By Jonah Comstock, MobiHealth News | September 20, 2019
Eight new digital companies took the stage at Health 2.0’s Annual Conference in San Francisco Wednesday afternoon to give the first public demos of their products for the show’s annual “Launch!” event.
OMNY Health, which aims to disrupt data brokerage and give providers more control over the data they sell, took home the audience vote and the $5,000 grand prize. But all eight companies boasted interesting ideas and impressive accomplishments so far.
Here’s a roundup of the eight companies that made their Health 2.0 debuts this week.
Anchor Health
Founder and CEO Kash Kapadia showed off Anchor Health, which timed its invitation-only private launch with the event.
Anchor is designed to help individuals navigate the healthcare system by aggregating different patient advocacy offerings like GoodRx, HeadSpace and Stanford Health’s CareCounsel. The app uses artificial intelligence and a conversational interface to help link users to these services seamlessly.
“We’re putting the consumer at the heart of the experience,” Kapadia said. “That’s who we’re championing.”
Agewell Biometrics
Agewell Biometrics has built Equilibrium, an app for fall detection and prevention. CEO Joshua Wies demo’d the app, which is built on the idea of creating a measurable biometric for falls.
“Equilibrium helps you proactively manage and prevent falls,” Wies said. “All you need is an internet connection, a smartphone or a smartwatch and you can connect to our platform.”
The app includes digitized versions of common gait and physical function tests like the Timed Up and Go test. It also collects data about medication, exercise and lifestyle. The app is designed for consumer use, but can also be used by providers.
Illuminate.Health
CEO Varun Goyal showed off Illuminate.Health, a personal health record tool designed specifically to improve medication adherence and prevent dangerous medication conflicts.
“My wife and I are fortunate enough to have kids now because we avoided taking a medication that was prescribed to us when we were pregnant, which could have resulted in a potential miscarriage,” Goyal said. “That’s why I made it my mission at Illuminate to be the digital care assistant to the family caregiver or the patient for safe medication administration.”
The app captures data about a patient’s medications, as well as about their daily routine. It reminds them to take medications, but also throws up a red flag if it detects a conflict, as well as contacting their doctor directly.
The company is also working on specific modules for things like opioid dependency recovery.
OMNY Health
Winner OMNY Health is specifically aimed at increasing hospitals’ revenue streams by giving them a better way to sell de-identified patient data.
“At OMNY we empower healthcare systems and providers to convert their operational data into recurring revenue streams by securely monetizing it to third-party buyers.”
OMNY uses distributed ledger technology to secure its platform. Hospitals get complete control over what data goes on the marketplace, can take the data down and can choose which kinds of buyers have access to the data.
Particle Health
For Particle Health CEO Troy Bannister, this session was a bit of a homecoming — Bannister formerly worked for Health 2.0 as an intern.
This week, he showed off an app that helps people file insurance claims, while also creating a platform that other developers can easily build on (Bannister compared it to the relationship between Plaid, a financial enabling technology, and Venmo).
“Our mission here is to build a platform that allows new innovations on top of us,” he said. “We have a free sandbox that allows any developer to come on, and, with synthetic data, start pulling fake medical records and building applications.”
SkinIQ
SkinIQ’s app, Clara, uses AI to help people manage skin conditions, starting with acne.
CEO and cofounder Afsana Akhter used the example of a teenager, Suzy, struggling with acne who might not have access to a dermatologist because of her parents’ high deductible health plan.
The user can answer some questions, take a visual scan of their face, and get a condition description, product recommendations, and step-by-step instructions for using those products. For more serious conditions, the app can also connect a user with virtual visits and a virtual pharmacy.
“This is how SkinIQ can offer a very personalized experience and help Suzy and people like her regain their self-esteem and confidence,” Akhter said.
Tidy Health PHR
The personal health record may be a space that’s seen a lot of attempts, but Tidy Health PHR thinks they have the right timing and the right product to try it again.
The app helps people to keep their data and their family’s data on their own phone and share it how they want with providers. The company’s pitch is that the data is secured locally and never shared with anyone unless the user initiates that sharing.
“Tidy Health treats your health information as a journey,” Principal Jon Fox said. “A lifetime of care, and not data in somebody else’s EHR. So when you go to make decisions for yourself or your loved ones, you can do so with a feeling of confidence and in control.”
Tivic Health
Tivic Health was the sole hardware provider on the screen, demo-ing ClearUP, an FDA-cleared device that treats sinus pain using electrical charges and an AI algorithm. The charges stimulate the body to produce norepinephrine.
“We have a fast-acting effect, we improve symptomology over time, and we have no significant side effects,” said CEO Jennifer Herst. “There isn’t a single pharmaceutical product that can make those claims.”
The device was recently cleared by the FDA and will be rolled out at a $149 price point on Tivic’s website as well as Amazon, Walgreens, Best Buy, and CVS.