ORLANDO—during HIMSS24 Views from the Top session “Digital Health Startups: Using Innovation to Disrupt and Improve Healthcare Delivery” highlights leadership strengths (not necessarily products) and solutions that solve healthcare provider challenges. Experts have told us that this is a top priority.
“There's a set of attributes that we tend to focus on very heavily: the strength and relevance of the management team is paramount,” said co-founder and general partner Michael Greeley. Flair Capital Partners.
Still, Greeley said what's currently complicated is the digital health financing and funding environment, which is historically poor, especially after the huge influx of capital into the sector in 2021.
“We're at a really tricky stage right now. We've probably created too many companies, many of which have narrow offerings and are struggling to gain traction in the market,” he said. Told.
Still, investors are looking for companies that can scale quickly and achieve short-term cost savings. Data and attribution are critical and allow you to gain a reputation for the impact your product has on patients.
As a provider, Robbie Freeman, systems vice president of digital experience and chief nursing information officer, said: When looking for companies to partner with, Mount Sinai Health System said it focuses on companies with narrow-point solutions and broader platforms that can enable numerous use cases.
Freeman said it starts with listening to consumers, patients and employees and understanding their pain points. His organization will then build a platform or partner with his community of vendors to see what is best for Mount His Sinai.
Mary Beth Chalk, co-founder and chief commercial officer of BeeKeeperAI, said her early-stage startup built its business model around its ability to generate revenue, while CEO and CEO of the health data analytics startup Co-founder Abhinav Shashank said. Innovaccer said his company designed the solution to address a specific problem.
“People have to rely on knowing up front that this is the problem we're trying to solve and this is how we're going to solve it,” Shashank said. “What has worked in our favor over the past few years is that we have transitioned very quickly.”
Still, balancing innovation with maintaining integrity requires a detailed development process.
“If it's not a mission-critical problem for the health system, people will give up,” Abhinav said. “That's why it's so difficult to launch a technology startup in healthcare.”
Because healthcare impacts people's lives, companies that adopt healthcare innovations with a long-term perspective will be more successful.
While it will take time for healthcare innovators to succeed, AI's place in healthcare is becoming clearer, as evidenced by the types of investments being made in companies leveraging the technology.
“For us, it comes down to two things. [the AI offering] Describe how it supports clinical workflows and supports administrative workflows. Right now, we're focused on administrative workflows,” Greeley said.
“We're seeing that capability pretty quickly because the team is building it into the product roadmap and really making an impact. One is in the pre-certification space.”
Still, Greeley said Flare Capital Partners is focused on innovations that don't have an immediate impact on patients because they appear to be more accessible and safe. Still, a company's management team is important to funders.
Moderator Sally Frank, Global Head of Health and Life Sciences Microsoft for Startups told investors that he and Greeley believe that combining a great team with a not-so-great solution does not necessarily equate to a great platform that is not a great team.
