Women are critical stakeholders in healthcare, serving as workers, caregivers, and consumers—yet they do not have an equal voice in the ranks of leadership. Our goal with this report is to contribute to a meaningful and actionable dialogue around women in leadership, with the hopes of providing a foundation for our industry to finally turn this dialogue into action.
Funding
2017 is already the largest year yet for digital health funding—but the funding spike of Q2 has steadied. Q3 funding came in at $1.2B, bringing the YTD total to $4.7B and pushing funding beyond the prior historic annual high of $4.6B in 2015. Of note: 16% of the 83 deals this quarter were raised by companies led by women CEOs, up from 11% at the half-year mark.
Podcast Ep. 7: In our recent survey, digital health companies divulged their enterprise sales pain points. This week we went even deeper, sitting down with two executives at the center of technology innovation at leading health systems to get their honest take on what hospitals want from digital health tools.
Since 2011, Rock Health has worked tirelessly to be the trusted source for digital health venture funding trends. We take this role very seriously because we believe funding is a key metric in assessing the trajectory of healthcare innovation. Today, we are excited to announce new upgrades that will enhance our ability to deliver thoughtful, objective analysis of digital health investment and the broader market.
Rock Health is thrilled to announce our collaboration with AARP Foundation to launch the 2017 Aging in Place $50K Challenge. Competitors have the chance to earn a $50,000 cash prize and work with AARP Foundation to improve the lives of vulnerable seniors by reducing healthcare costs and hospital readmission rates.
The Rock Health office is abuzz with anticipation as the sixth Rock Health Summit inches closer and closer! Before 600+ digital health aficionados descend upon the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center on October 17 and 18, we’re sharing five things we’re especially looking forward to at this year’s Summit.
Special Topics
For digital health startups, it’s increasingly a B2B world—and innovators are acutely feeling the challenges of enterprise sales. Selling to payers, providers, biopharma companies, and others is a tough game across the board. Sales cycles are long, requiring patience and a knack for relationship building. Finding the right buyer in a big organization can be disorienting. And crafting the pitch is tricky when talking to a complex, multi-faceted enterprise customer.
With the sixth Rock Health Summit just around the corner, we wanted to take the time to tell you a little bit about this year’s Innovation Tours—a curated, inside look into some of the most noteworthy companies in healthcare. Before the Summit’s regularly scheduled programming kicks off, VIP pass holders will be welcomed into the offices of two cutting edge companies for private tours and lunch with team members. Whether you’re planning to attend the Rock Health Summit or not, we’re excited to share what you can expect to see and hear from these trailblazers.
We noted in our midyear funding report that we’d be keeping a close eye on the FDA’s plan to set more definitive regulatory guidelines for digital health in the coming months. It turns out we didn’t have to wait too long—on July 27th, the FDA announced the Digital Health Innovation Action Plan, which includes the launch of the much-talked about Software Precertification Pilot Program (PreCert).
Podcast Ep. 6: Last week we briefed you on the record shattering funding streak of the first half of 2017. Then we sat down with two other investors, Bessemer Venture Partners' Steve Kraus and Kaiser Permanente Ventures' Liz Rockett to bring you a deeper look into the most exciting opportunities in digital health, what recent tech giant moves mean for the industry, and more.