Meet the Top 50 in Digital Health 2020

Each year we bring together the leading entrepreneurs, investors, reporters, and providers working tirelessly to improve healthcare through technology and honor their work at the Top 50 in Digital Health Dinner hosted by Rock Health, Fenwick & West, Goldman Sachs, and Pacific Western Bank.

Within the Top 50, a number of individuals and organizations are recognized through public nominations and votes from the digital health community for going above and beyond to catalyze innovation and progress toward a massively better healthcare system. From a commitment to the clinical impact of digital health solutions to streamlining the regulatory process to investing in bold entrepreneurs, we want to recognize the people and organizations making digital health thrive. Today, we’re thrilled to share the honorees of this year’s Top 50 in Digital Health.

Disruptive Founder of the Year

Kimon Angelides, Vivante Health

Kimon Angelides is the Founder and CEO of Vivante Health, the first comprehensive digital therapeutic for often-stigmatized digestive health conditions. Its all-in-one solution, GIThrive, combines microbiome testing and real-time remote gut health monitoring with 24/7, on-demand assistance from a coordinated care team of health professionals. Previously, Dr. Angelides built three healthcare companies, including digital diabetes company EosHealth, which became Livongo.

Reporter of the Year

Christina Farr

Christina Farr is a technology and health reporter for CNBC.com in San Francisco. She covers the intersection of health and technology, exploring how recent policy changes have opened up both opportunities and risks for Silicon Valley, often breaking stories about Amazon, Apple, and Google’s burgeoning efforts in healthcare.

Digital Health’s Brightest Mind

Nancy Brown

Since joining Oak HC/FT in 2014, General Partner Nancy Brown has focused on growth equity and early-stage venture opportunities in healthcare. Nancy currently serves on the Board of Axial Healthcare, Firefly Health, Cricket Health, Maven, and Unite Us, and is also a board observer at Limeade.

Digital Health’s Most Committed DC Champion

Amy Abernethy, MD, PhD

As the Principal Deputy Commissioner, Amy Abernethy, MD, PhD, helps oversee the FDA’s day-to-day functioning and directs special and high-priority initiatives. In her role, she has made it a priority to promote technological innovation both at FDA and across the broader biomedical ecosystem and is a champion for patient-focused research.

Most Beloved CEO

Bernard J. Tyson, Kaiser Permanente (In Memoriam)

Bernard J. Tyson, Chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente, passed away in November 2019. Bernard spent more than three decades at Kaiser Permanente as a tireless advocate for access, equity, quality, and overall health and well-being for all Americans. His pioneering work in the area of total health—mind, body and spirit—has helped Kaiser Permanente’s nearly 13M members thrive both physically and mentally. Bernard leaves behind a legacy of unwavering dedication to provide more equitable and human care for all.

Most Tech-Savvy Doctor

Sachin Jain, MD, MBA

Sachin H. Jain, MD, MBA is the CEO of CareMore Health and Aspire Health, innovative integrated health care delivery companies with $1.6B+ revenue and over 180K patients in 32 states. He continues to practice medicine at CareMore, and his previous experience spans from serving as CMIO at Merck & Co. to the first deputy director for policy and programs at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

Best New Startup

Uno Health

Uno Health matches low-income seniors to non-clinical services that meet their needs outside the doctor’s office—reducing their chances of ending up in hospital, and generating millions in revenue and savings for Medicare customers. Uno starts by enrolling seniors in all the existing low-income programs they’re eligible for, putting thousands of dollars in the pockets of the most vulnerable seniors in the country.

Digital Health Startup To Watch

Unite Us

Unite Us enables real-time coordination and outcome tracking between health and social service providers. Their person-centered care coordination platform and hands-on community engagement process ensure that services are seamlessly delivered to the people who need them most. Unite Us now operates 55 networks in 23 states, and has expanded with clients such as Kaiser Permanente, CVS Health/Aetna, and the state of North Carolina.

