Looking Back at the RWJF Challenges

Catalyst @ Health 2.0 is proud to have worked with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to address issues in substance misuse and artificial intelligence through two exciting innovation challenges. Following the finalists’ live pitches at the Health 2.0 Annual Conference, Matthew Holt and Indu Subaiya had the pleasure to interview leaders from the six companies that placed in the top spots across both competitions.

First Place Winners

RWJF Opioid Challenge: The Grand Prize award went to Sober Grid, a social network designed to support, assist, and educate those suffering from addiction and substance misuse. The Sober Grid platform incorporates a suite of geolocated support, a “burning desire” distress beacon, and coaching tools. For those looking to get help and support, the Sober Grid platform is a fantastic free utility.

RWJF AI Challenge: The Grand Prize award went to Buoy, a virtual triage chatbot designed to work on any browser. All too often we rely on quick online searches for health information and sometimes receive inaccurate or unreliable results. The Buoy system takes a more conversational approach and emulates similar techniques a doctor would use when diagnosing symptoms and speaking with a patient.

Second and Third place prizes were also awarded to the following organizations:

RWJF Opioid Challenge:

Second Place – ResQ makes it fun and easy for a user to receive support and prevent relapses by providing them with instruments that have been adapted to play like video games.

Third Place – Team Hashtag is a wearable device designed to help identify concerning situations and blast an SOS when a wearer overdoses.

RWJF AI Challenge:

Second Place – INF Robotics created RUDY, an interactive robot that provides at-home care, natural language processing, and ongoing assistance for the elderly to age with dignity.

Third Place – Patient Price, a platform utilizing cost data as a base for offering a suite of services aimed at making healthcare easier to navigate and more transparent.

We would like to congratulate our six winners and send a special thank you to all of the participants involved in both innovation challenges. To learn more about these efforts, you can visit the Opioid and AI Challenge websites.

AI to the Rescue: 5 Semi-Finalists Advancing Through the RWJF AI and the Healthcare Consumer Challenge!

Decision making is a daunting task. Combined with navigating health insurance jargon, scattered health information, and feeling crummy as you rush to find care during the onset of a cold, making decisions can be an absolute nightmare. However, artificial intelligence (AI) enabled tools have the potential to change the way we interact with and consume healthcare for the better. AI’s ability to comprehend, learn, optimize and act are keys to organizing the varying nuisances of the healthcare experience.

In a 2018 survey by Accenture, healthcare consumers indicated they would likely use AI for after hours care, support in navigating healthcare services, lifestyle advice, post-diagnosis management, etc. While AI in health is not limited to these functions, the report highlights consumers’ trouble in making informed healthcare decisions, hence this may be an area where AI can truly help.

With more consumers demanding assistance in healthcare decision making, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Catalyst @ Health 2.0 have come together to host the RWJF AI and the Healthcare Consumer Challenge. The challenge was created to find unique innovators creating AI-enabled tools to aid healthcare consumer decision making. As demonstrated by the submissions, AI is currently being investigated to help patients find appropriate providers, estimate the cost of care, have a more personalized health companion, and better understand personal health options. Furthermore, AI may improve health literacy and responsible health decision making by providing curated information that pertains to each individual’s needs. In a landscape where the shift to value-based care is gaining importance, AI has the opportunity to support personalized clinical strategies and even create systems that measure long-term outcomes for patients and providers.

As the challenge enters Phase 2, we are thrilled to congratulate 5 semi-finalists who have demonstrated promising solutions to help consumers make informed healthcare decisions!

• Buoy – Buoy is a platform that uses a probabilistic expert system to analyze systems, risk factors, and diagnoses in real time to direct patients to the right care at the right time.

• INF Robotics (RUDY) – INF Robotics created RUDY, the premier intuitive mobile social robot that is designed to promote an active and independent lifestyle while keeping older adults connected to their care community.

• Patient Price – Patient Price is a mobile application that offers a simplified search experience for patients. It is designed to help patients compare costs, answer most common questions, and ultimately connect individuals with the best provider for their needs.

• Sensentia – Sensentia is a solution that simplifies and enhances benefit inquiries in payer call centers. Their AI solution understands natural language from any audience and provides accurate answers reasoned from structured and unstructured data.

• Zatient – Zatient is an artificially intelligent knowledge network to bridging the human and analytical aspects of decision making by intelligently synthesizing subjective, heuristic, and factual information into understandable and actionable outcomes.

The five semi-finalists were selected based on the following criteria:  impact of the solution, UI/UX design and functionality, leverage of AI, and patient engagement. Each of our semi-finalists will be awarded $5,000 to continue developing their solution or create a functioning prototype/working application. The semi-finalists will move onto a final judging round by an expert panel during our premiere live pitch event at the Health 2.0 Fall Conference.

Not only will our semi-finalists be able to demo their solutions in front of digital health industry leaders, but they will also receive cash prizes to invest in the advancement of their companies. The first place solution will win a grand prize of $50,000, second place will win $15,000, and the third prize will win $10,000.

For updates on the semi-finalists of the RWJF AI Challenge and to learn about additional digital health innovation programs, subscribe to the Catalyst @ Health 2.0 Newsletter, and follow @catalyst_h20 on Twitter.

Announcing the Digital Health Marketplace Summer Matchmaking Event!

The New York City Economic Development Corporation and Catalyst @ Health 2.0 are thrilled to announce another round of Digital Health Marketplace matchmaking coming up on August 23rd! Since 2013, the Digital Health Marketplace has connected digital health “Sellers” offering technology solutions to a diverse range of healthcare “Buyers” or institutions looking for tech-enabled solutions and partnerships. At the center of the Digital Health Marketplace is the successful curation of needs and solutions that lead to the development of commercialization and the rapid adoption of new health technologies. If you are an early stage startup looking for relevant pilot/commercial partners or a healthcare organization interested in adopting leading technologies, apply for your opportunity to be matched with relevant partners for one-on-one, in-person sales meetings.

