12
The Malta Independent | Thursday 23 October 2014
American healthcare: The startups are coming
A
new crop of healthcare startups are leveraging low-cost, ubiquitous technologies such as Internet of Everything (IoE), big data, wearables, cloud computing, and mobile apps in an attempt to disrupt the multitrillion-dollar US healthcare sector – each chipping away at one small part of the gargantuan system. But with so many entrenched players, can startups create real change in the US healthcare industry? The time may be right. Consumers are fed up with paying exorbitant costs and are looking for more personalised care. In the era of Obamacare, consumers are taking more control over their healthcare, making calculated choices about which insurance plans and healthcare providers offer the best value. At the same time, direct-to-consumer channels such as the web, wearables, and mobile apps are making it easier for consumers to ‘get in the driver’s seat’ to manage their own healthcare. On the provider side, hospitals and insurance companies are getting pressure to explain cost structures (including $30 band-aids and $1 million surgeries). Entrepreneurs who can find ways to use technology to give consumers the healthcare they want – and help providers increase transparency and improve service – stand a fighting chance of creating large, profitable companies. Venture capitalists are certainly betting healthcare startups will succeed financially. In 2013, venture capital firms invested $6.4 billion into 50 healthcare companies, and investment is expected to be even higher in 2014. One sub-sector of the healthcare investment space is “healthcare IT”, which includes only those companies that leverage mobile, web, IoE, and other technologies to improve healthcare services. Venture funding in healthcare IT companies for 2014 reached $2.4 billion in the first six months of 2014, surpassing the $1.9 billion invested in that sector in all of 2013. “It’s big dollars going into
lion-dollar companies is Dr. Palav Sharda, whose Twitter feed proclaims him “health IT’s resident skeptic”. He founded a consulting firm called Multiplyd geared toward fostering what he calls “medical-grade” startups – those addressing real problems in the healthcare industry. He says many of the startups garnering funding are more like fun apps for consumers to help them manage fitness, but they aren’t truly fixing what’s broken in the healthcare system. “Don’t get me wrong, I admire the entrepreneurial spirit,” Sharda said in a recent article in Healthcare IT News. “My issue is, that without actual healthcare experience, all this fantastic talent and passion surge goes to the less important problem spots of a troubled industry.” Others, including entrepreneur Dr. Daniel Kraft, quoted in the same article, believe change happens first on the consumer side. Once consumers begin expecting easy-to-use mobile apps to manage their healthcare – much in the same way this has happened for e-commerce, enterprise software, and other industries already – the industry will be forced to adopt these technologies. Just because an app is tailored to the consumer doesn’t mean it can’t impact insurers, hospitals, and doctors, he said. Healthcare is a promising, but challenging, field for startups. To have a shot at seriously disrupting this complex industry, entrepreneurs must offer a product or service that serves both doctors and patients – and has ties to the “big guns” that today make the multitrillion-dollar healthcare industry run, including insurers,
“
It’s big dollars going into healthcare IT, and I think it’s going to ba a long bull run
billing companies, HMOs, and medical records organisations. Only time will tell if startups can make a lasting impact on the massive US healthcare industry – but the roadblocks won’t stop ambitious entrepreneurs from trying. Used with the permission of http://thenetwork.cisco.com Kristi Essick has covered technology, business, and venture capital for over a decade in San Francisco, London and Paris. She has served as a special correspondent in Paris for the Wall Street Journal Europe. Kristi was also the Paris bureau chief for the Industry Standard, leading coverage of the European startup sector, and covered technology as a senior European correspondent for the IDG News Service.
Roderick Spiteri
Roderick Spiteri is Marketing and Communications Manager at MITA and editor of Malta Independent ICT feature
The Malta Independent ICT Feature
T
his Saturday the Majjistral Nature and History Park will launch a mobile application aimed at providing visitors with all the information they require about the park. The mobile app will provide walking paths suggestions, information about wildlife, points of interest
and other fun facts. To mark this launch, the Park is organising an open day for all the family on Saturday 25th October from noon onwards. Technology is gaining importance in all sectors. One of the largest markets is healthcare where big dollars are going into new IT solutions. Startups are
sprouting from everywhere and as long as they provide consumers with the healthcare solutions they require, they are set to make big profits and stand the test of time – something which venture capitalists are betting on. All ICT Features are available on www.mita.gov.mt/ictfeature
Open day at Majjistral Park on 25 October and James Zammit. Keen nature or history enthusiasts, or simply anyone who wants to learn more about the Majjistral Nature and History Park, or seek a different and exciting way to spend a rambling Saturday afternoon, should not miss the event. Of course, forgetting your smartphone could spoil a good part of the fun!
