Rock Health welcomes 11 new startups for their fifth class

By Thuc Huynh, MD

Rock Health, the first seed accelerator specifically for health technology startups, has revealed their newest class for the 2013 season.  Eleven startups will have the chance of a lifetime receiving a slew of perks including $100,000 investment, free legal advice, free design help from Cooper Design, and mentorship from tech giants such as Microsoft, Genentech, the makers of Guitar Hero, and more.

This year's class had many services for providers and large healthcare organizations.  But there were a couple patient-centered groups.  To me, there was one company that stood out the most as a promising tool to change healthcare -- Fluid.  Fluid touts they can help people diagnose the flu in minutes, without the need for a doctor's visit.  But how?  A home kit with fluid analysis similar to a home pregnancy test?  A sophisticated question/answer algorithm?  Whatever the case, if it works and is easily accessible to all ranges of patients, then this could be a huge game-changer.  It could decrease unnecessary emergency room visits during the flu season saving a ton of money for the patient which would also decrease the risk of spreading the infection into already ill patients.  I am excited to see what they will bring to the table.

Without further ado, here are Rock Health's 11 startups :

1. Amplify Health - builds population management tools for at risk provider groups
2. Anapsis - a research platform and marketplace for scientific and statistical computing
3. Augmedix - service for medical doctors that's powered by Google Glass
4. CancerIQ - harnesses big data to accelerate personalized cancer care
5. CRIXlabs - builds software for de-risking drug development
6. Fluid - helps people diagnose the flu in minutes, without the doctor's visit
7. Lift Labs - makes active stabilization tools for people living with tremor
8. Sensentia - developing a new breed of intelligent systems for healthcare administration and operation
9. Smart Patients - an online community for motivated cancer patients and their caregivers
10. Spire - a wearable sensor that tracks both physical and psychological fitness to lower stress and increase productivity
11. ThriveOn - delivers mobile mental health programs from screen to treatment customized for every individual

For more information, read the release here.

Harvard Medical School Partners With Orca Health

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

Harvard Medical School has partnered with Orca Health to deliver high quality, trust worthy content to patients and medical professionals.

Orca Health has developed 9 apps to date in their "Decide" series ranging on topics from the heart, eyes, dental, and parts of the musculoskeletal system.  With the Harvard Medical School partnership, these apps will get revamped with more detailed animations, videos, 3d content, and multisensory learning features.  The company also assures that the apps will have improved performance and a smaller dent on your storage space.

In addition, Orca Health will be powering Harvard Medical School's iBooks to provide a more in-depth look at important medical conditions.  Their first iBook is set to debut in January and will focus on the heart.

Orca Health is offering their apps free for a limited time.  The marketing department tells me it could be for just a day or two.  Normally, the cost is $4.99 per app.  Get the apps now by clicking here.

For more information about Orca Health, go to their website.

About the author:

Dr. Thuc Huynh is a physician and webpreneur. She is a technology nut who uses many resources to enhance her life and work as a family physician. She is the Chief Operating Officer of Scutwork.com, the leading website for residency program reviews, and she founded MDSalaries.net, a website reporting physician salaries for every specialty. She is currently working on more websites to help medical students during their training. Dr Huynh graduated as Chief Resident and Teacher of the Year from her family medicine residency in Rapid City, SD. She received her M.D. at the Medical University of the Americas.

Rock Health will be at the Apple Store San Francisco

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

Rock Health was the first organization to nurture and grow health technology startups.  Startups receive $100,000 in investment funds and an immense amount of mentoring from successful business entrepneurs.  They're like Y Combinator but for Health only.

This December 4th at 7pm, Rock Health will be at the Apple Store in San Francisco along with several of their Startups from their current program to demo their latest projects.  It's a great way to get a sneak peek without attending the Rock health Demo Day or paying for a conference.

Here are the startups who will be attending :

Nephrosity - shares medical images on the iPad, giving doctors collaborative access to medical images anywhere, anytime.

