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Dozens of telehealth companies shared sensitive medical data with social media companies, including Meta, Google and TikTok, a joint investigation by science and health website STAT and The Markup has found.

Driving the news: The analysis, published today, looked at 50 direct-to-consumer virtual care companies and found that the websites shared health information collected during intake and ordering forms with Big Tech companies, Erin writes. 

Those startups include weight management startup Calibrate, addiction treatment business Workit, hybrid care company Thirty Madison and many others.

Yes, but: Although the investigation has worrying implications for nearly anyone who has visited or considered using a virtual care company for treatment, STAT and The Markup also said they "could not independently confirm how or whether Meta and the other tech companies used the data they collected."

Details: Pieces of code called pixels were used to send delicate responses about behavior including self-harm, drug and alcohol use, and personal information — including first name, email address, and phone number — to Big Tech companies, per the investigation.

How it works: The Meta Pixel sends data to Facebook by way of scripts running in a user's browser, according to a previous investigation by The Markup about Facebook receiving sensitive medical information from hospital websites.

"Each data packet comes labeled with an IP address that can be used in combination with other data to identify an individual or household," that story reads.

Meanwhile, trackers from Google and Microsoft (which runs Bing) on other telehealth sites notified those companies that users' email addresses were entered on “enrollment confirmation” URLs, per the latest investigation.

What they're saying: Academics and former regulators told STAT and The Markup that the data sharing "threatens patient privacy and trust and could run afoul of unfair business practices laws."

“I thought I was at this point hard to shock,” said Ari Friedman, a University of Pennsylvania emergency medicine physician who studies digital health privacy. “And I find this particularly shocking.”

“The very reason why people pursue some of these services online is that they’re seeking privacy,” said David Grande, another UPenn digital health privacy researcher.

The bottom line: Though Workit promised privacy via "HIPAA-compliant software," many apps and solutions that track potentially sensitive health data aren't subject to HIPAA regulation.

1 big thing: STAT probe uncovers health data sharing concerns

Illustration of binary code falling into a prescription pill bottle.

BehaVR and OxfordVR, two virtual reality behavioral health companies, are set to merge with support from a $13 million Series B fundraise.

Why it's the BFD: This deal could open the tap for a flood of M&A in mental health tech, particularly amid rumors of a tie-up between telehealth players Amwell and Talkspace, Claire and Erin write. 

Details: Optum Ventures and Oxford Science Enterprises led the round and were joined by Partners Group-backed Confluent Health, Accenture Ventures, Chrysalis Ventures and Thornton Capital.

BehaVR CEO Aaron Gani will lead the combined entity, to be known as BehaVR.

Series B capital will last through mid 2024 at least, Gani tells Axios. He declined to disclose terms and valuation. 

MTS Health Partners, along with law firms Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis and McDermott Will & Emery, advised BehaVR. Hogan Lovells advised OxfordVR.

How it works: Louisville, Ky.-based BehaVR serves more than 120 outpatient health care providers, Gani says.

The company's virtual reality programs use tenets of exposure therapy to treat various mental health conditions. 

The VR programs are largely self-directed, and clinicians oversee and manage patients' treatment asynchronously.

What's next: Gani tells Axios the company will use proceeds from the raise to develop and clinically validate its products.

These include a cognitive behavioral therapy-focused wellness program called First Resort and three therapeutic candidates for anxiety and depression that BehaVR is developing in partnership with Sumitomo Pharma.

BehaVR also has a pain prescription therapeutic candidate in collaboration with Confluent, and an opioid use disorder candidate whose research is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Those candidates are undergoing the pre-submission process with the FDA. 

Meanwhile, the FDA granted Breakthrough Device status in June to OxfordVR's gameChange digital therapeutic for the treatment of schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses. It's a designation the agency has given nearly 700 products despite few actually reaching the market.

Reality check: The landscape for approved behavioral health digital therapeutics (DTx) is sparse because of murky reimbursement policies, little buy-in from providers and payers, and mixed efficacy results.

What they're saying: Gani says the ongoing provider shortage, coupled with the deepening global mental health crisis, could create a window of opportunity for companies like BehaVR by super-powering clinicians.

"It is going to take digital therapeutics that can scale exponentially — whereas humans only scale linearly at best — to make a dent in this crisis," Gani says.

2. The BFD: Oxford-BehaVR merge

Illustration of a VR headset with Benjamin Franklin's eyes glowing in the lens.

Other makers of prescription DTx tools include Pear Therapeutics and Akili Interactive, both of which went public via SPAC mergers.  

Pear in December 2021 merged with special-purpose acquisition company Thimble Point Acquisition Corp. in a deal that pulled in $175 million.

Akili in August merged with Chamath Palihapitiya's Social Capital Suvretta Holdings Corp. in a deal that amassed $163 million.

3. State of play: Digital therapeutics

Illustration of sticky notes overlapping that say State of Play

Empatica, a Boston-based developer of remote patient monitoring tools, has raised an undisclosed amount of Series B funding co-led by Sanofi Ventures and RA Capital Management. An SEC filing from August showed $25m committed of a round that could hit $34m. www.empatica.com

Alio, a Broomfield, Colo.-based developer of medical tech for chronic disease management, has raised $18m in Series C funding led by The Widjaja Family Investment Office. www.alio.ai

Laso Health, a San Antonio-based startup that links patients and doctors, has raised $8m in seed funding. https://axios.link/3hnav2a 

QT Imaging, a Novato, Calif.-based maker of medical imaging products, has agreed to go public at an implied $151m equity value via GigCapital5 (NYSE: GIA). https://axios.link/3PmOLQz 

4. Deals o' the day

AdvaMed has named former ICSC executive director Susan Askew PAC director.

Gravie has named former Carbon Health co-founder and VP Greg Burrell chief medical officer.

Mesirow hired former Elekta exec Daniel Miin as managing director focused on health care.

5. It's Personnel

Hello, Health Tech readers. It's Tuesday.

👀 Situational awareness: Join Erin on Thursday with leaders from Cityblock and Carbon Health to talk all things primary care, equity and the current digital health dealmaking forecast. Register here.

🌴 Claire finished Season 2 of "The White Lotus" and may be permanently soured on resort vacations. 

✅ Thanks for reading, and extra thanks to newsletter editor George Moriarty and copy editor Brad Bonhall. Please ask your friends and colleagues to sign up.

December 13, 2022

1 big thing: STAT probe uncovers health data sharing concerns