All Access

Health Tech Deals

Health Tech Deals Alerts

Alert

Standard

Health Tech Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Health Tech Deals

BFD Expert Voices

The major stumbling blocks for remote patient monitoring are obstacles health care has seen for decades: health system buy-in and reimbursement, Axios' Claire Rychlewski writes. 

Why it matters: Care is moving beyond the four walls of the hospital and digital health players are ready to deliver it — but the speed of that evolution is TBD.

What they're saying: "The country rolled out CPT codes in 2019 and yet RPM is still anemic in its growth. Why is that?" said ACME Capital partner Aike Ho.

Context: Ho and others were speaking at an Expert Voices discussion before the Axios BFD event in San Francisco on Wednesday.

"I think what it's devolved to, unfortunately, is a way to get at new codes for revenue purposes that have little to do with the things that (help patients) get better," said Venture Valkyrie CEO Lisa Suennen.

Mass adoption of RPM would be better enabled if "we had a value-based health system at all, really, that would allow for risk management in the way that managing risk and resources matter," she continued.

Between the lines: Remote patient monitoring can take on myriad definitions, but not all panelists agreed on what it encompasses.

Direct-to-consumer plays have oft-dominated the space via wearables and other devices, though Suennen said for her, RPM is not wellness-related.

Zoom in: "I think there's an interesting distinction because of the way our health care system is structured in the U.S.," said Amy McDonough, general manager at Google's Fitbit Health Solutions.

Fitbit Health's global business, for example, is much quicker to adopt reimbursed, provider-led RPM, versus consumer-led tracking, she added.

However, Fitbit's reimbursed RPM initiatives still leverage wellness data from wearables to inform clinical guidelines — which has led to better patient outcomes, according to McDonough.

Be smart: The potential for longitudinal patient data is where consumer-focused and provider-led RPM merge, some panelists said.

"I care that I walk 10,000 steps a day," McDonough said. "My physicians — all of them — do not care, but they might care if my trend is changing and health care systems are not set up to take on longitudinal data."

Hybrid care models using RPM tools to monitor patients between visits generate crucial longitudinal data, said Connie Chen, COO of behavioral health tech company Lyra Health.

Learning more about a patient's trajectory can "create a world where we could accurately identify the first symptoms and onset of disease and intervene before it happens," said Evidation CEO Christine Lemke.

Yes, but: "One of the challenges here is we're still living in the world of predictive analytics," said Suennen.

"Prediction is nice. But action is better and we need to move towards prescriptive analytics: 'Here's what we learned. Here's what you should do about it.'"

1.  RPM's reimbursement problem 

An Expert Voices roundtable at Axios BFD in San Francisco. Photo: Axios

New Mountain Capital forked over around $280 million to buy health tech AI business Apixio from Centene, sources familiar with the deal told Aaron.

Why it matters: As health care strategics prune their portfolios, private equity is picking up the clippings. 

Plus: Monday's Pro Rata, on private equity facing a growing number of portfolio company bankruptcies.

2. New Mountain shells out $280M for Apixio

Startup Alto Pharmacy plans to raise another funding round as it eyes potential acquisition targets — building on its billion-dollar-plus revenue, CEO Alicia Boler-Davis told Erin Wednesday at Axios BFD in San Francisco.

Why it matters: The company's growth plans come at a time of tightened capital markets for digital health care companies, particularly for a low-margin corner of the sector, Axios' Tina Reed wrote.

Plus: Thursday's Pro Rata, with BFD coverage on CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost's discussion about ESG.

3. Alto Pharmacy is looking to make a deal

Alto Pharmacy CEO Alicia Boler-Davis and Axios' Erin Brodwin sit on stage at BFD 

Alto Pharmacy CEO Alicia Boler-Davis and Axios' Erin Brodwin at Axios BFD in San Francisco Wednesday. Photo: Chris Constantine/Axios

Stella, a startup offering a unique treatment for severe mental illness including PTSD, gathered $7 million in undesignated funding from Sterling Partners, CEO Philippe Sanchez told Erin exclusively.

Why it matters: With deaths of despair from drug and alcohol overuse and suicide at historic levels, investors and entrepreneurs are increasingly focused on treating forms of severe mental illness that contribute to such deaths.

Plus: Tuesday's Pro Rata, on a venture-backed startup developing a smart gun.

4. Stella gathers $7M for trauma treatment

Illustration of a spotlight shining on a brain.

Syneos Health (Nasdaq: SYNH), a Morrisville, N.C.-based biopharma contract research organization, agreed to be taken private for $7.1 billion by an investor group that includes Elliott Investment Management, Patient Square Capital and Veritas Capital, Axios' Dan Primack wrote.

Why it matters: The club door is swinging open even wider, just one day after multiple private equity firms agreed to buy Baxter's pharma contract manufacturing business.

Plus: Wednesday's Pro Rata, featuring an interview with Axios Crypto co-author Brady Dale.

5. Syneos Health goes private for $7.1B

Hands hold a smartphone displaying the Syneos Health logo 

The Syneos Health logo is displayed on a smartphone screen. Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Happy Friday, Health Techies! Axios' Natalie Breymeyer here, bringing you this week's digest. 

That's all for this week folks. Catch you Monday.

✔️ Thanks for reading, and extra thanks to copy editor Mickey Meece. Please ask your colleagues, friends and family to sign up.

May 12, 2023

1. RPM's reimbursement problem