Skimble - powers the mobile wellness movement with a cross-platform ecosystem of fun, dynamic, and social coaching applications.

Jiffpad launches to innovate communication in healthcare

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

Last Tuesday at Techcrunch Disrupt, Jiff Inc launched their stealth product called Jiffpad.  It is an app made for the iPad to help patients and doctors communicate with each other.

How many times have you been to the doctor, talk with them about a diagnosis and treatment plan, and then go home only to forget what was said?  Some physicians draw what they mean.  But how many times have patients gone home only to wonder what the scribbles were?  Jiffpad seeks to change that.

The app comprises pre-loaded images of nearly every part of the human body.  As a physician, you can select images pertinent to a subject and create a personalized storyboard complete with your own voice and favorite explanation for that problem.  You can control when the images show, zooming in and out of the image, as well as using a stylus (or finger) to draw lines or add text.  Once you save the file, you will be able to store it in the ipad and use it for any patient with that problem.

Jiffpad essentially replaces those expensive, plastic, easily broken models that physicians use in the office.  Instead, a physician can go through the narrative with the patient in the office, and then email the file to the patient through the app.  The patient can then access the file on any web-enabled device so they can remember what you said or share it with their family.

iPhone app Nexercise rewards users for exercise

Author:  Thuc Huynh, MD

Nexercise Inc. introduces their free iPhone app Nexercise to encourage people to exercise by giving them real-world rewards. The app can track various physical activities from running to yard work, and offers users free and discounted items in an attempt to make users adopt long-term exercise habits.

Users can earn points for the length of their workout as well as other positive physical behaviors. Users can also earn bonus points for certain positive exercise routines like working out with a friend or exercising during a rainy day.

To earn points, the workout length should be at least 15 minutes. The real-world rewards are offered through a lottery system where the more in-app points a user earns, the higher the probability of winning. Users that have achieved higher rankings can avail of much more expensive merchandise.

Use of iPad and iPhone for VA employees gets green light

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

Starting October, employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs will be using iPads and iPhones. The VA staff will be allowed to use the popular Apple devices in accessing encrypted e-mail messages and viewing certain patient data securely through a system like thin clients that will be linked to VA’s clinical information system. Beginning October 1st, iPad and iPhone will join BlackBerry smartphones as the only mobile devices officially approved by the VA.

Many technology experts see information security as the biggest challenge for the VA once it launches the Apple devices among its hospital employees and clinicians. At the start, employees are only allowed to use the iPad and iPhone for the purpose of accessing encrypted e-mail and viewing data of the patient. With proper security controls and appropriate encryption established in the future, the Apple devices may soon be used for storing patient information, says VA CIO Roger Baker.

How to search for medical apps

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

There are now roughly 5,900 medical apps in the itunes store and the list keeps growing.  The problem with itunes is that all 5,900 medical apps get lumped into one area only.  Plenty of good apps get missed because they are located in the far end of the database.  Good luck scrolling through the pages.  Several websites have been created to solve this problem.  Let's take a look.

SCRUBDIN

Scrubdin is a website, created by me, to provide a one-stop shopping solution for medical apps.  The site only lists medical apps on the website if it is indeed a medical app that would be useful for healthcare professionals or for patients.  The apps are then organized into intuitive categories to help you find an app easier.  You can browse by the kind of app it is whether it is medical news or an electronic medical record or you can also browse by medical specialty, such as cardiology or surgery.  Some apps have reviews from the editors but many don't as of yet.  Consumers can also rate and review medical apps to help others make a decision when buying.

Get your game on, the American Medical Association has issued a challenge

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

Not too soon after releasing their first app, the American Medical Association is now calling all physicians, residents, fellows, and medical students for the first ever 2011 AMA App Challenge.  The AMA would like you to design an innovative app that can be used by fellow healthcare professionals.