For those interested in applying, submit the matchmaking application form by July 20th, 2018 at 11:59p ET. At that time, the Digital Health Marketplace team will match Buyers and Sellers based on expressed technology needs and relevant solutions. Selected participants will join us for a series of ~15 minute sales meetings at the NYC Genome Center on August 23rd, 2018. With the ultimate goal of a mutually beneficial partnership, the event is structured to bring the most relevant pairs together based on prioritized initiatives, with the goal of facilitating follow up discussions and potential long-term partnerships.

There is no shortage of digital health solutions in today’s healthcare climate and, as a Buyer, it is often challenging to find the time and resources to sift through them all. On the Seller side, it can be difficult to connect with prestigious institutions where your technology can be most impactful; the August Digital Health Marketplace Matchmaking session aims to address both obstacles in one convenient and exciting event! We’ve seen great success over the years as the Digital Health Marketplace matchmaking events have facilitated over 900 connections between health tech Buyers and Sellers to date.

Calling all NYC health tech Buyers! Calling health tech Sellers around the world! Submit your matchmaking application! Again, the deadline to apply to the Matchmaking Event is July 20th, 2018 at 11:59p ET. The Matchmaking Event will be taking place at the New York Genome Center on August 23rd, 2018 8:30a-12:30p. If you have any questions about the matchmaking process, please email challenges@health2con.com. We hope to see you in August!

Check Out The RWJF Opioid Challenge Semi-Finalists!

The opioid crisis has devastated countless families and individuals across the United States and abroad. What once started as a quiet concern has become a full-blown epidemic, requiring the full support and attention of the healthcare and tech communities to address it.

From the Surgeon General’s August 2016 letter on Opioid Addiction:

“I am asking for your help to solve an urgent health crisis facing America: the opioid epidemic. Everywhere I travel, I see communities devastated by opioid overdoses. I meet families too ashamed to seek treatment for addiction. And I will never forget my own patient whose opioid use disorder began with a course of morphine after a routine procedure.”

Those affected by substance misuse need support catered to their specific needs and resources to empower them on the path to recovery. To answer that call, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Catalyst @ Health 2.0  teamed up for the  RWJF Opioid Challenge, an innovation challenge intended to highlight technology-enabled tools that can help support and connect individuals affected by opioid addiction.

The recovery process can be complicated and stressful; not only for individuals, but also for their family, friends, and the people around them. Issues with communication, education, mindfulness, support, and others are all avenues that can be addressed by innovative and pioneering technologies.

We had 97 teams submit their applications to connect those affected by opioid misuse to the support and resources they need. An evaluation process was conducted with the help of our panel of expert judges and 5 of the most innovative, user-friendly, and scalable solutions were selected to advance as semi-finalists.  Each team’s solution attempts to address the crucial need for personalized and accessible health care. Here is a bit about each of the unique solutions:

• Hey, Charlie – Hey,Charlie is a mobile behavioral modification platform to help individuals in recovery rebuild their social environments and create more individualized and comprehensive recovery strategies.

• Resilience IQ (ResQ) – ResQ promotes resilience to relapse by mobilizing an individual’s social support network with precision to intervene using proven techniques when their help is needed the most.

• Luceo/Canary App – Canary reduces the occurrence of fatal overdoses by providing an alert of a person’s sustained inactivity following a dose of opioids so that they may receive naloxone and medical intervention.

• Sober Grid – Sober Grid is an iOS/Android app designed to help people recover from drug and alcohol addiction. Using evidence-based modalities, Sober Grid provides a supportive community of over 110,000 members.

• HashTag – A wearable device to detect opioid overdose and a mobile application that notifies overdose condition, assists in saving the user and helps in creating awareness about ill effects of opioid.

In Phase II, three finalists will be selected to participate in a live pitch competition, and be evaluated in real time by onsite judges at the 12th Annual Health 2.0  Fall Conference. The winners will be awarded prizes and several promotional opportunities to showcase the top-ranking solutions and gain visibility in the health tech space. The third place winner will receive $10,000, followed by the second place winner with $15,000, and first place will win the grand prize of $50,000.  

For further updates on the semi-finalists of the RWJF Opioid Challenge and other programs, subscribe to the Catalyst @ Health 2.0 Newsletter, and follow @catalyst_h20 on Twitter.

Announcing the RWJF AI & The Healthcare Consumer Challenge!

When it comes to navigating healthcare and making decisions about your health, and the health of loved ones, there is no yellow brick road. Even the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a leading national healthcare nonprofit, could only analyze 1,000 of over 1,400 private healthcare policy options with myriads more in the public arena. Navigating a health care plan, or not, is just the beginning of your healthcare journey.

Let’s say you find a health plan you like, and you get sick. You have to locate the right doctor that works for you, struggle through complicated referrals, tabulate the exact bottom line of these costs, find a pharmacy, perhaps grab a second opinion, and repeat this process every time you get sick.

Our healthcare system offers expansive options that balance both exceptional care and value; but the abundance of choices can also obscure our ability to make the best decision for ourselves. The complex nature of the healthcare market can impact our free time, our ability to assess the situation correctly, and potentially lead to poor health outcomes and stifling costs.

With the advent of advanced and robust AI platforms in marketing, law, and other sectors, we’re observing the vast opportunities for AI solutions in healthcare decision making. As medicine becomes more specialized, talent bottlenecks are developing and leading to increased professional strain on healthcare providers and consumers. To bring clarity and personalization to the healthcare industry, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is teaming up with Catalyst @ Health 2.0 to foster change in this space.

