The Pulse by Wharton Digital Health

Latest Episodes:

Fay Rotenberg, Firefly Health, on blowing up the annual visit in favor of proactive care Oct 11, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we interview Fay Rotenberg, CEO of Firefly Health. We chat about her experience joining Firefly Health in 2017, discussing how what started as a virtual-first primary care offering has developed into a solution that will help consumers get, find, and pay for care. Firefly Health is trying to deliver concierge medicine at scale. They began with a virtual-first primary care offering that used an innovative leveraged care team approach to care for and build trust with their patient population, which is primarily chronically ill, commercially-insured individuals. As they grew, they added in a virtual specialty network and a set of “last mile care delivery” partners to extend their network of physicians to cover more of the care their patient’s needed. Now, after a $40M Series B raise in April of this year, led by andreessen horowitz, they are launching their own health insurance product, targeting smaller/ mid-market employers and allowing them to pool risk to share in the savings achieved by the Firefly model.

Doug Hirsch, GoodRx, on how a traditional retail experience can be revolutionary Oct 04, 2021

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In this episode, we interview the GoodRx co-founder and CEO, Doug Hirsch. We chat about his experience founding GoodRx, covering topics ranging from a time when his father literally knocked on pharmacy doors in NYC to get drug prices to their recent public offering. GoodRx seeks to expand access and affordability for prescription drugs. To do this, they process ~200 billion daily cash-pay price points for generic drugs from pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and retailers to then help a consumer choose the right way for them to get access to the medication they need. As they’ve continued to grow, they’re also sought new ways to extend their impact, including through a telehealth offering to actually deliver prescriptions as well as products surrounding branded drugs.

Michelle Carnahan, Thirty Madison, on a human-first approach to healthcare Aug 09, 2021

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In this episode, we interview Michelle Carnahan, President of Thirty Madison. We discuss Michelle’s pivot from pharmaceutical executive to leader of a health tech unicorn and what that means for Thirty Madison going forward. Thirty Madison’s mission is to be a human-first healthcare company delivering specialized care and treatment to everyone. They recently completed a $140M Series C raise led by HealthQuest Capital. They join Maveron and Polaris Partners as lead investors in Thirty Madison.

Saeju Jeong, Noom, on using behavior change to improve health Aug 05, 2021

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In this episode, we interview Saeju Jeong, the Co-Founder and CEO of Noom. Founded in 2008, the company’s mission is to help people everywhere lead healthier lives through behavior change. Although today they are best known for their weight loss app, the company is making a push to extend its behavior change platform further into chronic care, supported by their recent $540 million Series F growth round led by Silver Lake.

Vijay Patel, CVS Health Ventures, on the imperative to invest in digital health Jul 27, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we chatted with Vijay Patel, Co-Founder and Partner at CVS Health Ventures, a $100M fund dedicated to investing and partnering with high potential health technology startups aimed at building towards CVS’ vision of creating more consumer-centric care. We discussed: - The establishment of CVS Health Ventures as a fund dedicated to digital health opportunities, creating the potential for longer-term strategic actions and extended time horizons for realizing investment payoff - The mandate of CVS Health Ventures to not only invest in but also partner with high-potential, early-stage digital health companies to forward CVS Health’s strategic goals of making health care more affordable and accessible for consumers - Leaning into CVS Health’s role as a trusted health care provider in communities by continuing to partner with local and national organizations to expand health care access - Investing in behavioral health, diagnostics, and virtual care delivery assets and capabilities - trends accelerated by COVID-19 and likely to persist

Jonathan Bush, Zus Health, on building the healthcare internet Jul 12, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we interview Jonathan Bush, the founder and CEO of Zus Health. We discuss his broad vision for Zus as well as some of his learnings from founding and leading athenahealth as well as serving as the Executive Chairman Firefly Health. Zus Health is seeking to enable the new wave of digital-first provider organizations by building a unified patient record and a toolkit with which these organizations can build better patient relationship management tools and provider workflows. Zus completed a $34M Series A raise led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from F-Prime Capital and Maverick Ventures.

