Podnosis

Nearly 30 million Americans will have an eating disorder in their lifetime. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough providers who know how to treat these complex conditions. What care is available is largely inaccessible, often for financial or geographical reasons.  Equip, a virtual provider of eating disorder treatment services, recently ran a survey of nearly 500 people who have been in or are currently in treatment. To understand the striking findings, Fierce Healthcare's Anastassia Gliadkovskaya talks with Jessie Menzel, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and VP of clinical programs at Equip. They also chat about why the current system fails patients and how cultural competence plays a key role in eating disorder treatment.   To learn more about the topics in this episode:  Equip nabs additional investment to expand virtual eating disorder treatment services to adult patients Most doctors get limited education on eating disorders. This online training helps fill the gap Equip taps healthcare exec Nikia Bergan as new president to scale up virtual eating disorder treatment services See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The use of wearable devices continues to rise, and as consumers become comfortable with the array of wellness features they offer, these companies are turning their eyes to healthcare.  The team at Oura, which offers a smart ring that tracks sleep and physical activity, has built relationships with health plans by digging deeper into the connection between sleep habits and chronic disease.  In this week's episode of "Podnosis," Senior Writer Paige Minemyer sat down with Jason Oberfest, vice president of healthcare at Oura, to discuss how the company is approaching its push into healthcare.  To learn more about the topics in this episode:  Oura closes $200M round, boosting smart ring maker's valuation to $5.2B Smart ring maker Oura picks up $75M series D, inks strategic partnership with Dexcom HLTH24: Essence Healthcare to give MA plan members free Oura ring for health tracking HLTH23: Headspace, Oura partner to bring a high-tech approach to tackling stress, mental wellness See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Podnosis, Chris Hayden from Fierce spoke with Micheal McComber, Principal Solutions Architect at TTEC Digital, about how AI is transforming healthcare by enhancing patient and provider experiences. TTEC Digital specializes in optimizing patient interactions with digital solutions that ensure first-call resolution and streamlined provider support. McComber highlighted three major challenges in healthcare: rising costs, data security, and workforce shortages. He explained that AI can address these issues by automating routine tasks such as patient scheduling, insurance verification, and predictive analytics. One notable example includes AI bots integrated with Epic systems that authenticate patient records, schedule appointments, and even notify patients about prescription updates. Another success story involved a diabetes center using AI to manage recalls for insulin pumps. Automated outbound calls notify patients of recalls and guide them through the replacement process, ensuring patient safety and peace of mind. McComber emphasized that AI-driven efficiencies reduce contact center handling times, offering significant cost savings and enhancing patient satisfaction. As healthcare organizations seek to optimize operations, AI offers a proven path to improved outcomes and streamlined workflows. Listen to this compelling podcast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is no shortage of startups and new entrants popping up in healthcare. But what do these young companies need to know to set themselves apart from the pack?  That’s one key focus of the team at Healthworx, a Blues plan-backed investment firm and accelerator that seeks to turbocharge the latest innovations.  Senior Writer Paige Minemyer sat down with Soo Jeon, the head of the accelerator at Healthworx, to dig into how the team works with burgeoning startups and what results they’ve seen so far.  To learn more about the topics in this episode:  Fierce Healthcare Fundraising Tracker—Proscia picks up $50M; Brain.space nabs $11M for brain data platform Better Health raises $14M to deploy expanded payer partnerships What’s next for digital health investing in 2025? Top health tech companies by VC funding: A look at 2024 and the past decade This episode is sponsored by Optum Rx. Learn more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nate Favini, Chief Medical Officer at Pair Team, and Christian Curby, Executive Director of Turlock Gospel Mission, bring insightful discussions on supporting high-needs populations in California. They delve into the complexities faced by dual-eligible beneficiaries and explore how community care hubs can enhance healthcare delivery. The conversation highlights innovative solutions such as telemedicine and community collaboration, aiming to address both medical and social challenges while improving healthcare outcomes and reducing costs.

