Tara Viswanathan

Some VC investors believe that brick and mortar - referring to a physical presence of some kind - should be avoided at all costs. Yet, the track record of clinic and hybrid care businesses in health care indicates otherwise. ==> One Medical (sold for $3.9 billion to Amazon), Oak Street (bought by CVS for $10.6 billion), Lifestance (IPO at $7.5 billion market cap), and PE-backed Premise Health (acquired by OMERS Private Equity for $1.1 billion) If a clinic is indicated as the optimal way to deliver care for that patient population, there are creative ways to build and operate them. Full article below with advice and strategies on how to build and operate hybrid clinics from my teammate Anarghya Vardhana from Maveron, Amir Dan Rubin from OneMedical Group, Steven Eidelman from Modern Animal and more!

13

1 Comment

We had an incredible time at the Northwest Pharmacy Convention 2024! Some key learnings and discussions from the conference as the MedMe Health (YC W21) team spent a few enlightening days in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho:: 🩺 Standard of Care Model for Autonomous Prescribing Jennifer Adams highlighted the continuum of pharmacist prescribing authority, from most restrictive to least restrictive across all the states, starting from: 1) Collaborative Prescribing: Patient-Specific CPAs 2) Collaborative Prescribing: Population-Specific CPAs 3) Autonomous Prescribing: Government Protocols 4) Autonomous Prescribing: Standard of Care States like Idaho on the Standard of Care model are leading the charge with the more standard and sustainable way for pharmacists to prescribe, rather than more restrictive and highly-specific models that make it difficult for even patients to know what pharmacists can and cannot do. 🌐 Diverse Approaches to Clinical Services We observed a wide range of progress among pharmacies in their clinical services journey - from those just beginning to implement clinical services to those with fully established systems, multiple consultation rooms, and dedicated clinical staff such as Alexandra (Sasha) Heyneman, PharmD, MS, ANP and Scott Herzog doing services like compounding, prescribing, PrEP, Travel, Hormone Therapy, etc. 💊 Emergence of Cash Pay Pharmacies Innovative models like cash pay pharmacies, where patients pay a fixed monthly fee for unlimited healthcare access, are gaining traction. There was an interesting case we heard where a pharmacy was able to retain 50% of their patients after transitioning Caremark patients to this model. This approach is particularly valuable for patients caught between Medicare and Medicaid or those with high deductibles and copays, making out-of-pocket payments more affordable. Extremely grateful for all the insights from other leaders as well including Alex Barker, PharmD, Chris Schaffner, Pharm.D., Mylinh Nguyen, Pam Eaton, and many more! #pharmacy #healthtech #NWPharmacistConference2024 #digitalhealth

80

Still feeling energized from last week's roundtable on building successful relationships with hospitals. We invited 7 portfolio companies and health system leaders from Mayo Clinic, Cedars-Sinai and UCLA Health. The founders shared their questions ranging from the strategic to the nuts and bolts of closing partnerships. For example, how do you determine what measures of effectiveness help drive alignment? And how do you get all the stakeholders together to actually drive a decision. Answer: put them all in a room for half a day! “I think we're in a pivotal moment regarding how we assess AI. There are numerous risks currently dominating AI discussions, particularly those concerning bias and other associated risks. However, there's a notable absence of focus on evaluating the proactive value of AI. We need to consider what AI actually offers and what we want it to offer. It's not solely about determining whether it will cause harm; people are apprehensive about how this technology will be implemented. One perspective gaining traction involves ensuring the product's validation process is robust enough to prevent risks to various populations.” -Vladimir Manuel, Medical Director at UCLA Health From Vlad's comments above to perspectives others shared, we heard a sense of excitement for the promise of #AI and other new technologies. But we're also in a unique moment where the risks are not well understood. Still much to do here.

21

It was wonderful to be in conversation with Madison Mills of Yahoo Finance at their annual Invest conference earlier this week. We covered everything from the venture outlook for 2025, impact of elections on women's health investing and innovation, and more. Full clip and summary below 👇 https://lnkd.in/gS67sc2Y

94

6 Comments

Health optimization hubs are headed to a city near you. Catering to consumers who want to look and feel younger, longevity clinics combine lab tests, body scans, hormone therapy, and GLP-1s under one roof. — Humanaut Health landed $8.7M before opening its Austin, TX clinic. — NEXT|HEALTH and Relive Health are expanding health lab-meets-medspa franchises. — SEROTONIN Anti-Aging Centers has 100 clinics open or in development after raising $6.5M. Another approach, Life Time Inc. is co-locating MIORA clinics within its gyms. With 225+ locations, Restore Hyper Wellness offers protocols like NAD+ drips and cryotherapy, while Pause Studio pairs peptide and contrast therapies. Companies like Forward, Prenuvo, Ezra, and Q Bio see preventative full-body scans as the key to lasting well-being. Longevity services won’t replace healthcare, and paying out-of-pocket can be pricey, but demand is fueling fountain of youth franchises.