The RWJF AI & The Healthcare Consumer Challenge is calling all innovators to create AI enabled tools that support well-informed health decisions. By accelerating image recognition, data analysis, and pattern detection, we can start to remove harmful elements of human error from our systems. With predictive analysis, deep learning, and other AI enabled tools, innovators have the opportunity to help healthcare consumers make more informed and accurate decisions about the best health pathways to explore. With $100,000 in total challenge prizes, the most innovative solutions can bring attention to the benefits of AI in the consumer domain, as well as gain funding to continue tech development. Applicants can submit solutions such as tools to help find the ideal physician, estimate the cost of a health plan, or chatbots that track daily health decisions; it is up to YOU to do your part in solving a multi-billion dollar problem that affects all Americans.

The two-phase challenge begins…now!

Pre-register here with the first phase of applications due before 11:59 PM EST on June 20th. Five semi-finalists will be awarded $5,000 each to continue developing their solution into a functioning prototype or working application. After another round of evaluation in Phase 2, three finalists will be selected to move on to the live pitch portion of the challenge. These finalists will have the opportunity to present their solution to a captivated audience of industry leaders at Health 2.0’s Annual Fall conference.

Along with several other promotional opportunities for you and your team, a grand prize of $50,000 awaits the most innovative and insightful AI enabled solution.

Check out the challenge website to learn more and pre-register to apply to the RWJF AI & the Healthcare Consumer Challenge by 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday, June 20th!

RWJF Opioid Challenge: You Can Help

Opioid overdoses are the leading cause of death for Americans under 50 years old. In fact, the majority of drug overdose related deaths involve an opioid. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, deaths from prescription opioids—drugs like oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone—have more than quadrupled since 1999. The U.S. is currently experiencing an opioid epidemic, as more than 2 million Americans have become dependent on, or abused prescription pain pills and street drugs. Substance misuse is not only affecting the users but also their families, friends, and the healthcare system as a whole.

Although improvements have been made to the way opioids are prescribed through clinical practice guidelines, the epidemic has continued to grow. The CDC has made several efforts to combat substance misuse and overdose but there is much more to be done, and you can help. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is committed to supporting those affected by this issue and launched the RWJF Opioid Challenge live, at Health 2.0’s Wintertech conference in January 2018. This innovation challenge calls for tech-enabled solutions that help identify resources, facilities, and educational content for support, as well as platforms for connecting patients, caregivers and peers for peer community.

RWJF has teamed up with Catalyst @ Health 2.0 to identify and incentivize the development of  tech-enabled solutions that should aim to support affected individuals (e.g. opioid users, caregivers, peers, family, etc.) and connect them to relevant resources. Every individual faces a different set of challenges, meaning that needs for recovery can be unique and varied.* The challenge is calling on innovators, developers, entrepreneurs and other bright minds to create tools to support those affected by opioid misuse.

In Phase I of the challenge, innovators will develop and design tech-enabled solutions. The judges, who bring a wide range of expertise to the table, will evaluate the submissions to determine the five teams who will move onto Phase II. These finalists will be awarded $5,000 each to create a fully functional application or tool. The finalists will also have an opportunity to demo their technology in front of a captivated audience of 2,000 investors, provider organizations, health plans and members of the media at the Health 2.0 Annual Fall Conference! With $100,000 in total prizes, we encourage innovators to put their best foot forward and create innovative solutions that will help impact the lives of those affected by opioid misuse.

Check out the challenge website to learn more and pre-register to apply to the RWJF Opioid Challenge by March 22nd. Join the fight today and help support and connect those individuals and their families affected by opioid misuse.

*This is not an exercise to develop tools for specific disease interventions or technologies for clinical therapy decision-making.

Diversifying Digital Health

Earlier this week Health 2.0 held a TECHquality meetup focused on diversity in the digital health industry.  We hoped that this event would foster an honest and frank discussion about how we can create diverse workplaces and develop inclusive technology for the people we serve.  After speakers, Jean-Luc Neptune, Co-Founder at Athletik Health and Nyala Khan, VP of People at Baby+Co, shared their thoughts, meetup attendees were encouraged to share their own experiences and comments in relation to the topic at hand.  Following an engaging and insightful discussion, where people of different backgrounds and walks of life shared their individual viewpoints, the hard questions remained,  what more can we do to ensure that our workplaces are not only diverse, but inclusive? How do we ensure that the companies we build with people, embed the diverse perspectives of those people from the very start?

Year after year diversity reports show little improvement.  This interactive infographicfrom Information is Beautiful shows a breakdown of employees by gender and ethnicity at some of the top tech companies.  One of the many things that this infographic shows is that the percentage of Black and Latino employees hasn’t changed for many of the companies between 2014-2016. So when will it?  How can we move the needle forward and convert conversation to real action?  Down below are a couple of takeaways from our event,  ones that allow us to not only educate ourselves in the right ways, but takeaways that we can use both as employers and employees of our respective organizations:

Employers

• Get your people teams onboard

• Establish inclusive values, “not just who, but how”

• Perform structured interviews

• Institute unconscious bias training

• Examine your job descriptions and interview practices for hidden biases

  • Use inclusive language in interviews and job descriptions

• Diversify your interviewers

• Encourage development of employee resource groups

• Facilitate mentorship within your organization

Employees/Candidates

• Get on the right platforms (these are also great resources for employers who are sourcing candidates)

  • Vettery

  • Tech Ladies

  • Women Who Code

  • Out in Tech

  • InHerSight

  • Jobwell

Moving the Needle to Diversify Health Tech

There is a dire need for the health tech workforce to keep pace with the changing racial makeup of the nation.  According to  the Pew Research Center study,  from 1960 to 2010, the percentages of Americans identifying themselves as Black, Hispanic, Asian, or “other” increased from just 15 percent of the population to 36 percent of the population:

• Black: Increased from 10 to 12 percent

• Hispanic: Increased from 4 to 15 percent

• Asian: increased from 1 to 5 percent

• “Other”: Increased from 0 to 3 percent

We live in a country whose racial makeup grows to be more diverse every day, however, the  nation’s tech workforce does not reflect the diversity of the nation in the least bit.  To dig deeper, the nation’s health tech workforce is no better in terms of its diversity and inclusion of minorities. While other tech companies may be able to get by with a certain racial makeup, it’s extremely necessary for the health tech industry to not follow this pattern mainly because of the diverse customers that these tech products are being made for: patients.  

