Top Stories You Missed in Digital Health: Traditional physician practices struggle, pulling startups centerstage | Clinical research is going digital | Kaia Health touts the results of back pain study to attract insurers
TOP STORIES YOU MISSED | Featured Stories | | | | | THE UNSTABLE STATE OF US PRIMARY CARE PRACTICES SPELLS GOOD NEWS FOR TECH-FOCUSED ENTRANTS The coronavirus pandemic is placing US primary care practices on unstable financial footing: In May, nearly half of independent physician practices said they only had enough cash to last them one month, and 68% of respondents eyeing partnerships with larger systems said financial support was their top reason, according to a McKinsey survey. We think this financial strain will make it difficult for independent practices to invest in the digital tools needed to sate consumers increasingly turning to digital health options: Only 22% of physicians at small practices said their practice has increased digital care options like telehealth since the beginning of the pandemic. Primary care firms’ inability to invest in and scale digital options will likely amplify their financial woes as customers jump ship to nimbler competitors that can meet their demands. Pre-pandemic, we thought primary care entrants would have a hard time poaching customers from traditional firms — but those with tech-focused approaches and repositories of funding are in a good position to thrive right now. |
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| | | | | DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION SPREADS THROUGH CLINICAL TRIAL SPACE Over 35 pharma companies have leveraged digital tools to monitor primary and secondary endpoints in clinical studies, according to a new online library put forward by the Digital Medicine Society and reported on by STAT. For context, a primary endpoint is the outcome a study was designed to assess or measure, while a secondary endpoint refers to additional outcomes researchers weren’t necessarily setting out to uncover. The most commonly deployed digital tools were health and activity trackers; other digital tools include continuous glucose monitors and ingested sensors embedded into medications. While the pharma industry has been slow when it comes to digital transformation, we think the coronavirus pandemic will move their’ hands and open opportunities for startups touting remote monitoring tech to ink deals with drug-makers. |
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| | | KAIA HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS RESULTS OF BACK PAIN STUDY TO LURE INSURERS Digital health startup Kaia Health hopes clinical trial results that show its app for managing back pain reduced participants’ pain levels will help it become reimbursed as a medical claim, according to Kaia Health Founder and President Konstantin Mehl. The app is currently only available to either self-paying members or those who are covered under an employer. For context, the randomized, controlled trial published in the Journal of Pain Research indicated that patients using the app reported a stronger reduction in pain (33%) compared with the control group (14%). Kaia Health isn’t the only startup touting digital tools to treat musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions — and we expect to see insurers eyeing these tools as a way to curb costs. We think DTx firms that are beefing up their digital tools for MSK conditions are putting themselves in a prime position to nab partnerships with insurers that likely want to cut back on costs associated with MSK pain: The US spends an average of $213 billion on treatment for MSK treatment and care alone. |
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