Axios' Erin Brodwin published a new investigation which discovered healthcare automation startup Olive is exaggerating its capabilities and only uses "rough estimations" to gauge its cost savings. According to the report, Olive, which promises health systems cost savings, is only tracking savings if a client requests it. The report also highlighted Olive employees' concerns about how the company...
Happify Health is launching its first prescription digital therapeutic (PDTx), called Ensemble, which will focus on treating Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
Unlike Happify’s other products, Ensemble has to be prescribed by a clinician. Patients are able to use the smartphone or computer in order to tap into the therapeutic. The PDTx is focused on helping...
Happify Health has developed and launched a new digital mental health program with the American Heart Association (AHA) that aims to reduce stress and encourage healthy behaviors among people with high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Patrick Burke, head of healthcare at Happify Health, told MobiHealthNews that his company's content team and the AHA's experts have been working together for...
Sanofi has been active in the digital space this week inking two big deals: one with tech company Abbott and the other with digital platform Happify.
The first partnership with Abbott will combine the medtech company’s FreeStyle Libre, a continuous glucose monitoring system, and the pharma giant’s insulin dosing information to create smart pens and insulin titration apps.
Sanofi is currently...
Dr. David Rhew has announced that he is leaving Samsung, where he served as the chief medical officer and VP of Enterprise Healthcare, to join Microsoft as the new chief medical officer and VP of healthcare at the Worldwide Commercial Business division. According to a Microsoft blog post announcing his new position, Rhew holds six U.S. patents for clinical decision support systems,...
Dr. Mehmet Oz, a well-known television personality, has joined health technology startup iBeat as Special Advisor, in addition to making an investment in the company. The company makes a not-yet-launched smartwatch that offers continuous monitoring and analysis of heart rate, working to instantly detect signs of oncoming cardiac arrest. Oz, after reportedly seeing the potential impact of the...
Digital health funding in August
So far this year, MobiHealthNews has tracked digital funding that has reached nearly $1.35 billion. August was a healthy month for funding, bringing in $223.86 million across 19 deals, putting it slightly above the monthly average for the year. In the first quarter of 2016, digital health companies raised $770 million, and in the second quarter got almost $500...
New York-based Happify, which makes a mental health assessment platform available via an app or website, has raised $5 million in a new round of funding that will allow the startup to expand its staff and focus on creating partnerships with health plans and large employers with a new arm of the company, Happify Health.
Happify provides app or web-based programs that act as readily available check...
Dr. Karen DeSalvo, head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, has resigned from her post and will now shift her attention to her duties as the Department of Health and Human Services’ acting assistant secretary for health. Dr. Vindell Washington, ONC principal deputy national coordinator, will be her successor. DeSalvo wrote on twitter she was “Thrilled to...
