What can we learn from patients? Ex-Googler debuts health social network to find out
Google’s former Chief Health Strategist Roni Zeiger has launched Smart Patients, an online community for cancer patients. Read more »
Tips from the trenches: 5 lessons for health tech entrepreneurs
Seasoned entrepreneurs and investors in health technology give emerging startups a dose of advice. Read more »
With new partner, VC firm Aberdare goes all in on digital health
Aberdare Ventures hires a new partner to support its focus on “transformational” health investing. Read more »
Simplee goes mobile to help you figure out medical payments at the doctor’s office
photo: JCD
Hoping to give patients a “medical wallet,” Palo Alto-based Simplee has released a mobile app that helps people manage their medical finances Read more »
Vamonos! Runkeeper adds support for new languages in global sprint
Fitness tracking app Runkeeper has launched in six new languages in an effort to reach a larger international audience. Read more »
Castlight hopes new drug shopping tool is “stepping stone” to more health care consumerism
Castlight launched a new drug price comparison tool to help consumers be more savvy about purchasing their medications and become more cost-conscious about their health purchases in general. Read more »
Meet the 10 digital fitness startups in the new Nike, TechStars accelerator
Nike and TechStars have announced the 10 startups that will be in its new accelerator program for digital fitness startups. Read more »
Tictrac opens up to help make health tracking more mainstream
Tictrac, a startup that helps people aggregate data from various tracking devices, apps and other non-health tools, this week opened to the public. Read more »
Health tech’s monthly checkup: more deals, but less investment in February (infographic)
photo: Shutterstock
Last month, total funding in digital health may have been down, but deal volume was up. Take a look at a graphic showing some investment highlights from February in health tech. Read more »
Lean government? How HHS is following Silicon Valley’s lead
Government agencies will never be as nimble as a Silicon Valley startup, but, at SXSW, Bryan Sivak, CTO of the Dept. of Health and Human Services, describes how the tech world is influencing his agency. Read more »
Designing for health tech? Remember the 7 deadly sins
photo: Basis
Public health has long focused on awareness and attitude in promoting behavior change. But health behavior experts and others say that’s not enough — you need to trigger emotion. Read more »
Practice Fusion buys mobile health startup 100Plus to power patient tools with clinical data
In its first major acquisition, electronic health records provider Practice Fusion has purchased 100plus, a personalized health prediction mobile startup. Read more »
Exclusive: Happtique releases standards for ‘seal of approval’ for mobile health
photo: iadams
Happtique, a New York company building a certification program for mobile health apps, on Wednesday will release its final set of standards for developers. Read more »
4 ways mobile health could save $400B in health costs
photo: iadams
A report from the GSMA and PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that mobile health could save developed countries $400 billion in 2017. Here are four uses of mobile technology that could help make that happen. Read more »
When will we see more billion-dollar health tech companies?
A recent survey compares the perspectives of health tech entrepreneurs and investors on areas of opportunity and challenges in health care information technology. Read more »
Skip Skype, workout with friends online with Wello
Wello, a Kleiner Perkins-backed online personal training startup, has added group lessons to its online training options. The webcam-enabled live sessions let groups of up to five (including family and friends or strangers) workout together online. Read more »
Fresh from primetime cameo, Sotera Wireless’ remote patient monitoring tech nabs $14.8M
Sotera Wireless, the company behind the VisiMobile patient monitoring device, has raised $14.8 million in its latest round of funding. Read more »
Brain game company Lumosity earned $24M in revenue in 2012, now reaches 35M members
Lumosity, a San Francisco company that has raised more than $70 million to create brain fitness games, says it now reaches 35 million members around the world. Read more »
GAIN Fitness unbundles the exercise class with new platform – and new funding
GAIN Fitness, a San Francisco-based startup backed by InterWest Partners, former Square COO Keith Rabois and Practice Fusion co-founder Matthew Douglass, is launching a new marketplace of workout apps from top trainers. Read more »
Docs flock to private social networks amid tighter laws; 20 pct of U.S. doctors join Doximity
As doctors become more aware of the privacy risks related to electronic communication, San Mateo, Calif.-based Doximity, a secure, physician-only social network, said it’s attracted one in five U.S. doctors to its network. Read more »
Speed dating for startups: NYC and Health 2.0 pair health organizations with entrepreneurs
A new program launched by the New York City Economic Development Corporation and Health 2.0 aims to play matchmaker for digital health startups and key healthcare organizations in the city. Read more »
John Sculley-backed health startup Audax raises $21M, SEC filing says
Audax Health, a Washington, DC-based digital health company that partners with insurance companies to offer social, personalized heath management support to consumers, has raised nearly $21 million, according to a recent filing with the SEC. Read more »
GE eyes early stage health tech with Startup Health partnership, new VC hires
