The Heart of Healthcare | A Digital Health Podcast

In this episode, Halle Tecco and Steve Kraus discuss the latest news and trends in digital health in April 2024. They cover: Controversial Peterson report about the effectiveness of diabetes management solutions  Rock Health's latest survey data on consumer digital health adoption The FDA's recent approval of Dexcom's Stelo, the first OTC continuous glucose monitor The rise of nurse practitio...

In this episode, Steve Kraus talks with Joanna Strober, co-founder and CEO of Midi Health, a virtual healthcare platform specifically for women in midlife (ages 35-65). Midi Health is a virtual care clinic created by specialists in perimenopause and menopause to address the massive unmet needs of women in this demographic. Joanna explains why women often lose touch with an OBGYN after child-bearin...

In February, Change Healthcare, the largest processor of medical claims in the U.S., was hit by a devastating cyberattack. Some are even calling it the most significant and consequential cyberattack on our healthcare system in American history. The fallout exposed deep vulnerabilities in healthcare infrastructure and how healthcare data is protected, highlighting the fragility of a system built on...

In this episode, Dr. Allie Sharma shares her expertise on the fascinating topic of using ketamine infusion therapy and other psychedelic treatments to treat mental health conditions. As an experienced psychiatrist and the co-founder of Being Health, Dr. Sharma explains how ketamine, a well-established anesthetic medicine, has shown remarkable promise in treating treatment-resistant depression. Dr....

In this episode, we cover 5 big headlines in digital health from the Change Healthcare disaster to a VC buying a hospital. AND after 2.5 years of going at this podcast alone, I'm excited to now bring on a co-host! Listen to find out who will be joining me to host this show. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-inf...

February is Cancer Prevention Month. Nearly 40% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetimes. The good news is that continued advancements in medical research has led to more people surviving cancer. But what if we could prevent cancer altogether? Is it possible? In this episode, Jody Hoyos, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Prevent Cancer Foundation,...

Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death in 18-45 year olds in the US, claiming more lives than car crashes and gun violence combined. After Dr. Beth Weinstock lost her son to what she calls “the most devastating health crisis this generation has ever seen,” she decided to do something about it. In this episode, we discuss a harm-reduction approach to protecting young people from accidental fent...

David, meet Goliath. In this episode, digital health veteran Stuart Green (SVP and General Manager of the Life Science Business at Veridigm) shares all the secrets of what large incumbents want when working with startups. Stuart offers great insights and advice to founders looking to sell to, partner with, or get acquired by the Goliaths of healthcare. We cover: Understanding the unmet needs of la...

In this episode, Ali Diab, co-founder and CEO of Collective Health, discusses his journey in building Collective Health and solving the problem of complex and costly healthcare experiences. He also shares advice to founders from his experience scaling Collective Health, which is now a market leader. We cover: - When founders should (and shouldn’t) worry about incumbents - The sales cycle to employ...

This week's guest, Brad Kittredge, believes in a world where everyone suffering with mental health can get personalized care, and he knows technology can get us there. Learn how his company, Brightside , is working with the system (not against it) for real change. And how his experiences working at Jawbone and 23andMe helped inform his work this time around. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com...

Guests Sofia Guerra and Morgan Cheatham from BVP join me in this episode as we dive into 2024 healthcare predictions. From the the exodus of tourist VCs to a renaissance in consumer healthcare, this episode is a must-listen for anyone invested in the intersection of healthcare and technology, offering a glimpse into what 2024 may hold for our sector. Resources mentioned in this episode: - Six impe...

This is a special episode from my other podcast Closing Time . In 2023, digital health M&A was down 23% YoY. How did this compare to the tech sector? What are digital health acquirers looking for today? And what will 2024 have in store for us? We dive into all these questions and more in this episode about M&A. Here is the link to the blog post Selling Your Healthcare Startup that is menti...