Health 2.0 rolled out the first Diversity in Health Tech Mentorship program, TECHquality, earlier this year. Right now, there is an open applications for Mentors and Mentees for the second round of the mentorship program. Mentees must self-identify as part of an underrepresented group of health tech. This can range from people of color, women, seniors, people with disabilities, LGBTQ, etc. Mentors are individuals who have expertise in health tech and are dedicated to increasing diversity and supporting inclusion in tech.

We believe that increasing the number of role models for minorities and creating opportunities for mentorship and job growth will help to alleviate the disparities that we see in the health tech industry today.

We don’t want this to be just another diversity initiative that calls the lack of diversity and inclusion of minorities to light and fades away.  What we really want is action.  We hope for this initiative to push the needle forward and impact the health tech industry as it continues to grow and impact an array of patient lives.  Diversity is reflected in the millions of patient lives we hope to change through health tech, so why don’t our workplaces?

There are a few ways to get involved check them all out here.

AARP Caregiver Quality of Life Challenge Winners Announced!

Roughly one out of every three people in the United States serves as a caregiver for a chronically ill, disabled, or aging loved one at some point in their life*. Not only do most caregivers dedicate a significant amount of time to these duties, 

but they often also work full or part-time jobs to make ends meet. These stresses result in 40-70% of caregivers exhibiting clinically significant signs of depression*. Fortunately, there is an increasing focus on caregiver well being, and now, more than ever, innovation in caregiving has the opportunity to make real change and improve tens of thousands of lives.

The AARP Caregiver Quality of Life Challenge, supported by AARP, and administered by Catalyst @ Health 2.0 in partnership with Mad*Pow, aimed to find tech-enabled solutions designed to help caregivers identify as caregivers, find available resources to ease their burden, and connect with others who can build and strengthen their support systems.

The Challenge, launched at HxRefactored in June 2017, received over fifty applications, with solutions ranging from AI solutions to podcasts and mobile apps. Submitted solutions were judged by our panel of experts, and scored based on how innovative they were, their potential for scalebility, the strength of their design, and the potential for impact in the caregiver community. Winners were announced live this morning at Health 2.0’s 11th Annual Fall Conference.

Taking home the grand prize of $10,000 is Tickit (@TickitHealth). Founder and CEO, Daniel Penn wowed the judges with the platform’s emphasis on the importance of physicians in caregivers’ lives. Too often, caregivers feel isolated, lonely, and burnt out. With an application that can be used at point-of-care or email, combined with AI, Tickit provides a breadth of resources to caregivers, and is delivered in a way that works in conjunction with physicians. And, this is all done without adding clinical time for physicians! Take a look at how Tickit works in this video.

The second place prize of $7,000 goes to Carrie, created by the Salesforce Experience Design Team. Although many caregivers feel alone, Carrie recognizes that there are over 40 million other people going through the same thing. The idea is simple–match caregivers with other caregivers who can provide emotional support, firsthand advice, and personalized recommendations and resources. But more importantly, the app sends reminders to help caregivers set aside time for themselves. Learn more about the platform here.

And finally, Team Aspen came in third place for a prize of $3,000. Aspen assigns each caregiver an advocate who consolidates all the support the caregivers receive into one place. Caregivers can then access support from each the people in their lives. To learn more, check out the video explaining the product here.

So, whether you yourself are caring for a loved one, you know a caregiver, or you’re simply interested in helping the caregiving population, be sure to check out these solutions that may just make a difficult job a little less difficult.

To learn more about Catalyst @ Health 2.0 and other programs or opportunities, subscribe to the Catalyst/Development Newsletter, and follow @catalyst_h20 on Twitter.

Digital Health Marketplace: Facilitating Rapid Technology Adoption and Spurring Growth in New York City.

$200,000 in Awards to Health Tech Companies and Pilot Partners for the 4th Class of Digital Health Marketplace

Six winners were awarded of a total of $200,000 in grant funding through Digital Health Marketplace.

Digital Health Marketplace, a New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) program, powered by Health 2.0, connects health technology buyers with market-ready sellers through biannual matchmaking and by providing grants to offset the cost of piloting their technologies in healthcare institutions. The program has provided over $2,500,000 in grant funding over the course of 3 classes. This year, the fourth class of Digital Health Marketplace winning pilots are anticipated to impact over 6,000 patients in New York City throughout the next year. The technologies span from care coordination platforms to patient engagement systems to devices.

The Digital Health Marketplace is part of Mayor de Blasio’s New York Works plan, which is made up of twenty-five initiatives to spur 100,000 jobs with good wages over the coming decade.

Digital Health Marketplace builds on a previous NYCEDC program launched in 2013 called Pilot Health Tech NYC. Over the life of the two programs, they have facilitated seven hundred matches between buyers and sellers and granted over $2.5 million in awards to health tech startups and their pilot partners. Building on this success, the City will invest $750,000 to support three years of expanded operations for the Marketplace. With these resources, the Marketplace can expand the number of matchmaking events to up to four per year, which will increase companies’ access to customers.

Below is a snapshot of the 2017 winners:

Canopy Innovations/Maimonides Medical Center
Canopy Connect is a mobile and web-based interpreter delivery and analytics platform. It improves the coordination, tracking, and funding of interpreter services at healthcare organizations, to elevate the quality of care for the Limited-English Proficient (LEP) patients. In the pilot, the Canopy Connect platform will be rolled out to Maimonides Medical Center providers in departments with a need for “on-the-fly” translation services.