Kurt Dalli Park to launch Mobile App on same day.
T
he Majjistral Nature and History Park is Malta’s first natural national park. It is in the northwest of Malta (hence the name), comprising the coastal area from Golden Bay to il-Prajjet and ix-Xaghra l-Hamra. Home to many species of both flora and fauna, it is of great importance to Malta’s ecology. Moreover, it features a number of historical, cultural and rural heritage sites which, by blending its characteristic landscape with the rich history somewhat symbolises the Maltese character of rough and intense beauty. With these key elements of the park in mind, throughout the summer a group of four students have developed a mobile applica-
“
For the more adventurous, a treasure hunt will be organised throughout the park, which will be a challenge to all those express their intention to participate on the day
“
A look at how startups are attempting to disrupt the huge US healthcare industry.
the latest consumer technologies to connect with patients. ZocDoc helps doctors ‘get found’ by patients and provides immediate online appointment scheduling, while companies like PracticeFusion and drchrono enable physicians to manage medical records securely on the web and mobile. Iconic Data, with its SwiftPayMD mobile app, helps doctors submit billing codes in snap, while Doximity is a professional network for doctors – the “LinkedIn for physicians”. Of course, entrepreneurs see wearables as another big opportunity in the healthcare space. With the new Apple Watch joining a slew of wearables from companies like FitBit, Basis, Nike, and Jawbone, the focus is on helping consumers track their fitness goals. But, in the not too distant future, there is no reason why these smart watches couldn’t track (and communicate directly to healthcare professionals) vitals like blood pressure, heart rate, insulin levels, and more. Wearables could also interact with location-based sensors, providing wearers with reminders to take medicines, get up from their desks to walk around, attend an exercise class, or avoid entering a fast food restaurant. Startup LUMOback provides a wearable sensor and smartphone app that tracks movements and posture to help people avoid back pain and injury, for example. Healthcare technology startups are garnering millions in funding, but the jury is still out on whether most of these companies will become huge successes – or simply fade away as flashes-in-the-pan. One observer not so sure all these startups will become bil-
“
Kristi Essick
healthcare IT, and I think it’s going to be a long bull run,” said Steve Kraus, who leads healthcare investments at Bessemer Venture Partners. “Healthcare IT over the last two years has been the most popular sector for venture dollars.” Some of the startups that have already achieved strong momentum in their attempt to disrupt the multitrillion-dollar US healthcare market include HealthTap, Fitbit, ZocDoc, One Medical, and Audax Health Solutions – but there are hundreds of smaller companies, too. Startups with the best chance of success include those using a B2B2C model. These companies, including established players like Castlight Health, Simplee, and Eliza Corp., and upstarts like MotherKnows, Tonic Health, and ThriveOn, enable consumers to manage facets of their own healthcare through social, web, and mobile apps. But these companies have also built crucial links to healthcare providers, insurance companies, physicians, medical records providers, and hospitals on the backend. Castlight, a company that leverages the B2C2B model to help employers and employees navigate health insurance choices, completed an IPO in March. Though its shares have fallen since the IPO, the company is still valued at over $1B. Another area where startups are gaining traction is in helping doctors provide better, more personalised care. Companies like HealthTap, which enables doctors to answer patients’ questions on the web and provide personalised care via a mobile app and video chats, provide doctors with
13
The Malta Independent | Thursday 23 October 2014
tion, hosted by the MITA Innovation Hub, a tech incubator funded by the Malta Information Technology Agency. The app is intended to act as a point of information to visitors, as well as a fun guide for ramblers visiting the park. The app will be launched during an open day at the park on Saturday 25th October. Following the launch, families, children, tourists, ramblers, ornithologists and other enthusiasts will be the first to download the free mobile application, available on Android and iOS. Everyone is encouraged to join in the activities being organised from 12:00 noon onwards. Throughout the day, a mobile photography competition will be held. Participants will have to actually use the new mobile app and be able to send in photos taken through a special function
within the application itself. These will be judged with prizes awarded to the best photos. For the more adventurous, a treasure hunt will be organised throughout the park, which will be a challenge to all those express their intention to participate on the day. This too will be carried using the mobile app as an itinerary. Guided walks along the park will explain in more detail what the park has to offer, as well as increase awareness about a rich heritage that is often taken for granted. Throughout the day, the creators of the app will be present to give a presentation about the app and tell their story about the exhilarating experience of running their own IT project from A to Z. The team members are designers Eliza Calleja, and software developers Kurt Dalli, Nicholas Galea
For more information about the Open Day on 25th October, visit www.majjistral.org
Kurt Dalli is a Software Developer at Skylabs and one of the students who created the new Majjistral Mobile App.