The Pulse by Wharton Digital Health

In this episode, we sat down with Clara Burtenshaw , Partner and Investor at Neo Kuma Ventures . We discussed: -The evolution of the psychedelics industry from a stigmatized counterculture phenomenon to a scientifically robust industry with support from the FDA for fast-tracking drug development -The clinical potential of psychedelics to treat illnesses ranging from mental illness to pain manageme...

Julian Harris, M.D., is a Partner on the Healthcare Services team at Deerfield and Chairman & CEO at ConcertoCare . Launched in 1994, Deerfield Management Company is an investment firm dedicated to advancing healthcare through information, investment and philanthropy — all toward the end goal of cures for disease, improved quality of life and reduced cost of care. ConcertoCare was formed recen...

In this episode, we interviewed Michelle Davey, the Co-Founder and CEO of Wheel . Wheel is working behind the scenes to build many of the telemedicine services you’re familiar with. Its online platform matches doctors with patients and also enables any company to stand up a virtual care practice. Wheel makes it simple for companies to build virtual care services under their brand by pairing techno...

In this episode of The Pulse Podcast, we interview Connor Hailey , CEO and Co-Founder of Axle Health , a software platform that enables any company to add in-home visits to their patient offering. We cover Connor’s penchant for startups and entrepreneurship, Axle Health’s founding story and early product journey and how they have scaled to thousands of in-home visits in just one year of launch. Fo...

In this episode, we sat down with Sangu Delle , the Chairman and CEO of Africa Health Holdings . Africa Health Holdings is focused on building a sustainable healthcare ecosystem in Africa through its network of healthcare facilities that it owns and manages. To date, Africa Health Holdings portfolio companies have served over 510,000 patients through malaria treatment, family planning, community o...

In this episode, we interview Vik Bakhru , MD, former COO and CFO of ConsejoSano and the founding CMO of Circulo Health . We discuss some of the challenges that ConsejoSano faced as they strove to build consumer trust in the medical system amidst the global pandemic and what’s in store for Circulo Health, the nation’s newest managed Medicaid plan. Founded in 2014, ConsejoSano provides patient enga...

In this episode, we interview Afton Vechery , CEO and Co-Founder of Modern Fertility , a reproductive health company making personalized fertility information more accessible. We discuss Modern Fertility’s founding story from getting to the first 100 users to finding the best GTM strategy and building the proactive fertility category from scratch. Founded in 2016, Modern Fertility is the women’s h...

Neil Batlivala is the CEO and Co-Founder of Pair Team . Neil Batlivala and Cassie Choi, RN founded Pair in 2019 after experiencing how critical a high functioning administrative team is to provide high-quality primary care by building out operations together at leading tech-enabled practices of Forward and Circle Medical. The majority of healthcare is local and fragmented, and no solutions were bu...

In this episode, we chatted with Dan Knecht , M.D., M.B.A., Vice President of Clinical Product at CVS Health . Prior to this, Dan served as Vice President of Health Strategy and Innovation for Medical Affairs at Aetna , a CVS Health company. What we discussed: The CVS Health-Aetna merger in 2018 has enabled the joint company to create more customer-centric care by marrying advanced data analytics...

Dr. Andrey Ostrovsky is the former Chief Medical Officer of the US Medicaid program. He is now the Managing Partner at Social Innovation Ventures where he invests in and advises companies and non-profits dedicated to eliminating disparities. He also advises federal and state regulators on how to incorporate human centered design into policy making. He previously operated a series of methadone clin...

In this episode of The Pulse Podcast, Vivien interviews Andrew Parker, CEO and Co-Founder of Papa, an on-demand assistance service to help people and their family members stay independent while living securely and happily at home. Andrew has a passion for healthcare, technology and people. Prior to founding Papa, Andrew ran Health Systems Sales and Strategy for MDLive.com, a large tele-health prov...

In this episode, we interview Dr. Jon Bloom, the Co-Founder and CEO of Podimetrics. The company’s mission is to improve patient lives through early detection and prevention of diabetic foot ulcers. They are a virtual care management company dedicated to preventing diabetic amputations through their SmartMat product and partnerships with both payers and at-risk providers, including the Veteran’s He...

