What if distance was no longer an issue for the 8.6 million Americans who have to drive more than 30 minutes to the nearest hospital? What if a lack of insurance was no longer a barrier to healthcare for the 27 million Americans without coverage? What if it was possible to find a doctor who accepts new patients instantly, at any time of day or night — and provides comprehensive, ongoing preventative care and treatment based on the latest AI technology?
These are not pipe dreams of the future — they are realities right now, available on your phone. And they aren’t just stop-gap solutions for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even after the pandemic ends, the telemedicine industry is here to stay. Polaris Market Research estimates the market will grow to nearly $26 billion by 2027, aided by expanded in-network providers and relaxed restrictions on e-prescribing.
While virtual doctor visits have been around for a while, they have mostly been limited to consultations for minor, temporary illnesses like colds. But with demands for its services spiking, a recent Deloitte report recommended that the telemedicine industry level up, advising that healthtech startups provide seamless care across the home and clinical settings, coordinate between all stakeholders and span the continuum of care from prevention to post-illness or injury.
Some startups are already on top of this. They use advanced technology like AI to recreate whole healthcare systems. They are one-stop shops for proactive care: virtual visits, lab results, preventative screenings, chronic disease management, billing and more.
In San Francisco, the following three startups are proving that this type of holistic healthtech solution can be applied to any medical need — whether it’s primary care, chronic disease management or even mental health support.
Primary Care Gets Proactive
Adrian Aoun, a former Google engineer who is now the founder and CEO of Forward, refers to the hybrid physical-virtual primary care practice as a “full-stack” company because it supplies top doctors with AI-powered diagnostic tools that give them “superpowers” for understanding a patient’s health and providing optimum care.
“They use software that integrates all your data — from genetics, to blood testing, to sensors at home — to help you proactively instead of waiting for issues to arise,” Aoun wrote in a company blog post. “They spend more time with you because we built systems to handle their administrative tasks for them. They look at more risk factors because we automated many common tests and procedures. They make smarter decisions because we built algorithms and AI to tie those decisions to data.”
Forward has offices in most major cities, and sends distant patients a kit of sensors to enable remote, automated monitoring of biometrics. The sensors alert doctors if a patient needs intervention. Forward also conducts a genetic analysis and does predictive risk scoring so doctors can develop preventative care plans.
We built it as an actual product for people, not insurance companies.”
But the data that Forward collects isn’t just meant for doctors. It’s also shared with patients, and available on their phones. The comprehensive Forward app allows members to schedule appointments, view lab results and medical records and communicate with providers 24/7.
The care is also holistic — inclusive of nutrition, sleep and exercise guidance, mental health check-ins and prescriptions delivered to your home. All of these services are unlimited to patients, and without any insurance involved. That’s because they pay a flat fee of $149 a month — no co-pays or surprise bills.
“We built it as a health membership instead of a transactional doctor’s office, allowing us to be proactive and preventative instead of reactive,” Aoun explained. “We built it as an actual product for people, not insurance companies.”
Supportive Chronic Disease Management
Lark also uses AI to empower patients and provide preventative care via an app — but with one key distinction. Lark focuses primarily on chronic illnesses like diabetes, which has won it recognition from the CDC.
The AI-powered app sends patients personalized, engaging text messages to coach them toward healthier choices that prevent or manage high blood pressure, diabetes and even anxiety and weight loss. Lark also syncs with devices that remotely monitor metrics like weight and glucose levels.
Perhaps the platform’s biggest distinguishing factor is its scale: It currently helps nearly 2 million users. The company says its services cost less than half the cost of other diabetes prevention programs. Weight loss, lower blood pressure and drops in strokes are win-wins for both patients and insurance plans.
It is more important than ever before that millions of people at-risk of or managing chronic conditions have access to compassionate care at home.”
Investors have taken notice, contributing $70 million to Lark’s Series C funding round in early October. That brings the startup’s total warchest to more than $100 million, which CEO Julia Hu said will be used to build relationships with telehealth providers and commercial payers like Anthem insurance.
“This new funding and expanded relationship with Anthem are tremendous votes of confidence in Lark’s approach to virtual care,” Hu said in a press release. “It is more important than ever before that millions of people at-risk of or managing chronic conditions have access to compassionate care at home.”
Mental Health Care That Makes Happier Employees
COVID-19 has caused a secondary pandemic of stress, depression and anxiety. Dozens of studies have found that people are experiencing significantly higher levels of mental health issues in 2020, compared to previous years. And it’s impacting how we work.
In April, mental health benefits platform Modern Health announced that it would make its network of therapists available for free sessions specifically designed around parents, finances, essential workers and more. The startup works with employers to provide workers with a suite of personalized digital tools to manage their mental health, while helping improve employee productivity and retention and limit the costs of in-person therapy. Modern Health says the average wellness scores of participating employees went up by 38 percent.
We believe it’s important to understand each individual’s needs and meet them wherever they are in their journey.”
“Because mental well-being is not a one-size-fits-all solution, we believe it’s important to understand each individual’s needs and meet them wherever they are in their journey,” Founder and CEO Alyson Friedensohn said in a statement.
Modern Health offers three levels of care, beginning with digital programs developed by psychologists. Depending on the type of support they need, users can text or video chat live with certified coaches or seek clinical therapy through either in-person or virtual sessions. The company says its engagement rate is ten times higher than traditional employee assistance programs.
In January, Modern Health secured $31 million in Series B funding, which it plans to use to ramp up product development, expand services globally and hire more mental health practitioners.