In this insightful conversation, Paige Minemyer, Senior Writer at Fierce Healthcare, discusses the newly unveiled 2025 Fierce 15, a prestigious list of innovative healthcare companies. She highlights the evolution of the Fierce 15 project, spotlighting how the pandemic accelerated telehealth's rise to mainstream acceptance. Paige reveals the collaboration with the New York Stock Exchange and dives into the key criteria for selection, emphasizing the need for tangible impacts in healthcare innovation as AI and new technologies reshape the industry.

In a sponsored episode of Podnosis, host Chris Hayden speaks with Dr. Steven O’Day, chief medical officer at Agenus, about the latest advancements in immunotherapy. With more than 30 years of experience in oncology, O’Day discusses how immunotherapy is changing cancer treatment and providing new hope where traditional methods, such as chemotherapy and radiation, often fall short. Unlike conventional treatments that directly attack cancer cells, immunotherapy strengthens the body’s immune system—particularly T-cells—to recognize and destroy cancer. While this approach has led to significant breakthroughs in treating melanoma, challenges remain in tackling “cold” tumors, such as colorectal cancer, which the immune system struggles to identify. Agenus is working to address this issue with its experimental therapies, botensilimab and balstilimab. The treatments aim to activate and sustain the immune response, showing promising results across multiple hard-to-treat cancers. What’s next for immunotherapy? O’Day believes the field is entering a second revolution, with the potential to expand life-saving treatments to a broader range of cancers. Listen to the full conversation on the latest episode of Podnosis.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blake Walker, Co-founder and CEO of Inbox Health, dives into the complexities of patient billing, shedding light on the struggles patients face amidst confusing medical debt. He discusses innovative communication strategies that can simplify billing experiences and enhance patient satisfaction. Blake also highlights the impact of AI technology in streamlining billing processes and fostering trust between providers and patients. Together with senior writer Anastassia Gliadkovskaya, they tackle crucial issues like transparency and the evolving landscape of medical debt reform.

Digital health venture capital funding cooled off in 2024 following the fever pitch of investment from 2020 to 2022. But investors still see bright opportunities for the sector. Digital health startups banked $10.1 billion in venture funding in 2024, down from $10.8 billion in 2023 but higher than 2019's funding total. Several key trends shaped digital health investment in 2024: a handful of large, more established players dominated healthcare innovation headlines and heavyweight investors drove sector dealmaking. Investors focused on earlier-stage funding and pulled back on later-stage check sizes, according to Rock Health’s year-end report. Executive editor Heather Landi sits down with Sari Kaganoff, chief commercial officer at Rock Health, to discuss the digital health sector's performance last year and the trends that will shape venture funding in 2025.  To learn more about the topics in this episode:  Digital health venture funding hit $10.1B in 2024 as investors focused on earlier-stage dealmaking Fierce Healthcare Fundraising Tracker—Zoom invests in Suki; Bicycle Health nabs $16.5M Digital health leaders bracing for capital investment boom in 2025. Here's how execs view the economic outlook 2024 a mixed bag for health tech venture capital: HSBC report General Catalyst teams up with AWS to co-develop, deploy AI-driven solutions See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health tech experts and leaders descended on Nashville last week to discuss the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the digital health sector.  Senior Editor Heather Landi, Senior Writer Paige Minemyer and Staff Writer Emma Beavins were on-site for several days of panels, meetings and deep dives. This week, they sit down to take a look back at the trendiest topics from the show floor. (Hint: It’s AI, of course).  To learn more about the topics in this episode:  ViVE 2025 roundup: Lumeris unveils AI tech for primary care; DoseSpot's latest Rx transparency tool ViVE 2025: Where Humana's CenterWell team is exploring the promise of AI ViVE 2025: Cleveland Clinic rolls out Ambience's AI for doctors after testing scribe technologies ViVE 2025: Abridge scores $250M, adds new AI tool to streamline 'billable notes' ViVE 2025: Highmark taps Sword Health for pelvic health program ViVE 2025: MultiPlan unveils rebrand as it shifts focus to data assets, tech for providers, payers and employers ViVE 2025: UPMC Enterprises has AI on its radar as it launches new testing environment for developers See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.