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Data: Axios reporting; Note: Asterisks indicate figures sourced from outside the company; Chart: Axios Visuals

High-tech medical scribes promise to revitalize the low-tech doctor's appointment, but their pricing and accuracy vary, according to an Axios analysis.

Why it matters: Ambient clinical documentation tools have become the latest hot ticket in health care, with companies drawing big checks and conference crowds, Erin writes.

The big picture: With several already in market, medical scribes hold the potential to reinvigorate doctor-patient interactions, which are often hampered by administrative burden and bottlenecks.

"My mission [starting Suki] was to make health tech invisible so physicians can focus on what they love and take care of patients," says Suki founder and CEO Punit Soni.

Follow the money: Investors are pouring venture capital into AI-powered clinical documentation companies.

Ambience in February raised a $70 million Series B led by Kleiner Perkins and the OpenAI Startup Fund, tipping total funds raised to $100 million, per a spokesperson.

Abridge in February collected a $150 million Series C led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Redpoint Ventures, bringing total funding to $213.9 million, per PitchBook.

Nabla in January nabbed a $24 million Series B, bringing total capital raised to $43 million, per a spokesperson.

Suki in 2021 collected $55 million, bringing total funds raised to roughly $120 million, per CEO Soni.

What we did: We measured five metrics — price, accuracy, latency, specialties supported, and whether companies had 3+ EHR integrations.

Prices shown are per person, per month. Only Nabla and Suki provided prices. Other costs were sourced from public documents and sources familiar with the matter, since the companies declined to respond.

Accuracy refers to the rate at which providers accept transcriptions without edits, while latency represents the time to transcribe. The number of supported specialties was provided by the companies.

Spokespeople for all the companies in the chart said their tools were integrated with at least three EHRs including Epic, Cerner and athenahealth.

Zoom in: Nuance was the only company that does not currently offer medical code extraction, though a spokesperson said the company's technology supports it.

The intrigue: Charts show quantity, not quality, and we recognize that a chart can't capture every nuance.

For example, with regard to the number of specialties a company claims to support, the quality of that support depends on the degree to which it has fine-tuned its models to reflect those specialties' specific workflows, revenues and prior authorization requirements.

Behind the scenes: Tampa General Hospital CIO Scott Arnold told Axios at the ViVE conference that TGH physicians were excited to use Nuance's scribe tools — "and they don't normally get excited about these things," he said. "The idea of shortening their day is attractive."

Reality check: As clinical documentation tools are deployed, providers are encountering difficulties validating them, per STAT News.

One problem is the lack of standards to evaluate their performance.

Threat level: Clinical documentation tools may test the limits of tech's role in protecting patient privacy and reliability.

"This is the most personal and sensitive data you might collect. If we get that wrong in some capacity, we all understand that's going to be a huge issue," Lightspeed Venture Partners partner and Abridge investor Sebastian Duesterhoeft told Axios last month.

Editor's note: This story's chart has been corrected to reflect new information from Suki noting that its scribe's whole note accuracy is 92% (not 84%, which is the accuracy by section).

1 big thing: AI-powered medical scribes vary widely

Enhanced Healthcare Partners is preparing to bring elderly and disabled care provider Eventus WholeHealth to market, sources tell Aaron.

Why it's the BFD: The process will be a good test of investor appetite for health care businesses that cater to vulnerable populations.

Behind the scenes: The auction, being run by Harris Williams, is expected to launch next month, sources say.

The asset is generating around $30 million in EBITDA, per sources.

How it works: Concord, North Carolina-based Eventus provides primary and specialty care services for residents and patients in skilled nursing and assisted living facilities.

The company employs physicians, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychotherapists, podiatrists, optometrists, audiologists and support staff.

Catch up quick: Enhanced invested in the company in 2019 for an undisclosed price.

The company also has backing from Leavitt Equity Partners and Balance Point Capital.

State of play: Though headline risk has chilled private equity investment into elder and disabled care, there are a few assets that could soon be looking for a liquidity event.

In 2021, WindRose Health acquired Bluestone Physician Services, which provides medical services for high-risk patients in senior living communities.

In 2019, Beecken Petty O'Keefe & Company acquired senior primary care company ClareMedica Health Partners. Revelstoke Capital Partners invested in the business in 2021.

HarmonyCares, which provides home and community-based care for vulnerable patients, was acquired by Rubicon Founders, Valtruis, Oak HC/FT, WCAS and HLM Venture Partners in 2021.

Enhanced and Harris Williams declined to comment.

2. The BFD: Eventus WholeHealth coming to the block

Illustration of a pillow with a health plus on a rocking chair.

Want more health tech deals? Check out the Axios Pro Deals Tracker.

• PocketHealth, a Toronto-based medical image sharing company, raised a $33m Series B led by Round13 Capital with participation from Deloitte Ventures, Samsung Next and insiders Questa Capital and Radical Ventures. pockethealth.com

• Cureskin, a Bengaluru, India-based dermatology startup, raised a $20m Series B led by HealthQuad and joined by by JSW Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Sharrp Ventures. axios.link/3TKC1a8

• Legends, an SF-based kids confidence training startup, raised a $6m seed from Floodgate Capital, Reach Capital and Joe Liemandt. buildlegends.com

• Conduce Health, an NYC specialty value-based care marketplace for primary care organizations and specialists, raised a $3m seed led by Connecticut Innovations with participation from AlleyCorp and CityLight. axios.link/3ILyTVm 

•TriasMD, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based musculoskeletal health company backed by Chicago Pacific Founders, acquired orthopedic provider Thousand Oaks Surgery Center. triasmd.com

• VillageMD, a Walgreens-owned primary care network, sold 11 Rhode Island clinics to Boston-based Arches Medical Partners. villagemd.com 

•Stryker, a global medical technology company, completed its acquisition of SERF SAS, a French joint replacement company, from Menix. stryker.com

3. Deals o' the day

• Mollie Fleury, former consultant at Sama Therapeutics, joined UnityAI as director of operations. unityai.co

• Patrick O'Keefe, former CRO at Zelis, joined Edison Partners as operating partner. edisonpartners.com

• Anay Patel was promoted from COO at Quartet Health to COO and president. quartethealth.com

• The following people joined Valendo Health's advisory board: American Diabetes Association CMO Robert Gabbay; former Dexcom SVP Claudia Graham; Amarillo Legacy CEO ‍William Biggs; Rutgers Medical School chief of endocrinology ‍David Bleich; ‍Reza Yavari; and Quintuple Aim Solutions principal Reza Alavi. valendohealth.com

4. It's Personnel

🖥️ UnitedHealth hack reveals gaps in doctors' cyberattack insurance — Axios

🤝 Medicare expected to negotiate obesity drug prices soon, new analysis predicts — STAT

5. Your daily dose

illustration og a person holding an x-ray that reads "daily dose" up to a light

It's Thursday, Health Tech readers, and you know what that means.

Situational awareness: A searing new report from the Peterson Health Technology Institute concludes that diabetes management tools — including from companies like Omada, Onduo and Vida — fail to deliver meaningful clinical benefits and increase spending.

⚾ Aaron is ecstatic about the unofficial start of the MLB season, including waking up at 6am to watch the Dodgers and Padres play in South Korea. 

🥂 Join Axios Pro Deals for an exclusive conversation with Goldman Sachs on the state of IPOs and ECM in New York on Thursday, March 28. Register while seats remain!

🥳 Thanks for reading, and extra thanks to newsletter editor Claire Rychlewski and copy editor Egan Millard. Please ask your colleagues, friends and family to sign up.

March 21, 2024

1 big thing: AI-powered medical scribes vary widely