200

17 Comments

What constitutes a longevity clinic? You can find a well-structured answer in a wonderful white paper “In search of best practices for Longevity Clinics," which is a solid reference point for longevity practitioners of various backgrounds (linked in the comments). Here are some common “traits” of longevity clinics: ✔ They are focused on measuring biological age using advanced diagnostics such as DNA methylation clocks (e.g., DNAmAge, PhenoAge) and multi-omics approaches. ✔ Such clinics employ comprehensive health assessments including whole genome analysis, precision imaging like MRI and CT scans, and epigenetic testing. For instance, Fountain Life’s ‘150GB Upload’ program integrates imaging, genetics, and blood diagnostics, while the European Longevity Center offers assessments incorporating mitochondrial and blood marker analysis. ✔Interventions in the longevity clinics are highly personalized, often involving genomics-based exercise plans, nutrigenomic diets, and sleep optimization via wearables like EEG headbands. ✔Clients receive customized action plans that may include innovative therapies like hyperbaric oxygen therapy for muscle regeneration or cryotherapy for inflammation reduction. ✔The clinics typically leverage AI and machine learning for continuous health monitoring and predictive analytics, exemplified by deep phenotyping and immune response predictions. ✔Stress management and hormonal health are addressed through biofeedback and personalized hormone replacement therapies. Clinics often provide multi-cancer early detection diagnostics, utilizing AI-driven imaging and blood tests for preventive care. ✔Additionally, these centers tend to support at-home diagnostics, collecting longitudinal data via wearables to enhance personalized treatment strategies. So, longevity clinics thus represent a convergence of advanced diagnostics, personalized medicine, and preventive care. The central idea of the longevity industry is to shift the existing medical paradigm from reaction,disease treatment, to prevention and health optimization. Longevity clinics are the closest we can get to this paradigm, at the moment. #longevity #longevityclinics #agingresearch Kudos to Evelyne Bischof, MD, PhD Joanna Bensz, Eric Verdin, David Karow Andrea B. Maier and others who contributed to the creation of this white paper. Healthy Longevity Medicine Society

90

21 Comments

When it comes to foundational health, one of my favorite services at iCRYO is NAD+ Therapy. NAD+ is a critical coenzyme that supports so many essential functions in the body, yet its levels naturally decline with age, poor nutrition, and certain lifestyle factors. Low levels of NAD+ are often linked to brain fog, fatigue, and muscle weakness. Research also shows that reduced NAD+ levels can disrupt metabolism, potentially contributing to conditions like obesity, insulin resistance, and even cognitive decline. Recognizing and addressing low NAD+ levels isn’t just a health boost—it’s a vital step toward maintaining long-term wellness. If you’re striving for optimal health, don’t overlook the foundational importance of NAD+.

36

Noom CEO Geoff Cook joined the Fitt Insider Podcast to discuss the company's evolution from psychology-based weight loss to a comprehensive health platform. We cover: 💊 GLP-1 Integration Noom expanded into medically-assisted weight loss, pairing GLP-1s with psychology-based behavior change. 💪 Program Innovation The company launched specialized features for GLP-1 users including protein tracking, Muscle Defense resistance training program, and body composition monitoring. 📱 Platform Evolution Geoff restructured the platform around the four C's: Content, Coaching, Community, and Clinical, with AI integration across features like food logging and body scanning. 📊 Business Model Geoff is also exploring freemium capabilities while maintaining Noom’s subscription offering, leveraging his experience leading The Meet Group's 40M monthly active users. 🌟 Future Vision  Positioning as a preventative health platform beyond weight loss, Noom is exploring expansion into broader health conditions and medical interventions. 🎧 Check the full interview on Apple, Spotify, Youtube, and more → https://lnkd.in/eThQzE7t 💪 Presented by EGYM

