Making Population Health Child’s Play
An update on the companies in StartUp Health’s Children’s Health Moonshot.
In early May, late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel used his opening monologue to tell the story of his newborn son’s heart disease.
At three days old, Kimmel’s son Billy had a successful — yet terrifying — open heart surgery. Through tears Kimmel spoke to Congress on behalf of the millions of other families like his in America.
“If your baby is going to die, and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make,” Kimmel said. “I think that’s something that — whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else — we all agree on, right?”
Fortunately, several companies in StartUp Health’s global army of Health Transformers are ensuring that parents never have to worry about whether they can afford treatment for their children. Four of those companies made substantial progress this quarter in StartUp Health’s Children’s Health Moonshot.
Kansas City-based startup Pathfinder Health Innovations (PHI) is helping providers build successful autism therapy practices.
The Pathfinder platform allows educators and therapists to manage payments and assessments, and report and track their work with children and adults on the autism spectrum. Pathfinder Sales Director Jamie Raven explains that not only is therapy expensive, but great therapists are difficult to come by and waiting lists a common occurrence. The award-winning software allows therapists to spend less time in the back office, and more time with their patients. Pathfinder expects a huge improvements in outcomes for children and adults.
“PHI continues to evolve our solutions and our team to better serve the needs of our clients and their patients,” said Kristi Bond, PHI’s director of marketing.
As an example of that evolution, the company recently added new features to its platform and new members to their team — including Kristi Bond, director of marketing. In May, Pathfinder was selected from over 100 companies to pitch at MedCity’s INVEST “Pitch Perfect” contest.
Caredox, a New York City-based digital health company, is bringing population health into schools across the U.S.
Schools can use Caredox to electronically manage student health data, enabling better communication of student health information between school nurses, parents and pediatricians. Over the past three years, Caredox has signed 4 national health plans, established over 3,500 partnerships with U.S. public schools. performed over 200,000 preventive visits, and added 2 million students to its platform . After closing its $6.4M Series A funding round in early August of 2016, Caredox has accelerated its outreach to payors, providers and schools in the U.S
“We are excited to detail a meaningful framework on how we are transforming pediatric health,” said Hesky Kutscher, CEO and founder of CareDox.
As public schools take on a greater role of managing the health of children, Caredox will serve as a connection point between families, healthcare providers, and school nurses.
Finland-based digital health startup Buddy Healthcare created a mobile app that helps children prepare for surgery.
Surgery can be overwhelming for children and their families. Buddy Healthcare helps by presenting surgery day as a story that parents can read to their children to describe what happens in the hospital. The app BuddyCare has been tested in the Department of Pediatric Surgery and Gastroenterology at Oulu University Hospital in Finland. Children who used the app to learn information about their surgery — such as what the operating room looks like and how their clothes are switched with hospital gowns — had a calmer, more positive attitude towards the operation. Nurses who used the app found that care coordination was smoother, with real-time information traveling smoothly between the hospital and patient. By preparing little patients for their surgeries, BuddyCare made it easier for providers to care for them.
Buddy Healthcare recently earned a Top 3 award at the Smart Health Challenge organized by the OP Financial Group, the largest association of its kind in Finland. They will be collaborating on pilot studies with the OP Financial Group’s hospital chain to tailor their digital solution to orthopedic patients. Buddy Healthcare continues to improve its mobile app to provide emotional support for outpatient surgery patients and their families.
“We are really looking forward to the first results of this study,” said Jussi Määttä, founder and CEO of Buddy Healthcare. “These doctoral studies with Finnish hospitals will evaluate patient experience, cost reductions, and the medical effectiveness of BuddyCare.”
One other company in StartUp Health’s Children’s Health Moonshot is also making progress. In the UK, CEO of Aerobit Ali Moiyed is heads down turning inhalers into smart devices through a patented, sensor-based jacket that tracks doses and reminds patients when to take their medication. According to the CDC, about 1-in-10 children have asthma and more than half of children who experience an asthma attack miss an average of four days of school. Many of these asthma attacks could have been prevented by Aerobit’s device which is ideal for very young asthmatics who may occasionally forget to take their medication on time. Aerobit has already attracted interest from hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and inhaler manufacturers.
Children’s hospitals across the nation are looking at startups like these to provide innovative solutions amidst the chaos of healthcare reform. The AHCA is proposing changes that could undo healthcare standards designed to maximize child development and wellbeing.
The companies in StartUp Health’s Children’s Health Moonshot are answering Jimmy Kimmel’s passionate plea. These companies are unified; they don’t let bipartisan squabble divide them on the health of our nation’s children.
They are on the same team, that of children everywhere.
