News, insights and products to lose weight and stay fit
Akili, the company behind video game-like prescription and over-the-counter digital therapeutics for individuals with ADHD, has signed a definitive merger agreement with mental health and fitness company Virtual Therapeutics in a deal reportedly worth $34 million. Under the agreement, which is slated to close in the third quarter of 2024, Akili shareholders will receive $0.4340…
San Francisco-based Plenful, a workflow-automation platform for pharmacy and healthcare operations, announced it secured $17 million in Series A investment less than a year after launching with $9 million in funding. TQ Ventures led the round, with participation from Mitchell Rales (cofounder and chairman of Danaher), Susa Ventures and existing investors. WHAT IT DOES Plenful…
If you live in a larger body, sometimes it feels like you can’t win. If you don’t lose weight, people will criticize you for being “lazy,” “unhealthy,” or “lacking willpower.” But if you take medication to help you, you’ll be criticized for “cheating” or “taking the easy way out,” even if you’ve tried for decades…
SamaCare, a workflow platform for providers offering specialty medication, announced it secured $17 million in an oversubscribed Series B investment round. New investor Questa Capital led the round, with participation from existing investors South Park Commons and Vive Collective. WHAT IT DOES The California-based company provides a cloud-based workflow automation platform to help providers obtain…
Two ChatGPT models simplified radiology reports at drastically different reading levels when researchers included the inquirer’s race in the prompt, according to a study published by Clinical Imaging. Yale researchers asked GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 to simplify 750 radiology reports using the prompt, “I am a ___ patient. Simplify this radiology report.” The researchers used one…
Medical supply expenses comprise approximately 10.5% of an average hospital’s budget, collectively accounting for $146.9 billion in 2023, a $6.6 billion increase from 2022, according to the American Hospital Association. Bill Kopitke, head of healthcare at Amazon Business, sat down with MobiHealthNews to discuss the retail and tech giant’s B2B healthcare model and how it…
Aevice Health obtains $1M investment for Japan, US expansion Singapore-based respiratory health IT maker Aevice Health has received a $1 million investment from A&D Company for its expansion in the United States and Japan. Based on their agreement, Aevice can leverage the sales network of its investor, which manufactures precision equipment and product inspection equipment…
Zipline, an instant logistics and delivery company, announced that its urban drone delivery system, Platform 2, will be used by Mayo Clinic facilities in Jacksonville, Florida, and Rochester, Minnesota, to deliver items to patients of the medical center’s hospital-at-home program. Platform 2 is an autonomous electric delivery drone that can hold eight pounds of cargo…
California-based Allez Health, formerly Zense-Life, announced it secured $60 million in Series A+ financing. The round was led by strategic investor Osang Healthcare, with participation from existing investors. WHAT IT DOES Allez Health is a continuous glucose monitoring biosensor platform that uses sensor technology to improve a patient’s performance by analyzing datasets across various health…
By Dr. Mercola The latest data on the leading causes of deathi in the United States has been released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report, which is based on 2010 data, lists the 10 leading causes of death as follows: Diseases of the heart Cancer Chronic lower respiratory diseases…
California-based real-world data platform Atropos Health has secured $33 million in Series B funding. Valtruis led the investment round, which included new investors McKesson Ventures, Merck GHI Fund and Cencora Ventures. Existing investors Emerson Collective, Breyer Capital and Presidio Ventures also participated in the round. Mike Spadafore, managing director of Valtruis, will join the company’s…
Virtual speech therapy provider Expressable announced it secured $26 million in Series B funding. HarbourVest Partners led the round with participation from Digitalis Ventures and existing investors F-Prime Capital and Lerer Hippeau. WHAT IT DOES The Texas-based company offers virtual care sessions for patients and families to connect with a licensed and certified speech therapist…
Uber Health announced it is introducing Uber Caregiver, an offering that allows users to add a caregiver to their Uber profile to ask for rides and deliveries, track them in real time and pay using the caregiver’s health benefits. The service, which will be available this summer, will provide caregivers with insights into the care…
Virtual care company Teladoc may be facing another class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Teladoc investors who claim the company made false or misleading statements and failed to disclose that it continued to increase marketing spending, particularly regarding its mental health offering BetterHelp. The lawsuit, Stary v. Teladoc Health, Inc. et al., was filed…
Reviewed by Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD There are so many ways to track your nutritional intake. It can seem overwhelming to pick an (accurate) method that works for you. That’s why we’ve developed the hand portion method. It simplifies nutrition tracking in a way that’s accessible to anyone—and can suport any of your health…
Dr. Casey Means is a Stanford-trained physician and co-founder of Levels, a company focused on metabolic health. Means shifted her career from surgery to functional medicine after recognizing the potential to prevent chronic diseases through lifestyle and dietary changes. Her book, “Good Energy,” empowers people to make informed health decisions using self-trust, intuition and technology-enabled…
Transcarent, a digital platform focused on the self-insured employer market, announced the launch of WayFinding, an AI-enabled consumer-facing platform that offers clinical guidance, benefits navigation and care delivery. The platform guides patients through receiving care by answering questions about benefits and costs, recommending an appropriate course of clinical action, and then connecting them to human…
Reviewed by Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD We all make thousands of decisions every day, large and small. What to have for breakfast. Whether or not to exercise—or when. Which project to tackle first at work. More coffee or not. After a while, it’s only natural that decision fatigue sets in. Decision fatigue can happen…
The Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group released a roadmap for AI policy in the U.S. Senate, encouraging the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund cross-government artificial intelligence research and development projects, including research for biotechnology and applications of AI that would fundamentally transform medicine. The Group acknowledges AI’s various use cases, including those within the healthcare…
Reviewed by Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD You can learn everything on your own… right? In other words, between books and free online articles and videos, what’s the point of working with a health coach? Well, there’s a few points… A health coach offers unique knowledge and insights that can help you in ways you…
Finland-based Oura, the maker of its namesake health tracking ring, announced it added two heart health monitoring features to its Oura Ring wearable device, Cardiovascular Age (CVA) and Cardio Capacity, which will be available later this month on Oura Ring Gen3 devices for both Android and iOS. The CVA feature uses data from the device…