CareGeneral/Northwell Health
CareGeneral offers a care coordination platform and web/mobile app that provides personalized care plans for patient adherence and education in up to five languages. In this pilot, CareGeneral and Northwell-Lenox Hill will target the Hispanic population (with a focus on diabetes management) to track patient engagement, patient adherence, utilization of hospital services and improved clinical outcomes/self-care behavior.

Klara/Betances
Klara is a cloud-based secure messaging tool for healthcare professionals used to assist with workflow, care coordination, and patient-centered care. The pilot with Betances focuses on patient communication via text messaging to triage care and increase patient satisfaction. The goal is to reduce the time per patient request and avoid unnecessary call-backs and voicemails.

PurpleSun/Northwell Health
PurpleSun offers a patented device that illuminates targeted spaces with UV light to disinfect hospital/healthcare equipment in ninety seconds. In piloting with Northwell, they aim to evaluate the implementation of the PurpleSun System between surgery cases, evaluate the quality of disinfection and assess the process/impact on operational turnover time between surgery cases.

Vital Score/AdvantageCare Physicians (ACPNY)
Vital Score supports innovative health systems and health plans in a patient-driven approach to Population Health and Quality. In three-minute digital conversations during wait time in provider visits, their point of care platform increases up to twenty times the rates of participation in services such as pediatric vaccines, diabetes prevention, smoking cessation and palliative care. The pilot with AdvantageCare Physicians (ACPNY) will build out a new model of patient-driven HEDIS to improve patient care and increase rates of immunization and medication adherence.

Wellth/Mount Sinai Health System
Wellth is a mobile based platform that helps patients change their behaviors to achieve better adherence, engagement, and overall health. In the pilot, the Wellth solution will be implemented with Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) and heart failure patients to increase medication adherence, decrease readmissions and reduce costs per patient at Mount Sinai.

GuideWell Wants Your Opinion: Deadline Tomorrow!

It goes without saying that a cancer diagnosis is daunting, terrifying and can be completely life-altering. With approximately 40 percent of men and women being diagnosed at some point during their lifetimes. cancer changes a survivor’s life from one-minute daily activities to grand life decisions. GuideWell Innovation is committed to

bringing great minds together to facilitate and transform new ideas into solutions, helping to jumpstart the path to better health. With the launch of the GuideWell Cancer Challenge this past February, GuideWell is harnessing the strength of collaboration to help support cancer patients and survivors with concierge services to support the wide range of needs of living with cancer.

The challenge deadline is nearly here, but it’s not too late to make your mark. We want to hear from you! Simply register or log in to the challenge website to submit an idea for a service, share insights about living with cancer, or view ideas submitted by others. You can then VOTE or COMMENT on any submitted idea. And get this—you don’t even have to submit an idea to be eligible for a prize! Just by providing your thoughts and insight on a submission you can enter the competition for cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.

The challenge has received unique ideas addressing various cancer patient needs and promoting vital support for people living with cancer. On March 30, we hosted a webinar answering key questions about how to get involved (view it here). Submissions thus far include a wide range of services and insights including app and web-based platforms designed to monitor and identify cancer diagnoses and support for finding treatment and nutrition information.

The deadline to participate in the challenge is TOMORROW, Friday, April 28, 2017. The GuideWell Innovation steering committee will then begin to review and evaluate all submissions and comments. If we bring our minds together we can work to mitigate the issues and improve the experience of living with cancer. With just one click, you can help make a difference in the lives of those who live, and will live with cancer.

Finding Care Can Be Easy; Check Out The RWJF Choosing Care Challenge Finalists

How would you get to an unfamiliar destination without Google Maps, Waze, a GPS or even an old school map? Now how about your health care– how do you determine which road to take when you need local, reliable and affordable services? It can be tough to find the right care, but the RWJF Choosing Care Challenge is changing the game. In Phase I of the challenge, over 60 teams submitted seamless solutions to help patients find the care and services that fit their needs. Each team’s solution simplifies the journey to address the crucial need for personalized and accessible health care.

The challenge judges were particularly impressed with the solutions of: Stroll Health, Project Helix, A Moment Team, Luma Health and Transcendent Endeavors. Named the Phase I Finalists, each of these teams will receive $5,000 to further their tech development for Phase II of the challenge. These solutions include:

Stroll Health (@StrollHealth) helps health providers send patients directly to a local imaging center that fits their needs. Stroll delivers a convenient easy-to-use platform providing automatic referrals, prior authorization and real-time scheduling.

Project Helix (@kcdigitaldrive) utilizes a chatbot within a mobile application to walk patients through the steps of a doctor’s care recommendations. Transparency and accessibility are key in Project Helix’s technology, as the team connects with the patient each step of the way with text notifications and API data tailoring results to the patient’s needs.

Moment (@momentdesign) created “Orderly,” which has three key features: 1) patients receive up-to-date lists of preferred specialists, imaging labs and pharmacies, 2) patients can view data such as cost, coverage and location, and 3) patients can schedule next steps through provided contact information and online booking tools.

Luma Health (@Lumahealthhq) uses text message updates to connect patients with a pharmacy, imaging center or specialist as soon as they step out of an appointment. Luma’s secure chatbot collects basic information to fully understand health care needs. Once the information is collected, a phone call from a specified provider will then be initiated directing them to their choice of preferred care.

Transcendent Endeavors (@TransEndeavors) introduces “Pooled,” a web-based platform designed to collect patient demographics to be used in a patient pool. Healthcare providers can then compete, or bid, to offer the lowest price for their services. With this solution, patients can follow a bidding process to compare price and location of services to get the most out of their care experience.