36

5 Comments

It was great to spend time with colleagues, investors, and friends at #DHISEast this week. Here are my key takeaways:  1️⃣ The two key themes of the conference were AI and GLP-1. Closely following was clinician burnout.  2️⃣ The consensus was that Value-Based Care (VBC) is here to stay, although its adoption has been slower than anticipated in some cases. 3️⃣ The era of company extension rounds appears to be over and we will start to see priced rounds again. The majority of venture capitalists are shifting to later-stage investments, seeking less risk. (I wonder how this will impact the number of early-stage companies). Here are some of my thoughts to connect the dots: ☑ For VBC, it is crucial to allocate resources to the right patients, not to all patients. ☑ AI is a key part of the solution for both VBC and clinician burnout, but it must be validated and seamlessly integrated into clinicians' workflows. ☑ Regarding GLP-1, this is just the beginning. Real-World Evidence (RWE) must be collected, new indications will be revealed, and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) will surface. Guidelines should be established and the black market for these medications needs to be controlled. #AI #GLP1 #VBC #polypharmacy #medicationmanagement #populationhealth #ACO #digitalhealth #RWE #ADRs Benjamin Lakin, PhD Nandini Kashyap Megann Watters Samir Malik Ian Chiang 📷: https://lnkd.in/dGTEu8gZ

38

The DiGA Blues are Over: My Top Takeaway from health.tech conference 2024 When we started nearly three years ago and evaluated our chances to build a solid business model, DiGA was in the air. But even then, the DiGA hype was shifting towards what seemed like a DiGA depression. Startups who had gone through the process became frustrated, and investors lost money. We were even advised to remove the term "DiGA" from our investor pitch deck. I am happy to see things turning around again. At the conference, I met several startups now pursuing the DiGA pathway, including those who already have direct contracts with German health insurers. For us, with four Diabetes DiGAs mitigating the risk of unforeseen hiccups in communication with the BfArM, this is truly good news. In this context another memorable insight was from Farina Schurzfeld : "DiGA is a revenue model, not a growth model." So, while we are still working our way to becoming a DiGA, health.tech conference 2024 also provided great inspiration for our growth model when we aim to surpass 10,000 users. PS: thanks to Adam Formanek to get me here #HealthTech2024 #DiGA #DigitalHealth #StartupJourney #Innovation #HT24

42

1 Comment

I’m a lucky man - I get to talk about stuff I care about with people that feel the same way, but know how to approach it in fresh ways. This chat with Josh Au Yeung goes into another area I think needs much more attention - leadership. NHS providers recently published data showing only around a third of NHS CEOs have a clinical background: https://lnkd.in/givrbU_p . When evidence suggests that expert leadership is strongly associated with better outcomes, happier staff, and greater productivity, we need to work harder to identify, train, and support current and future clinical leaders. The burning question is this: when it comes to #HealthTech , who is the expert leader? A technologist? A clinician? A hybrid? Would love to hear your thoughts on this (and the podcast, naturally)

45

8 Comments

The (Healthcare) Ground Beneath Our Feet… This year it is likely that over $10 billion will be invested in the digital health sector – a robust amount, no doubt, but inconsequential when compared to the amount of capital tied up in healthcare real estate assets, which is estimated to be $1.2 trillion by Jones Lang Lasalle. Of that amount, approximately $790 billion is in the hospital sector while the remaining $490 billion is in medical office assets. It is estimated that there are 48.6k facilities with 3.4 billion square feet of healthcare real estate, 42% of which are owned by REITs and another 33% held by other private investment vehicles. Much of the digital health investment is meant to make the physical healthcare infrastructure more productive: greater operating efficiencies, greater patient throughput, more relevant personalized care models with better outcomes. As the healthcare system is being pushed to be more distributed to lower cost sites of care, accelerated now by the rapid proliferation of automation and AI capabilities, the potential impact on healthcare infrastructure assets will be profound. Thoughts on what that might look like... https://lnkd.in/eTfAdUbS #digitalhealth Flare Capital Partners

106

6 Comments

The opioid crisis was a sad hallmark of my years working for the Baker Administration. In a time of extreme partisanship at the federal level, this was one area where public policy, civil discourse, and private enterprise seemed aligned and sufficiently motivated to find a solution. What we learned, however, is that dollars and access only go so far in combatting a disease that knows no so specific demographic. Instead, it's apparent that a battery of tools is needed to combat and prevent addiction--ranging from strong safety nets, to novel non-addictive pain therapies, and better technology. Introducing Marigold Health. Shrenik Jain, Ravi Shah, Tracey Cohen, MD, FASAM and team have built a proprietary NLP-based platform that--most significantly--improves the lives of those suffering from SUD/SMI. One customer we spoke with noted, "We needed a unique treatment intervention that had supportive research, fit into a CMS established model with a recognized service code, and that would provide positive clinical outcomes in an efficacious and fiscally responsible manner”. Another plainly said: "Marigold is our best hope to reach into the lives and help those who many have already given up on." Honored to join Bill Evans, Sean Day, and the entire syndicate in doing our part to scale a tool we believe will become essential in the fight against addiction. Marigold Health Innospark Ventures Rock Health KdT Ventures Matt Fates Lily Zarrella Venkat Srinivasan