In this episode, we sat down with Brad Fluegel , lecturer at the Wharton School’s Health Care Management program and former Senior Vice President and Chief Healthcare Commercial Market Development Officer for Walgreens . Before that, he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer for Wellpoint, now Anthem , and Senior Vice President of National Accounts and Vic...

In this episode, we connect with Erin Lee , the VP of Global Operations and Managing Director of Babylon (U.S.) . Babylon is a London-based telehealth startup leveraging AI to provide quality and affordable primary care around the world. Babylon has operations globally, including in the U.S., Canada, UK, Rwanda, and several countries within Asia and the Middle East and plans to continue expanding...

In this episode, Vivien interviews Naomi Allen, CEO and Co-Founder of Brightline , a behavioral health care technology company delivered for families and children. We discuss her amazing journey at the forefront of the new digital health wave as one of the founding team members of Castlight , her leadership lessons as Chief Growth Officer Livongo and the amazing story of Brightline and how they la...

In this episode, Sandy interviews Jannine Versi, COO & Co-Founder of Elektra Health. Elektra Health is on a mission to smash the menopause taboo by empowering 50M women in the US today navigating menopause with a full-stack digital solution. Elektra has been featured in Forbes, Pitchbook, the Financial Times and Crunchbase, and was selected as a "recommended platform" by both Katie Couric and...

In this episode of The Pulse Podcast, Vivien interviews Gabriel Mecklenburg, President and Co-Founder of Hinge Health , the leading musculoskeletal (also known as MSK) solution for employers and health plans.   We discuss Hinge Health's journey from the early days for Gabriel and Daniel and finding product market fit to growing the business by more than 4X in the last year. Hinge Health...

In this episode, we interview Steve Kraus , Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners . At Bessemer, Steve focuses exclusively on healthcare, where he’s made investments in and holds seats on the boards of some of the most successful companies in this space, including Bright Health, Ginger, Hinge Health, Aspen RxHealth, and, most recently, Folx Health. Each year, Steve and his team publish their health...

In this episode, we interview Deborah Kilpatrick , Co-CEO Evidation Health . With a network of over 4M individuals across the U.S. and a platform that gathers key real-world data from patients’ day-to-day lives, Evidation is on a mission to enable and empower everyone to participate in better health outcomes. Since its founding in 2012, Evidation has raised money from investors like B Capital Grou...

In this episode, we chat with Eren Bali , the Co-Founder & CEO of Carbon Health . Carbon Health is a technology-enabled healthcare provider with a mission to make high-quality healthcare accessible to everyone. Carbon Health meets patients where they are, providing seamless, accessible healthcare to patients across a variety of access points including primary and urgent care clinics, pop-up si...

Nita Sommers is an Operating Partner at Khosla Ventures focused on health care. Nita has spent over 20 years working in the health technology sector, with a passion for early-stage, high growth companies transforming health care. She was an early member of the R&D team at athenahealth , which went public in 2007. Additionally, she was one of the first executives at Castlight Health and later m...

In this episode of the Pulse Podcast, we interview Sid Viswanathan , Co-Founder and President of Truepill . Starting with its pharmacy-driven APIs and since moving into telehealth and at-home lab diagnostics, Truepill has been building healthcare infrastructure for the modern (and future) world. This infrastructure is already working behind the scenes to power several consumer-focused healthcare c...

In this episode, we interview Andrew Dudum , the Founder & CEO of Hims & Hers . Hims & Hers is a digital health company focused on destigmatizing health and wellness conditions while making it easier for everyone to access quality care. Since launching in November 2017, Hims & Hers has raised approximately $260MM in funding from investors including Oaktree Capital , Maverick , IVP...

In this episode, Sandy interviews Nate Maslak, Co-Founder and CEO of Ribbon Health . Ribbon is breaking the long-standing barrier of complex and challenging provider data by identifying and delivering the most accurate, comprehensive data on providers, facilities, insurance plans, and cost and quality measures through a seamless API layer. Ribbon is trusted by innovative health care companies such...

In this episode of The Pulse Podcast, Vivien interviews Casey Means, Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of Levels Health . Levels is a metabolic health company that empowers individuals to radically optimize their health and wellbeing by providing real-time continuous glucose biofeedback coupled with machine learning driven insights to inform personalized diet and lifestyle choices. We discuss t...