Amongst the many innovative and comprehensive submissions, the judges also recognized the following five teams as honorable mentions:

• Emrify’s (@emrify) mobile app empowers patients to document their care and discover follow-up resources to improve outcomes.

• Markit Medical (@MarkitMedical) pinpoints a patient’s needs and identifies follow-up care at the moment when it’s most actionable for the patient.

• Team Anakalypsi uses a Facebook chatbot to communicate with patients on a more personal level.

• Doctible (@doctible) leverages a patient referral systems to deliver an easy-to-use experience for patients and providers.

• HonestHealth’s (@honestHealth) consumer-focused portal on health.ny.gov acts as a baseline to locate and acquire imaging lab services and specialists, affordable coverage options and in-network referrals.

In Phase II, three of the five finalists will be selected as winners and granted prize funding to continue to develop their tech-enabled solutions. The third place winner will receive $10,000, followed by the second place winner with $15,000, and first place will be awarded the grand prize of $50,000.  For further updates on the Phase II winners of the RWJF Choosing Care Challenge and other programs, subscribe to the Catalyst @ Health 2.0 Newsletter, and follow @catalyst_h20 on Twitter.

The Secret Sauce of Successful Pilots

Ever wish you could tell the future? Well, you can’t- but a pilot study can certainly help. Pilots are instrumental in helping organizations learn how a technology application might work in practice, or, more specifically, in their practice. By conducting a pilot, you get a chance to test out your technology, predict what might occur when you expand your reach, and most importantly, learn how to tweak your business model to support a large system. Eric Conner, Co-founder & Chief Revenue Officer of Healthify learned that, “Piloting de-risks trying out new technology… and forces both the host and the innovator to be more innovative.” Conner also adds that after piloting, “… you’re ready to implement your technology in a large health system [since] you have the kinks all worked out” and your company is prepared with the tools they need for large-scale growth.

eConsult platform, RubiconMD, is conducting a pilot with host Callen-Lorde Community Health Center and has discovered critical lessons about piloting in health tech. The pilot has helped Callen-Lorde create better care plans, and improve patient experiences and RubiconMD expand partnerships with specialists. COO & Co-founder, Carlos Reines says that there were some things he wishes he had known before diving into the pilot, such as the importance of the leadership support to drive effective practice transformation. RubiconMD is a participant of the Digital Health Marketplace, an initiative led by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) in partnership with Catalyst @ Health 2.0, to connect startups with healthcare organizations in NYC to conduct pilots. We asked Carlos to share insights and advice from his experience.

Catalyst @ Health 2.0: For starters, Carlos, will you tell us a bit about RubiconMD?

Carlos: The platform’s goal is to address the lack of proper access to specialist care. Up to 40% of visits to specialists are avoidable, and many populations, especially the underserved, don’t have adequate access because of wait times, or for other financial concerns. So, we wanted to create a model that would democratize access to medical expertise. The RubiconMD platform connects primary care providers with specialists for consultations. When a provider has a case that they’re stuck on, we assign the case to a specialist in our panel who can answer their questions. The panel now includes over 100 top specialties and specialists who get a stipend for their participation.

Catalyst @ Health 2.0: How did you form your partnership with Callen-Lorde?

Carlos: It wasn’t too hard for RubiconMD to convince Callen-Lorde that the pilot would benefit both patients and providers, and improve quality of care. The Health 2.0 curated matchmaking sessions really get you in front of relevant groups and give you an opportunity to see if there’s a good fit between you and the host before you apply to pilot together. Primary care clinics like our host typically have limited resources and the cost of trying new technology can be a hurdle to drive adoption. In this case, it would have been hard to commit to a pilot without the support of Digital Health Marketplace. The program came in with support to get us over that hump.

Catalyst @ Health 2.0: What advice would you give a startup getting ready for a pilot?

Carlos: The key component in a successful pilot is leadership buy-in. The Chief Medical Officer, VP of Clinical, or Medical Director needs to be fully behind it. So my advice here is, in designing your pilot make sure you’re really taking the providers into account and understanding their workflow. If you can provide any additional compensation for their time – do it. You need to make sure you’re giving THEM the resources to be able to dedicate enough to make the pilot successful. It requires an investment from their end – bear that in mind.

Catalyst @ Health 2.0: What was an indicator for you that the pilot is successful?

Carlos: The pilot has been highly successful as shown by the high adoption among providers and the high number of care plans improved and patient wait days avoided through the use of eConsults. Furthermore, our partnership has evolved to include Callen-Lorde providers into our Specialist panel. Callen-Lorde is a national leader in transgender health. Any given PCP has a few trans-patients, and from now on, any PCP on RubiconMD can tap into Callen-Lorde’s knowledge and expertise regarding trans-health.

The very word “pilot” speaks for itself expressing that it is a test, and may or may not produce the results you originally expected. That said, Carlos felt that it’s a surefire way to learn what works or doesn’t. Here are some of our main takeaways from his advice for a company looking to pilot:

• Find a way to offset costs in order to get buy-in from hosts

• Secure a wide range of stakeholder support for multi-sector collaboration

• Know how the host will respond to the changes that may be needed along the way

• Set metrics for success upfront for seamless conversion from pilot to commercial agreement (get it baked into the contract)

• Make sure you help the host show the impact they’re achieving working with you

• Focus on the pilot- don’t get stuck with too much overhead

Start-ups looking to grow their business in the healthcare industry face many roadblocks and obstacles which can be avoided or anticipated with the help of a pilot study. For healthcare organizations, pilots provide a unique opportunity to explore the potential of innovative tech to improve care delivery. RubiconMD, Healthify, Callen-Lorde and dozens of others have been able to take their companies to the next level as a result of Catalyst @ Health 2.0 pilot programs, such as the Digital Health Marketplace. This program brings together health care organizations and innovative companies through funding awards and facilitated matchmaking to conduct pilot studies, and ensures that the pilot pairs have what they need in order to conduct successful programs. Carlos was thankful to the program as it helped his team avoid wasted time on overhead, and allowed them to focus on important things, like identifying the host’s needs. RubiconMD is now forming additional partnerships as a result of their success with Callen-Lorde.