There are two categories in which you can win prizes.  Physicians are in one category and residents, fellows, and medical students will compete in another separate category together.  The winners will receive $2,500 dollars in gift cards and an all-inclusive 3 day/2 night trip to New Orleans in November for the AMA House of Delegates meeting.  Winners will receive recognition at the meeting as well as authorship credit when the app if the design actually goes into processing.

The contest is similar to Health 2.0's Code-A-Thons where innovative ideas are born.  But the difference is that Health 2.0 does their challenges live, in a group, with an immediate judging process.  I would have liked to see the AMA follow suit.  It would be a great way to get creative minds flowing together to think up innovative medical apps.

Rock Health is a seed accelerator for health apps

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

Innovation in health just got more interesting.

Technology incubators and accelerators have been around for several years now helping no-name startups become game-changing web applications.  Companies like Scribd, a web 2.0 based document sharing site and Disqus, a commenting platform for websites, had their start in little apartments with weekly mentorship lectures by successful tech-entrepreneurs.  Now, Disqus is the platform for over 700,000 websites including CNN and Techcrunch, and Scribd is valued at over $10 million dollars.

We've seen two health 2.0 companies born this way, Get Up and Move and DrChrono, but there hasn't been anything else.  Until now.

Rock Health is a new company that funds, mentors, and houses early stage startups focused on health applications.   The company has an impressive lineup of mentors including the makers of Guitar Hero, the founder of Sermo, and a lead designer at Facebook.  Their list of advisors is just as impressive.

Amazon launches Android App Store

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

This morning, Amazon ruffled some feathers when it opened it's own App Store for Android.  It launched with 3,800 apps priced between $0.99 cents and $45 dollars.  Of those apps that are currently listed, 121 apps are health related and only 42 of those health apps are specifically for medical professionals.

Amazon's App store has some big shoes to fill with Google Market as a direct competitor.  But Amazon is approaching the apps business differently.  Unlike Google Market, Amazon will be screening every application to ensure it meets certain standards of quality.  In addition, Amazon is markedly undercutting Google's prices.  With Google, whatever price a developer sets, that's what the price will be.  With Amazon, it's the company who will ultimately decide the price based on their own market research.

March 23 will be "Wireless Health Day"

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

Here's a press release from International CTIA Wireless :


INTERNATIONAL CTIA WIRELESS® 2011 DEDICATES MARCH 23 AS “WIRELESS HEALTH DAY”

Keynote Speakers, Educational Seminar and Exhibits to Focus on Mobile’s Impact on Healthcare

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 2, 2011 – As mobile connectivity becomes nearly ubiquitous, International CTIA WIRELESS® 2011 will feature innovations demonstrating how mobility is transforming the health sector. On Wednesday, March 23, CTIA’s “Wireless Health Day” will include a variety of activities, including a keynote, educational seminar and special reception. Throughout the show, CTIA’s Wireless Health Pavilion will showcase mHealth technologies on the exhibit floor. International CTIA WIRELESS will take place March 22-24, 2011 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. Pre-conference seminars will begin on March 21.

The Wireless Health Pavilion, produced by CTIA and strategic partner Qualcomm, will feature products and services from a variety of companies: BodyMedia, Continua, Diversinet, Doro, Keynetik, LifeComm, Optumhealth, Preventice, Telcare and the Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance, among others.

Doctors, do you have your own mobile app?

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

Nielsen estimates that 1 in 2 Americans will have a smartphone by Christmas 2011.  The iPhone's iOS is the 2nd most popular operating system in the US so it's no wonder there is currently more development of mobile apps here than any other system.

Even doctors are creating apps for their practice to help keep their patients informed.  Cloud Nine Development is a mobile apps development company that caters specifically to physicians and dentists.  Doctors can purchase a $999 license for the company to create a personalized app that features information about their practice.  In addition, you are also required to purchase a maintenance fee of $34.99 that recurs monthly.

