. 

At SXSW in Austin, Texas this week, NeuroFlow placed first in Hatch — a pitch competition for global startups in information technology.

NeuroFlow has also hired Phil Del Vecchio as a software engineer, focusing on the Android and iOS platforms. The company now has 17 full-time employees. Last year, the company raised $1.2 million in part to add employees. It previously hired Andrew Kahn as senior sales manager.

Predictive healthcare analytics company Cardinal Analytx Solutions has partnered with Premera Blue Cross, a leading health plan in the Pacific Northwest, to use Cardinal’s predictive analytics and machine learning solutions to identify and reach out to potential high-risk customers. Premera Blue Cross initially partnered with Cardinal to participate in the design and validation of the first version of Cardinal Analytx’s Cost Bloom™ predictions and medical action plans using proprietary, leading-edge machine learning algorithms. After success piloting this solution, Premera is deploying the solution along with additional risk prediction models it helped to design.

“Using advanced prediction and data science with healthcare data is providing new value in healthcare innovation,” said Colt Courtright, director of Corporate Data and Analytics at Premera Blue Cross. “By working with Cardinal Analytx, we’re able to leverage unique predictive capabilities and bring new solutions to the market that benefit Premera customers. Premera is able to identify a customer who appears to be at risk of a significant increase in their medical needs. Premera’s care management team can then create a plan to address and potentially mitigate these medical needs, directly with the patient or the provider.”

Truepill, which developed an online pharmacy fulfillment tool that is designed to help pharmacies check co-pay pricing, request refills, and get status notifications on orders, has closed a $10 million Series A round to help its commercial launch. Initialized Capital led the round with participation from Sound Ventures and Y Combinator, among others.

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A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma

A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.

 

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