Year: 2022

Sociodemographic and health-related factors are associated with long-term use of digital health devices, according to a study published in npj Digital Medicine.

Researchers followed a cohort within the long-running and ongoing Framingham Heart Study that used three digital components: a smartphone app, a blood pressure cuff and a smartwatch. 

Participants received app-based surveys at enrollment and every three months. Step count and heart rate data were collected daily from the smartwatch, while blood pressure measurements were taken weekly. During in-person exams, researchers collected sociodemographic information as well as data about health status and behaviors.

The study found that older age (55 years and above) was associated with higher use of each device over the yearlong follow-up period. Women and participants with higher levels of education were more likely to complete the app surveys. Higher scores for depressive symptoms and lower-than-excellent self-rated health were linked to lower smartwatch use. 

“These

San Francisco-based Augmedix has progressed from a Google Glass-based clinical documentation startup to a publicly-traded, AI-enabled ambient automation platform that documents patient encounters and generates medical notes that can be transferred to an EHR.

The company, founded in 2012, also provides pre- and post-visit documentation offerings to give providers a more complete digital picture of a patient’s health journey. 

Ian Shakil, founder, director and chief strategy officer at Augmedix, spoke with MobiHealthNews to discuss the company’s evolution and its anticipated release of a new product in 2023. 

MobiHealthNews: Can you tell me about Augmedix and how it works in the ambient documentation space?

Ian Shakil: I started the company about 10 years ago with the mission to rehumanize the provider/patient interaction. Originally, we were only operating on Google Glass. What we did is we put technology at the point of care when providers and patients are having conversations.

What

MobiHealthNews spoke with several digital health stakeholders about 2022’s funding environment and how it affected digital health startups.

Investments in 2022 decreased drastically compared to the swells of financial capital raised in 2021, and that lack of funding forced companies to rethink their business models.

Read digital health execs’ insights on how this year’s decreased funding forced layoffs, business model redesigns and an increased focus on company value.

Dr. Jon Bloom, cofounder and CEO of Podimetrics 

“The funding environment for digital health startups in 2022 was, well, rough. As an industry, we went from being a beacon of innovative hope amid the pandemic to an unintentional harbinger of bloated valuations and a destroyer of shareholder value.” 

Dr. Jennifer Schneider, cofounder and CEO of Homeward

“The current market dynamics have forced entrepreneurs to focus clearly on what truly matters for the business and the industry more broadly. While the recent widespread

After digital health startups scooped up huge amounts of investor dollars last year, the market slowed down significantly in 2022. But it’s still a relatively new field, and there’s plenty of room for startups that can prove their ability to improve care, says John Beadle, managing partner at Aegis Ventures.

He sat down with MobiHealthNews to discuss the growth in partnerships with health systems and venture capital firms, the changing funding environment, and what digital health investment in 2023 could look like.

MobiHealthNews: What are some of your big takeaways when you look back at digital health in 2022?

John Beadle: Despite the macro environment obviously turning down, the transformation and care delivery and innovation that was spurred by COVID is definitely continuing to accelerate in a lot of different areas. I think the industry has really hit a tipping point, and we should continue to see innovation advancing at

Aledade, which works with primary care providers to build tech-enabled accountable care organizations, hired Ananya Banerjee as chief commercial officer. 

Sean Cavanaugh, who had previously managed the role, will remain at Aledade as chief policy officer. 

Before joining Aledade, Banerjee served as chief of strategic payer partnerships at ChenMed, a primary care company geared toward seniors. ChenMed recently sued Banerjee and Aledade, alleging she broke her confidentiality agreement in favor of a competitor. 

Banerjee had also previously worked at Optum and McKinsey & Company.

“In every step of my career, I’ve looked for opportunities to support structural alignment within the healthcare system to bring higher-quality care to more people at lower costs,” she said in a statement. “Aledade’s model, mission, scale and trusted relationships drew me to the company, and I am excited to support the next phase of its growth.”

Aledade recently raised $123 million in a Series

Employee wellness company Wellable acquired DailyEndorphin, which offers corporate wellness challenges in which employees can set up group fitness or nutrition programs and invite their colleagues to participate. 

DailyEndorphin offers challenges for exercise, step count, nutrition, weight and hydration.

Boston-based Wellable will add DailyEndorphins assets to its Wellable Wellness Platform, which also includes an incentive program and support model, a personal wellness assessment and clinical event verifications (where flu shots and preventative care are verified). The employee-focused company also has health content and on-demand classes.

“We are thrilled to support the next chapter for DailyEndorphin and welcome them to our thriving Wellable community. DailyEndorphin was a pioneer in the wellness challenge industry, and we look forward to delivering customizable, affordable and effective wellness programs for their customers,” Geoff Geredien, chief growth officer of Wellable, said in a statement.

THE LARGER TREND

In September, Wellable acquired Sweat Factor, a fitness

The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled Thursday that Apple Watches with ECG functionality violate two AliveCor patents, but the agency put an import ban on hold.

The ITC issued a limited exclusion order prohibiting further imports and a cease and desist order against Apple. It also set a bond of $2 per unit imported or sold during the Presidential review period. However, enforcement of those orders, including the bond, is suspended until the case before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board is resolved.

The decision comes weeks after the PTAB ruled three AliveCor patents regarding the detection of heart conditions like cardiac arrhythmias were not patentable, citing earlier advancements that made the technology “obvious.” AliveCor appealed that decision. 

The final determination by the ITC was set to come down earlier this month, but Apple petitioned to suspend or delay the order due to the PTAB

As 2022 comes to a close, MobiHealthNews asked executives from across the digital health industry about their biggest takeaways from the year. 

Check out their insights below on topics ranging from improving health equity to the continued use of virtual healthcare, especially for behavioral and mental health.

Chris Brickler, cofounder and CEO of MyndVR

“It’s important not to get comfortable. In early to mid-2022, there was a huge amount of speculation – in digital healthcare, unicorns became a little less rare. Towards the end of the year, things took a drastic shift. To be completely honest, over the last two years, a lot of companies, in digital health or otherwise, had unreasonable and unrealistic valuations, and we’re seeing the consequences of that now. In healthcare, you could put the word ‘digital’ in front of whatever product you were trying to sell and increase your valuation by a $100 million overnight.

Pharma company Boehringer Ingelheim and Click Therapeutics announced an expanded partnership to develop and commercialize another prescription digital therapeutic for patients with schizophrenia.

The deal will net Click up to $460 million, plus tiered royalties. It builds on an earlier collaboration announced in 2020 that developed CT-155, an initial therapeutic for schizophrenia.

The companies said CT-155 has met its development milestones to date, and it’s generated supportive evidence in clinical learning studies. They also noted that a pivotal registration study for the initial therapeutic is upcoming.

“Expanding our successful partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim enables our team to build on the experience and insights gathered with CT-155 and further expand the scope of our digital therapeutics platform,” Austin Speier, Click’s chief strategy officer, said in a statement. “This growing collaboration is a testament to the progress we have achieved so far working together and creates the inspiring opportunity to expand CT-155