Best Digital Health Company To Work For

Color

Inspired by its mission to make precision health programs accessible, convenient, and cost effective for everyone, the team at Color has thoughtfully established an inclusive and diverse workforce. Led by CEO and Co-founder Othman Laraki, Color has a 4.8/5 rating (out of 80 reviews) on Glassdoor with 97% of employees reporting they would recommend working at Color to a friend.

Diversity And Inclusion Leadership Award

Diversity Innovation Hub, a Mount Sinai Venture

In 2019, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai launched the Diversity Innovation Hub (DIH) to support the work of entrepreneurs employing innovative solutions that address social determinants of health and increase the representation of women and ethnic minorities in digital health. Led by Dr. Gary Butts and a team of students and administrators, the DIH sponsors an eight-week summer innovation fellowship focused on introducing interested underrepresented minority and female medical students to biodesign, healthcare venture capital, and technology fields early in their medical careers.

Nonprofit of the Year

HealthTech4Medicaid

HealthTech4Medicaid (HT4M) is on a mission to radically change the pace of innovation in Medicaid, improving quality and access to care for people who need it most. HT4M brings payers, providers, patients, policy makers, and innovators to a communal table, collaborating to forge innovative solutions that solve real problems faced by Medicaid enrollees and the entities serving them.

Most Prolific VC

Bessemer Venture Partners

Bessemer Venture Partners is the world’s most experienced early-stage venture capital firm. With a portfolio of over 200 companies, Bessemer has backed more than 120 IPOs, including Pinterest, LinkedIn, Skype, and Twilio. In 2019, Bessemer’s new digital health investments included Artemis, Nym, Torch Technology, and Verata Health.

Most Prolific Corporate VC

Philips Health Technology Ventures

Philips Health Technology Ventures manages a business-agnostic digital health fund investing in future partners to help drive Philips’ digital transformation and jointly achieve lower cost care delivery, improved patient and provider satisfaction, and ultimately deliver improved outcomes. In 2019, Philips Health Technology Ventures’ new investments included Xealth, DEARhealth, and Babyscripts.

Best Designed Product

Modern Fertility

Modern Fertility is a women’s health company making fertility hormone testing accessible earlier in life, at a fraction of the traditional cost. The company takes the same lab tests previously confined to fertility clinics when a couple is having problems conceiving and makes them available to women proactively, helping women understand their ovulation, potential success of egg-freezing and IVF, menopause timing, and ovarian reserve.

Most Devoted to Health Equity

ConsejoSano

ConsejoSano is a patient engagement platform that connects payers, providers, and health systems with their multicultural Medicaid and Medicare patient populations. Using a model of patient engagement and navigation based on data analytics, ConsejoSano aims to increase access to a new level of linguistically- and culturally-tailored care.

Most Committed to Clinical Impact

Virta Health

Virta Health‘s ongoing clinical trial examining diabetes reversal has resulted in six peer-reviewed manuscripts that look at not only diabetes reversal outcomes, but also the impact of the Virta Treatment on cardiovascular health, fatty liver disease, inflammation, sleep, and more. At two years, the data show that those on the Virta Treatment had: 67% elimination of diabetes-specific medications, 81% elimination of insulin, 55% of patients fully reversing diabetes, 12% weight loss on average, and 22% reduction in triglycerides.

Best Performing IPO

Progyny

Progyny is a leading benefits management company specializing in fertility and family building benefits solutions for large employers in the US. The company has found the secret to success—in a year when the digital health IPO market finally stirred, Progyny was already profitable upon its public debut, and is one of the digital health stocks with the biggest returns YTD, up 100% since its IPO in October as of December 1st.

On behalf of Rock Health, Fenwick & West, Goldman Sachs, and Pacific Western Bank, congratulations to this year’s honorees! We are so grateful to work alongside you and thank you for your all you do. Learn more about the Top 50 in Digital Health here.