Currently, 23 doctors and dentists have created an app through Cloud Nine Development.  Their product, Doctor App, claims to improve your :

• Practice Marketing and Branding
• Patient Education and Communication
• Personal and Practice Efficiency
• Resources for your Referring Physician

To learn more about their product, visit their website or go to iTunes and search for Cloud Nine Development to see samples of their work.

Author:

Dr. Thuc Huynh is CEO of ScrubdIN, a startup company that aims to help health professionals and patients choose their next medical app. Her main interest lies around how medicine can play a role with web 2.0 and social media. Dr. Huynh is currently Chief Resident at her Family Medicine Residency in Rapid City, SD and received her B.S. and M.D. at the Medical University of the Americas.

Epocrates shows a strong start to it's IPO

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

Last week, Epocrates went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange.  Originally, the company had announced it's starting price to be $16.00 per share.  However, the company surprised us all with a strong opening of $20.00 per share.

Now at the end of the week, the EPOC ticker last traded at $26.51.  Fantastic.  Epocrates has been a leader in mobile drug information since 1998.  Over 13 years later and multiple attempts at going public, they have finally succeeded.

If you haven't purchased any shares yet, you should strongly consider doing so.  I suspect the stock will continue to grow with the HIMSS conference coming up.

Several months ago, Epocrates had the med-tech world buzzing with news about building an Epocrates EMR.  Well, when I was at CES, I stopped by the Epocrates booth and asked them point blank, "When is your EMR coming out?"  The representative said, "Soon.  All good things come in time."

Will physicians "prescribe" medical apps for patients?

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

Medical apps are a hot topic these days.  In 2009, medical apps were estimated to be worth $41 million dollars and in just one short year, 2010 showed revenues of $84.1 million dollars.

With this medical technology space booming, many companies are making bold statements that physicians, pharmaceuticals, and hospitals will be the future medical app dispensers for all patients.

But should we let this happen?

Imagine how practicing physicians do it now for medications.  If you're like most doctors, you have certain drugs you like to use for condition X, Y, and Z.  Even though there are many different drugs to treat it.  If one drug doesn't work, we prescribe a different drug until something does.

A new iPhone medical peripheral spotted - the DermScope

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

We've seen iPhone blood pressure cuffs, glucometers, and EKG devices.  So it's really no surprise that more portable medical devices are surfacing.  Now we have a new device to get excited about.

The DermScope was just added to the iTunes medical apps directory.  It's an external iphone case that has a dermatoscope embedded into the case.  Essentially, you slip your iphone into the case and it transforms your iphone into a magnifying glass for moles and other skin lesions.  You can capture images, store them, organize them by patient, and email images directly from the application.

So far, the app costs 9.99 in the iTunes store.  No word on how much the hardware will cost.  There is currently an international iphone dermatoscope retailing for $1500 dollars.  But it would be a bad idea to price it that high in the US considering that the other iphone medical peripherals are only around $100 dollars.

We'll update this post when we find out more information.  What do you think will be the next iphone medical device?

Author:

Dr. Thuc Huynh is CEO of ScrubdIN, a startup company that aims to help health professionals choose their next medical app.  Her main interest lies around how medicine can play a role with web 2.0 and social media.  Dr. Huynh is currently Chief Resident at her Family Medicine Residency in Rapid City, SD and received her B.S. and M.D. at the Medical University of the Americas.

American Board of Family Medicine updates the iPhone Exam Prep app

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

The ABFM just released a new update for its free Exam Prep app.  The app is a good, supplemental, portable study tool for physicians preparing for Board Certification in Family Medicine.  Medical students and residents may find use in these interesting questions as well.

The latest update adds 200 additional questions to the Q-Bank as well as a blueprint that outlines all of the content covered in the exam.