50

1 Comment

Building SCALABLE, independent primary care is hard! (key word is scalable) “Everybody's kind of getting out of it because the economics aren't good." What's even harder? Building primary care without billing insurance... "As a cash-pay business, it operated in a silo outside of the traditional health insurance system...I think it's just extremely difficult to build outside of the insurance system. That means that they were excluding 70% of total spend from being able to do business with." Many don't comprehend or understand how we're building and growing HealthBar... And that's ok :) Scalable, cash-based primary care that is about relationships and you! We just entered Illinois...Indiana is next... The Midwest shortly thereafter... Then the US :) Building from the ground up...not the top down #healthcare #insurance #primarycare #ceo #hr #benefits

19

7 Comments

On the latest Vital Signs, I had a great conversation with Kristina Saffran, Co-Founder and CEO of Equip. Equip delivers at-home, virtual eating disorder treatment for both adolescents and adults with impressive outcomes, such as a 70% reduction in symptoms after one year. They’ve raised over $100M and our conversation hit on Kristina’s journey to founding Equip, getting payers on board and evidence-based treatments for eating disorders. Some highlights: ⚡ Virtual care for eating disorders From the start, Kristina knew Equip was going to deliver 100% virtual care. Because she experienced firsthand how difficult it is to find a multidisciplinary care team, she optimized for easier access. She discusses how a virtual model allows patients to access treatment when they specifically need it, such as a message with a peer mentor or a quick session with a dietitian. Additionally, it allows patients to continue with their lives — school, work, hobbies – rather than being dependent on treatment. A virtual platform also makes it easier to include a patient’s support system in their care, making it more effective. ⚡ Bundled payments & long-term ROI Equip charges a bundle for their 1-year treatment program, which includes unlimited sessions and messaging. Kristina explains this is core to their business because they don’t want to overwhelm patients with treatment they don’t need. The company has been entering into value-based care agreements. One challenge is that for patients who have never had eating disorder treatment, insurers are paying upfront for a savings return that might only manifest years down the road, but patients often don’t stick with plans for that long. Kristina believes there should be more work toward incentivizing interventions with longer-term payouts. ⚡ Scaling innovative care models Kristina notes that startups have a unique ability to scale models that have worked on sub-scale more homogenous populations to larger real-world heterogeneous groups. This was a fantastic episode - check it out below: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3MKOIxe Apple: https://apple.co/3MGMejv

25

2 Comments

Thanks Girls Into VC for inviting me to be your 1st #startupfounder guest on your podcast 💓 I chatted about some of the following topics: 1️⃣ Founders should get really good at prioritizing rather than chasing “shiny things” that may not be as productive at the current stage of your startup.   2️⃣ Travel and consumer spending is picking up and surpassing pre-COVID levels, and Wander Health is innovating right in the middle of it. 3️⃣ Time is currency and how you spend it matters more than you think. Listen below 👇 #startupjourney #travelhealth #womenfounders #globalhealth

33

2 Comments

Big news from ŌURA yesterday: Dexcom has invested $75M, valuing the company at $5B+ 🤯 This partnership marks a big step toward more holistic health monitoring. I believe it’s the perfect time to integrate health data into everyday tools to make it truly actionable. That’s why we’re building Lifestack by DeMind Inc. —the first productivity tool (a calendar app) powered by health data. It’s an exciting time to be building in this space!

58

4 Comments

🌟 Exciting News! 🌟 I just read an insightful article by **Kyle Wiggers** about Canva’s recent acquisition of **Leonardo.ai**, and I couldn’t be more excited about what this means for the future of design and AI! Canva is taking a huge leap in its generative AI capabilities by bringing Leonardo.ai’s expertise in AI-driven content creation into the fold. What stands out to me is the way Leonardo.ai offers users incredible control over image creation, blending text prompts with real-time sketching using its **Live Canvas** feature. Imagine the possibilities this will bring to industries like fashion, advertising, and architecture! Canva plans to integrate these capabilities into its **Magic Studio** suite, expanding the tools available for creators and making AI-driven design more accessible than ever. This acquisition speaks volumes about Canva’s commitment to staying at the forefront of AI-powered creativity. It’s clear that Canva is not just thinking about today but also investing in the future of design technology. With over **19 million users** already on Leonardo.ai’s platform, the potential is enormous! If you haven’t read Kyle’s article yet, I highly recommend checking it out. The article can be found on TechCrunch.com. It really got me thinking about how generative AI can empower creators in new ways. What are your thoughts on AI in design? Let’s discuss! 💡 #AI #GenerativeAI #Canva #LeonardoAI #TechInnovation #CreativeDesign #AIinDesign #KyleWiggers

3