Learn about this program and others by visiting Catalyst @ Health 2.0.

Personalized Cancer Services are Needed: GuideWell is Calling on You

The moment you are diagnosed with cancer, you become a survivor. You now live with a daunting illness. Your everyday monotonous activities turn into new challenges, flooding your thoughts with countless questions and new struggles. In the 2006 National Survey of U.S. Households Affected by Cancer, 15% of respondents said they had the experience of leaving a doctor’s office without answers to important questions about their illness. And, even when patients do have the relevant information to cope with their illness, a lack of logistical and material resources, such as transportation, medical equipment, and supplies, can often prevent them from ever actually using the suggested support. GuideWell is launching the GuideWell Cancer Challenge to crowdsource ideas about concierge services to help the millions living with cancer understand and access the services they need.

GuideWell is calling on everyone, from developers creating solutions to patients who can share their own insights, to come together and solve this issue. We need you to join the movement and participate in the challenge. When you visit the GuideWell Cancer Challenge website you can submit your ideas, provide insights that can spark someone else’s creativity or comment on others’ ideas with your feedback and suggestions. You can even participate by simply voting for the ideas you like the best. This challenge is your chance to get involved in Greater than C>ncer: The Immersion Journey, an initiative powered by the American Cancer Society with the goal of gaining a better understanding of these problems and potential solutions. The GuideWell Steering Committee will evaluate all ideas and insights, and award prizes totaling $12,000. In addition to cash prizes, the best ideas will also be shared within the GuideWell ecosystem through an online and printed publication.

The deadline for submitting all ideas and insights is April 28, 2017. If you have an idea, go ahead and SUBMIT IT! Or, simply browse submissions and VOTE for your favorite. If you want to learn more about the challenge, or have questions about the process REGISTER for the Q&A WEBINAR to be held on March 30, 2017 at 3:30 PM ET.

GuideWell is confident that when we bring great minds together, we’ll transform new ideas into health solutions. We may not be able to cure cancer (yet), but there are things we can do to help make life better for people living with these life altering diseases. Contribute to the challenge today!

Can Community Health Organizations Pave the Way for Local Technology Adoption?

It’s 6 AM and Anna’s alarm clock goes off. She has a busy day ahead of her, starting with getting her children to school, heading to her doctor’s appointment and taking on a double shift at her part time job. Anna is on a tight budget and has difficulty juggling work and her kids. On top of her often stressful situation at home, Anna suffers from Type 2 diabetes and has been inundated with medical bills. Although Anna doesn’t own a computer, her doctor introduced her to a smartphone application that helps her to monitor her glucose levels and communicate with her care team if she needs medical assistance.

Millions of individuals across the U.S. have experience with at least one aspect of Anna’s situation. As a country, the U.S. spends less money on social services and more on healthcare.1, 2 Yet, a large majority of what makes us sick can be attributed to the social determinants of health (SDOH)—factors such as socioeconomic status, availability of resources, employment and access to healthcare. While using technology to address social factors in underserved regions has generated momentum, it’s an area of healthcare and digital health that is emerging with the shift from reactive to proactive healthcare.

Startups and local organizations face several barriers when trying to adopt technologies in community health settings. According to Johns Hopkins University’s Jonathan P. Weiner, Director of the Center for Population Health and Information Technology, 95% of healthcare organizations are still learning how to use Electronic Health Records (EHRs), which makes it difficult for them to access social or population health data.3 There is often a lack of community stakeholder engagement and support to implement technologies such as medical devices and smartphone applications that help to increase understanding of SDOH.4

Another major hurdle to tech adoption is the lack of commercial business models in the community health environment. It’s no surprise that startups will engage settings where there is financial incentive. Many have avoided entering the space due to limited opportunities for commercial growth and the difficulties/costs associated with integrating a scalable solution. Additionally, both startups and community stakeholders face challenges of not having access or information about best practices when implementing technology in local communities. Valuable data and insights garnered from successful technology implementation in community settings are rarely shared for use by others in the space. This lack of education restricts the understanding of tech integration, community engagement methods, the necessary financial models for effective implementation and the health outcome metrics that exemplify the benefit of implementing health technology in underserved regions.

So, what can be done to pave the way for tech innovation and improve SDOH in local community settings? Piloting new technologies is an important pathway for community health organizations. It allows them to understand how the solutions can benefit their members and helps them learn how to adopt new technologies into their current workflow. For example, the Technology for Healthy Communities program was designed as a vehicle to address the SDOH through piloting. The program matched health technology startups, Healthify, Welkin Health5 and CTY, with community organizations in 3 regions across the U.S. The pilots range from addressing transportation/public safety in Jacksonville, FL, connecting individuals to community resources and social services in Spartanburg, SC, to improving community health worker efficiency and patient outreach in Alameda County, CA. Together, the pilots are projected to reach over 5,000 patients.

Based on the initial success of the pilots, we have seen that multi-sector collaboration and data sharing have led to community health tech models that are mutually beneficial. For example, as one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. for pedestrians and cyclists,6,7 the city of Jacksonville relied on traffic data collected from law enforcement agencies and manual counting in a limited number of locations. In the pilot with CTY, sensors retrieve bike/pedestrian counts and behavior data that could not be efficiently and accurately collected before the pilot. With a collaboration between CTY, the City of Jacksonville, the Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida, and the Clinton Foundation, they will implement interventions in the built environment to improve safety for residents. The Healthify pilot has also required multi-sector collaboration to help improve the SDOH. At ACCESS Health Spartanburg, Healthify is screening patients with complex needs and referring them to local services such as food banks, affordable housing and behavioral health support, increasing their access to healthcare and community-based resources. Through partnerships with organizations in the Spartanburg community, Healthify can track the referrals to community partners that are onboarded to the platform.8 The Technology for Healthy Communities program helps inform how these startups will work with other community health organizations. The outcomes demonstrate the benefits of technology adoption at the community level and how to launch a pilot and engage the community successfully.