Other features of the app remain the same and include :

• Practice Quizzes with clear answers
• Exam Prep documents and videos
• Upcoming exam dates
• Links to the ABFM website
• Links to the Journal of ABFM 

Using the practice quizzes will not require an internet connection but accessing the videos and exam dates will.

If you're preparing for the Family Medicine Boards or if you just want to test your general clinical knowledge, try this app for free.

A Blood Pressure cuff is the latest in medical attachments for the iPhone

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

We recently wrote about the launch of the iPhonECG, a portable cardiac event monitor.

Shortly after their launch, more iPhone medical attachments have surfaced.  On the same day, two companies have released a blood pressure cuff that attaches to the bottom pin connectors of the iPhone and comes with a custom app that reads and monitors the results.

Withings is a Paris-based company that develops health-related connected devices.  You might have heard of their first product, the first WiFi Body scale that transmits results to your iphone and creates graphs of your progress.  Now, they've created a Blood Pressure Monitor.  It is a pretty slick looking blood pressure cuff.  You attach it to your iphone and using their app, you can record your BP measurements.  The app will upload results to your Google Health book or to an online, secured, personal site.   It also supports social media functions such as tweeting your BP to twitter.  The device will cost $130 dollars and expects to ship this month.

iHealth is a startup company based in Mountain View, California.  They've also released a blood pressure monitoring device.  What's different from Withings is that their blood pressure cuff attaches to an iPhone Dock.  Their iPhone App also has graphing capabilities and sharing via email.  iHealth is less expensive then Witherings, costing $99.95.

Both products will be showcasing at the Consumer Electronics show.  I will blog live from the event and post my findings here on Medical Smartphones.

This is posing to be a great trend in medical smartphone technology.  First, there was the iPhone glucometer, then an iPhone EKG, now an iPhone BP cuff.  What's next?

The iPhone ECG is the newest in point-of-care mobile health technology

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD


The iPhone ECG is a device that attaches to your iPhone like a protective case. On the back of the device are two electrodes that will be able to detect a patient’s cardiac rhythm.

The news was first broke by 3GDoctor and shows several photos of the device.

It’s a portable cardiac monitoring device. The iPhone ECG has the ability to detect and display one lead. It also has recording capabilities.

There is not a lot of information about the device at this time. However, I have an exclusive interview with Dr. David Albert at the Digital Health Summit next weekend. He is the man behind the concept of the iPhone ECG.

Verizon is debuting 4G LTE devices at the Consumer Electronics Show

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

Last week I wrote a post asking, When are smartphones going to work on the Verizon 4G network? It looks like it’s going to be very soon!

In true social media fashion, Verizon sent out a tweet yesterday confirming the debut of android devices with LTE capability.

Now, will the lineup consist of android smartphones or android tablets? Perhaps, both? Which device are you hoping it will be?

About the author:

Dr. Thuc Huynh is CEO of ScrubdIN, a startup company that aims to help health professionals choose their next medical app. Her main interest lies around how medicine can play a role with web 2.0 and social media. Dr. Huynh is currently Chief Resident at her Family Medicine Residency in Rapid City, SD and received her B.S. and M.D. at the Medical University of the Americas.

What is Doximity?

Author: Thuc Huynh, MD

Doximity is a private social and business network for healthcare professionals with iPhones.

It’s like Facebook in that you can connect with other healthcare professionals that you went to school with, did residency with, or work with. I want to say it’s like Sermo, but it really isn’t. They are two different services and Doximity is worth taking a look at.

In addition to the social aspect of being able to connect with others, Doximity also gives you useful tools to help with your daily workflow.

For instance, the app has a feature called DocText. It’s a HIPAA compliant, secure and quick way of sending messages. Essentially, it’s a secure text message service.

What do we do currently when we need another opinion? We stop seeing patients, look up a physicians number, dial it, ask the nurse to speak with the physician, wait for the physician to get out of a patient’s room, then tell them your concern with expectations of an immediate [ and pleasant ] response.