Corporate giant GE appears to be taking a greater interest in early stage digital health startups. On Tuesday, the company’s $6 billion health care initiative, Healthymagination, announced a three-year program with Startup Health to support health entrepreneurs. Read more »
Digital health funding rose 45 percent in 2012
According to health tech accelerator Rock Health, investors poured $1.4 billion into digital health companies last year, which is up 45 percent from 2011. The major areas of interest include healthcare purchasing tools for consumers, personal health tracking, Electronic Medical records and hospital administration. Read more »
PatientSafe raises $20M for iOS-based, mobile health system for hospitals
photo: PatientSafe
PatientSafe, a San Diego-based medical technology company, on Monday announced that it had raised $20 million in a Series C round of financing led by health care giant Merck’s Global Health Innovation Fund. Read more »
In health care, price transparency alone isn’t enough
photo: JCD
As startups and consumer advocates push for more transparency in health care pricing, a study in the Journal of Consumer Research looks at how the price of medication can influence consumers’ perceived health risk. Read more »
With HealthYear, Startup Health-backed Greatist takes a page from Codecademy
photo: viviamo
Inspired by Codecademy’s learn-to-code CodeYear initiative, New York-based Greatist this week launched HealthYear to help people take a more proactive approach to their health. Read more »
Mobile health in 2013: from the gym to the doctor’s office
Mobile health is on the upswing but, to date, consumers have mostly gravitated to apps for fitness tracking and general wellness. In 2013, however, the field could make its biggest strides yet in the actual delivery of healthcare services. Read more »
Priceline for health? PokitDok launches on mobile
photo: JCD
One of the latest startups aiming to bring comparison shopping to health, PokitDok this week launched a new mobile app that lets consumers search for local healthcare and wellness providers to find prices that match their budgets. Read more »
LUMO Body Tech, maker of Kickstarter-supported anti-slouching sensor, raises $5M
photo: LUMO Body Tech
On the heels of a successful Kickstarter campaign for its smart posture sensor, LUMO Body Tech on Wednesday announced that it had raised $5 million in a Series A round led by Madrona Venture Partners and including Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors and Jerry Yang. Read more »
At Omada Health, using design and social support to fight diabetes
photo: Gts
San Francisco-based Omada Health, a graduate of health startup accelerator Rock Health, on Tuesday launched its first product aimed at helping people with prediabetes reduce their risk of developing the chronic disease. Read more »
SecondMarket eyes health tech opportunities with Startup Health deal
SecondMarket, the online platform for trading shares in privately-held companies, is partnering with Startup Health to educate investors about digital health and allow them to invest in health tech companies and funds. Read more »
Nike-backed accelerator to support a new wave of digital fitness startups
On Monday, Nike announced the launch of a new Nike+ Accelerator, powered by TechStars. Through the program, ten startups that use Nike+ technology will received mentorship, coaching, office space and other benefits. Read more »
AT&T wants to be your unlikely ally against asthma
Through AT&T’s ForHealth initiative, researchers at AT&T Labs are working on an asthma sensor that scans the air for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that may worsen asthma symptoms and then alerts patients via smartphones and other devices. Read more »
NYC shapes up with new health tech incubator
Backed by the New York Economic Development Corporation, the Bio & Health Tech Entrepreneurship Lab will next month announce its first class of startups. Although it doesn’t provide funding or space, it is the latest program to provide health tech funders with mentorship and coaching. Read more »
HealthTap buys Q&A site Avvo Health to bulk up its community of online doctors
Palo Alto-based HealthTap is set to announce on Thursday that it has acquired Avvo Health, Seattle-based Avvo’s medical-focused Q&A site. With the acquisition, HealthTap will nearly double its nationwide network of doctors available to answer patients’ questions online. Read more »
Hello Health raises $11.5M to help doctors go paper-free
photo: RTimages
Hello Health, a New York subsidiary of Quebec-based Myca Health, on Monday announced that it had raised $11.5 million from First Generation Capital to help physicians bring their patients’ information online with its electronic health records platform. Read more »
Who are the doctors most trusted by doctors? Big data can tell you
By accessing and combining publicly-available datasets, health innovators are letting patients and others view connections between physicians. The so-called “DocGraph,” as one hacktivist calls it, could give patients a valuable window into who their doctors trust. Read more »
With $8M, Retrofit focuses on data, not dieting, to help people lose weight
Retrofit, a Chicago-based company offering a data-driven, expert-led weight loss system, on Tuesday announced that it had raised $8 million in Series A funding, led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson and including Correlation Ventures and Hyde Park Angels. Read more »
Next digital health IPO: Practice Fusion, Castlight or ZocDoc?
A survey conducted by venture capital firm Interwest Partners found that 100 digital health entrepreneurs think Practice Fusion, Castlight or ZocDoc could be the next health tech IPO. The entrepreneurs also shared their biggest challenges and the companies they wished they had founded. Read more »