The successful implementation of these pilots demonstrates the need for multi-sector collaboration and community stakeholder engagement. The innovators worked closely with the local organizations to ensure there was buy-in from the necessary stakeholders in the community to support the pilot and sustainability efforts. Health tech pilots are important in community health settings because they establish proof of validation. By field testing in a subset of the population, innovators and community organizations can assess the impact of a solution without dedicating extensive time and resources to a large roll out. Key metrics are agreed upon early on in the process, enabling stakeholders to determine pilot success and formulate a sales strategy for commercialization. From the beginning of the Technology for Healthy Communities program, the pairs were encouraged to think about long term sustainability and engage in discussions about commercial relationships, so that the community residents continue to benefit from the technology post pilot.

Piloting health technologies is just one way to drive adoption and improve SDOH in the regions that need it the most. By piloting, health technology startups have a pathway to commercialization in underserved communities. Data collected from the pilot allow community health organizations to gain insight into SDOH trends and complex health issues in underserved areas. Most importantly, patients like Anna have access to the much needed care and resources to support everyday wellness.

1. Elizabeth H. Bradley and Lauren A. Taylor, The American Health Care Paradox Why Spending More is Getting Us Less (New York, NY: Public Affairs, 2013).
2. HealthyPeople.gov
3. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 2016 Using Social Determinants of Health Data to Improve Health Care and Health: A Learning Report.
4. Ibid.
5. Welkin Health & Community Health Center Network Pilot Video
6. Smart Growth America. 2014 Dangerous by Design.
7. Alliance for Biking & Walking. 2016 Benchmarking Report.
8. Healthify & ACCESS Health Spartanburg Pilot Video

Calling all NYC Startups! Digital Health Marketplace is back!

The fourth iteration of Digital Health Marketplace, sponsored by The New York City Economic Development Corporation, in partnership with Health 2.0, is underway! The Digital Health Marketplace connects health technology Buyers and Sellers through curated matchmaking, assistance to facilitate rapid technology adoption, and competitive commercialization awards to encourage piloting and procurement of new digital health technology in NYC.

The past three classes of Digital Health Marketplace has provided over $2M in commercialization awards to innovative NYC health tech startups and their self-chosen healthcare organization pilot partners. This year, a total of $250,000 is available to fund health tech pilots in NYC.

The program helps established healthcare stakeholders, like hospitals and health systems (health tech “Buyers”), de-risk their investments in new technology by simplifying the search for market-ready solutions. At the same time, the program shortens the sales cycle for startups (health tech “Sellers”) by connecting them with relevant, forward-looking Buyers. Buyers and Sellers will be matched based on self-identified interest areas and business needs or abilities once they apply to “Find a Pilot Partner”. Buyers will receive a curated list of startups to choose to meet one-on-one during the half-day Matchmaking Event on April 6, 2017 at the New York Genome Center.

The Funding program seeks applications from health tech Buyer and Seller pairs who have partnered with each other to carry out a pilot project. A panel of expert judges will review the applications and evaluate the submissions based on publicly established criteria. Selected pilot projects will receive funding from NYCEDC’s pool of $250,000 to implement their technology in a NYC healthcare organization.

The deadline to apply to the Matchmaking Event is March 3, 2017. The Matchmaking Event will be taking place at the New York Genome Center on April 6, 2017 9a-12p. If you have any questions about the matchmaking process, please email alyx@health2con.com.

The RWJF Choosing Care Challenge Offers PokitDok & Vericred APIs

What do you do when your doctor says something serious, like, “Make an appointment with a Cardiac electrophysiologist stat” or “here is a prescription for some XYZ.” A what? And a whom?! “Oh, and you’ll need to get an MRI too.” Well, that’s overwhelming. It’s no surprise that about 20 percent of first-time prescriptions are never filled, according to a 2010 Harvard Medical School study1.

Patients often come to a road block and fail to follow through with doctors’ orders because of perceived financial burdens, or simply because they don’t know where to find what they need. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) feels that no one should be at a loss for health care services because they don’t know where to go for affordable services. The RWJF Choosing Care Challenge will therefore bring tech-enabled solutions to the forefront of this issue.

RWJF has teamed up with Catalyst @ Health 2.0 to identify and incentivize the creation of tech that will help patients identify and locate health care services that are locally accessible and covered by their insurance plans. The challenge is calling on innovators, developers, entrepreneurs and other bright minds to create tech enabled tools to help patients figure out what specialists to see, what medication, or tests will be covered by their insurance, or simply what services are nearby. Vericred and PokitDok are each offering APIs providing data on pharmacies, drug costs, eligibility and more. Developers may use these APIs to build tools that offer real time coverage checks for local pharmacies and services. Solutions can be for patients to use on their own, or together with their providers, and can address one or more of the services mentioned above.

In Phase I of the challenge innovators will develop and design novel approaches to the issue. The challenge judges, who bring a wide range of expertise to the table, will evaluate the submissions to determine five teams to move onto Phase II. These finalists will be awarded $5,000 each to create a fully functional application or tool to help guide patients to customized health care services. With over $100,000 in total prizes, we encourage innovators to put their best foot forward and create innovative solutions for patients choosing care.

Check out the challenge website to learn more and pre-register to join the RWJF Choosing Care Challenge by March 13th to get involved. Let’s get patients on the road to better customized care.

Let’s make it simple.