Health Tech News Roundup
The founder of Refactor Capital discusses his investment strategy with MedCity News. One strategy he uses when investing in health tech startups is to look for companies with "repeatable paper," ie a contract for a product that can be sold over and over again without needing to be substantially changed. This is in contrast to startups that develop products that solve problems for a limited customer base. More
WebMD is now integrating with Alexa to provide medical advice. More
Smart thermometer IoT startup Kinsa has raised $17M. More
Virta Health has raised $37M to help patients reverse diabetes through connecting people with coaches, creating a nutrition plan, and offering biomarker tracking tools. More
Top healthcare companies in robotics. More
Collective Health has created a tool to make sure that health products offered by employers are actually being used. More
Five predictions for the medical device industry in MedCity News. More
CVS has partnered with EPIC EHR for use in its MinuteClinics. More
After numerous drug trials have failed, people are beginning to question the "amyloid hypothesis" of Alzheier's. More
Doctors are increasingly earning MBAs along with their MDs. What does this mean for the future of healthcare? More
Tilapia skin is being used to bandage burns. More
Healthcare investor Oak HC/FT is raising a $500M fund. More
Policy
The tanning bed industry is one of the few industry groups supporting the repeal of healthcare. Conservatives in Congress are furious over the GOP health proposal, calling it Obamacare in a different format and Obamacare 2.0. The GOP plan to remove the individual mandate will cause insurance markets to become unstable but some are floating the idea of having a state mandate.
Although there was some concern over whether Medicaid patients would be able to get timely care, a new study shows this has not been an issue. House leaders are scrambling to get some version of healthcare reform passed before the Easter recess and another onslaught of town halls with angry constituents. A healthcare economist dissects Trump's speech to Congress. The Koch brothers are pressuring Republicans to repeal the ACA. In red state Utah, there has been a surge in support of the ACA.