News & Updates

Humana and dLife are collaborating on My Diabetes Path for Medicare Advantage members. After a successful pilot that showed a 6% improvement in several key metrics, including eye exams and LDL screening, the two companies are working to roll out the solution to a wider user base, and Humana members are asking for it faster than they can hand it out.

GenieMD launched its first iOS app, offering users the ability to manage their medications, track conditions, share exercise routines, store an emergency health profile, and access a database of medical information.

iTriage is expanding its empire, adding Walgreens to its list of major partners. The app will be used in conjunction with Walgreen’s Take Care Clinics, to give patients the ability to schedule appointments online. Aetna recently acquired iTriage, and will be happy to see its members using Walgreen’s clinics, as the cost of care is significantly less than in most conventional hospital settings.

Patient portals are taking off! Kaiser Permanente’s My Health Manager has 4 million registered users, 63% of Kaiser’s total members. My Health Manager allows members to access medical records, email their providers, view lab test results, order prescription refills, and manage appointments from their computers or mobile devices.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) announced $4M in health IT awards. The grants available will go to tools that can help providers expand coverage in underserved areas, with the goal of more efficient and effective use of the limited amount of provider resources in communities selected by SAMHSA.

WellPoint took an investment stake in SoloHealth and forms a strategic partnership with the kiosk health company. According to an SEC filing, SoloHealth raised $12m and is in the midst of an aggressive roll-out of its kiosks nationwide. No details yet on how these two organizations might collaborate.

Massachusetts landed $17M to launch its statewide HIE, with the goal of connecting providers, payers, and patients to health information. The project is funded by a combination of CMS Recovery Act grants and Medicaid funding. Orion Health will implement the HIE.

The online family provider-search platform Care.com raised $50M in Series E financing, led by Institutional Venture Partners. Care.com provides a range of health and non-health care related services, as well as forums for discussion by its 7 million users.

A three way partnership between Alere Health, AT&T and Welldoc will provide Welldoc’s DiabetesManager to 290,000 US adults with type 2 diabetes. The app will be completely integrated with clinical systems, enabling nurses and physicians to react to the needs of high-risk patients based on real-time data.

Affectiva secured $12M in Series C funding for an expansion of its Affdex suite of emotion monitoring devices. Facial recognition tech and wearable sensors are at play here, but the question remains whether this technology only has applications for focus groups, or if it can become an effective clinical tool for therapists.