In our 100th (!!!) episode of the Heart of Healthcare Podcast, I share a 2023 recap for healthcare, including findings from the latest Rock Health Funding report. The episode delves into the significant changes in Medicaid, with a massive disenrollment impacting vulnerable populations, and discusses the growing privatization of Medicare through Medicare Advantage. It highlights the surge in GLP-1...

For our last episode of 2023— our 99th episode since launching this show— I talk about the responsibility of the healthcare "old guard" and emphasize the need for talent and optimism in the face of a healthcare system where change happens at a snail's pace. I also discuss what I've been up to on my blog, and answer the question I keep getting about if I'm going to write a book. You can visit my bl...

If you have had any interaction with the healthcare system whatsoever, you have probably experienced the labyrinthine nature of its processes, from navigating insurance coverage and understanding medical bills, to coordinating between different healthcare providers, all of which highlight the complexity and potential for confusion inherent in the current system. In this episode, I dive into the ke...

"Healthcare is not simply a void which was just waiting for tech to fill in and solve all of its problems." In this podcast episode, Owen Tripp, Founder and CEO of Included Health, shares his thoughts on digital health. We discuss how the space has changed in the last decade and where he thinks we'll be in 10 years, if big tech can really change healthcare, if virtual care matters or more less tha...

More than 40% of Americans have obesity, a number that continues to rise. And despite being a multi-billion dollar business — the weight loss industry just isn’t helping people lose weight. Perhaps that’s why new GLP-1 medications are getting so much attention. To learn more, I spoke to Sarah Jones Simmer, CEO of Found. With over $130M in venture funding, Found is the largest medically-supported w...

The healthcare industry has made significant strides in the past 50 years… or has it? In this episode, we sit down with Adrian Aoun, CEO of Forward, an AI-based healthcare system, who is simply not impressed with the lethargic pace of progress. We discuss how artificial intelligence (AI) can help us achieve exponential improvements to human health and how ChatGPT is the worst of the new world. Fol...

In this episode, guests Sofia Guerra and Steve Kraus from Bessemer Venture Partners discuss their recently published report, "State of Health Tech 2023." We discuss what’s going on in the public markets (and why), bad bubbles vs. okay bubbles, how health tech companies compare to other sectors, and looking for phoenixes to rise from the ashes. Read the BVP report here . Read the article on publicl...

This year's Heart of Healthcare $50,000 Grant Challenge winner is the team from the Libertas Center for Human Rights, located at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, NY. In this episode, we learn about how they provide survivors of torture and human rights violations with comprehensive medical, mental health, social and legal services to help them regain function and restore humanity in their lives. Learn...

Some clinics have a BMI threshold, which means that women who are considered overweight or obese are often turned away from services without a fair look at their full health. In a world where medical science continually refines its understanding of human physiology, clinging to outdated metrics like BMI as a gatekeeper for reproductive freedom is not merely archaic—it's a negation of evidence-base...

Almost a third of healthcare spending goes towards administrative costs, and it’s been noted that at least half of this administrative spending is wasteful. In this episode we talk about waste in healthcare, and then pull back the curtain to talk about the building of digital health OG, Zocdoc.  From raising capital in and surviving the last economic meltdown (remember Sequoia’s famous RIP go...

While our healthcare system has glaring gender disparities that disproportionately affect women, the fact is, men are not spared from one enormous gender gap: life expectancy. In this episode, host Halle Tecco and guest VC Steve Kraus of Bessemer Partners discuss why we need a more comprehensive approach to men's health, the startups leading the way, and the biggest opportunities in the space. Vis...

I have laryngitis and our team is off this week reviewing applications for the Heart of Healthcare Grant Challenge. So I thought I'd play an episode from my new show, Closing Time. Don't worry Heart of Healthcare isn't going anywhere! Closing Time is a new podcast where you, the listener, get to be a fly on the wall during a startup pitch meeting. Imagine being part of a room where passionate entr...