Clara Burtenshaw, Neo Kuma Ventures, on shattering the stigma of psychedelic medication Jul 06, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we sat down with Clara Burtenshaw, Clara is a biotech and life sciences investor with significant transactional, VC, IP, and operational experience. 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 management and other nervous system disorders -Neo Kuma's focus on investing in early stage companies backed by sound science and building a strong founder network -Predictions that psychedelics as medication is here to stay, and the growing commercialization opportunities in the space

Julian Harris, Deerfield & ConcertoCare, on innovating elder care Jun 30, 2021

Show notes

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 recently by a combination of the assets of ConcertoHealth and Perfect Health. ConcertoCare is one of the nation’s leading risk-based health care companies focused on providing integrated care for seniors where they are best served: in their homes. Before Deerfield, Dr. Harris was the founding President of CareAllies, Cigna’s family of multi-payer provider services and home-based care businesses. Previously, he led US Strategic Operations for Cigna and managed a $500M internal investment portfolio focused on technology and innovation. Dr. Harris was also an Adviser to Google Ventures (GV) focused on tech-enabled health care services. Before GV, he led the health care team in the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As the federal government’s chief health care finance official, he oversaw a $1 trillion budget and provided management and policy oversight for a range of programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, FDA, NIH and CDC. He also served as the chief executive of the $11 billion Massachusetts Medicaid program. Dr. Harris trained in internal medicine and primary care at Harvard Medical School’s Brigham & Women’s Hospital and practiced as a hospitalist at Cambridge Health Alliance and as a clinical consultant for BestDoctors. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Health Policy & Medical Ethics from Duke University and holds an M.Sc. from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. He is also a graduate of The Wharton School of Business and the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine, where he currently serves as an Adjunct Professor. Dr. Harris is a trustee of the New York Academy of Medicine and a member of the advisory boards for the Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics at Penn and the NYU Department of Population Health.

Michelle Davey, Wheel, on building the new virtual care stack Jun 16, 2021

Show notes

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 technology with a nationwide clinician network. Wheel also provides clinicians with the best place to work in virtual care. By helping more companies and clinicians get started in virtual care, Wheel is helping patients get connected to the best care for their health needs. Today, Wheel works with companies of all sizes including publicly-traded digital health innovators, big tech companies, laboratories, retailers, and pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Wheel has raised $66 million from Lightspeed Ventures, CRV, Silverton Partners, Tusk Venture Partners, J.P. Morgan, and Future Shape. Growing up in a rural area with limited medical resources, Michelle became focused on improving patient access to care. Her career took on a journey through healthcare, tech, marketplaces and virtual care. After recognizing the need for a new workforce configuration in healthcare, she co-founded Wheel with Griffin Mulcahey in January of 2018, after working together in the telehealth industry and realizing no one was looking out for those at the center of the healthcare engine: the clinicians on the front lines. Wheel became the industry’s first model for delivering high-quality virtual care at scale by empowering clinicians and providing new efficiencies for healthcare companies. Michelle is a thought leader focused on the urgent need for reinventing healthcare delivery models, clinician empowerment, and the future of work in healthcare.

Connor Hailey, Axle Health, bridging the gap between virtual and physical care Jun 07, 2021

Show notes

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 startup 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. Founded in 2020, Axle Health eliminates the complexity of delivering in-home care by offering a simple API that dispatches in-home professionals to provide clinical service offerings. Axle Health recently announced their seed fundraise led by Pear VC, joined by a talented group of investors including Wisdom Partners, Rebel Fund, Pioneer Fund, Soma Capital, and Company Ventures and YCombinator. Along with institutional investors, the seed fundraise also includes angels including the founders of Eden Health, CareRev, and Quit Genius, and Nikhil Krishnan of Out of Pocket and former executives at One Medical. This funding will expand service offerings to meet more customer needs and attract top talent to Axle Health.

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