Rock Weekly – NEW

It’s not every day Epic CEO Judy Faulkner emails her Rolodex of hospital system CEOs. Last week, she urged them to unite in opposition to HHS’ proposed information blocking rules. Her reasoning? The rules undermine patient privacy—and “patients have been able to download their health information since 2010.” Industry-wide pushback was swift. And while tech companies have been relatively quiet, Apple and Microsoft are attending a meeting today with a focus on finalizing the rules.

As industry leaders gathered at JPM, there was a fair share of deal making—and breaking. Teladoc doled out $600M for an enterprise telehealth business, Uber and Cerner teamed up on medical transportation, and Dexcom launched an integration with Livongo. But some good things must come to an end. As Proteus’ key partnership with Otsuka dissolved, Epic let customers know it’ll stop integrating with Google Cloud.

Privacy stole the spotlight at consumer tech’s biggest annual gathering—and health data security was no exception. In a rare CES appearance, Apple barely touched on its health efforts, but did emphasize its commitment to giving users control of their health data. And amidst heightened scrutiny around how tech companies partner with providers to access patient data, Kaiser Permanente announced the expansion of its smartwatch-based virtual rehab program. Meanwhile, millions of medical images "are spilling out onto the internet" every day—and show little sign of stopping.

Over the last decade, digital health has grown from a blip on the investment radar to a robust sector fueled by nearly one in ten venture dollars in the US. In 2019, 359 digital health startups raised $7.4B from more repeat investors than ever before. While the exit market delivered six IPOs, acquisitions remained flat with 112 deals across the year.

For our final wrap up of the decade, we’re bringing you a look at the news that shaped 2019. Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday—we’ll see you in January!

Despite a steady stream of investment dollars in healthcare technology over the last several years, some companies are encountering funding troubles. Veritas Genetics is shuttering US operations, due in part to investor weariness of startups backed by Chinese firms. Digestible pill pioneer Proteus Digital Health may face a similar fate. Once valued at $1.5B, the company saw an anticipated $100M funding round fall through after the fruits of its Otsuka partnership failed to materialize. Alliances between pharma and digital therapeutic companies are being put to the test as of late—it’s been a challenge to match cultures and begin to truly execute on their promises.

While women's representation in the leadership ranks of US Fortune 500 healthcare companies and hospitals has slowly increased, digital health startups and venture capital firms have made little progress. In fact, it’ll take nearly 100 years to reach gender parity among healthcare VC partners—and that's if 50% of new hires are women starting today.

Fitbit users are quitting cold turkey, the VA is rolling out Podimetrics’ smart mat to diabetic veterans nationwide, and more pharma companies are betting digital health will be the secret sauce to success. This week, we’re feeling especially grateful for the Rock Health family—our portfolio companies (they’re hiring like nobody’s business!), our corporate partners, and each and every one of you. Thank you for all you do to make healthcare massively better!

Only one in ten US consumers say they're willing to share their health data with a tech company. But new approaches for leveraging that data are fast emerging as the major tech firms eye their piece of the healthcare pie. Consider Apple and Google—last week, we saw Apple Heart Study results and the launch of one research app to rule all of Apple’s health research, allowing volunteers to sign up for three new studies.

Healthcare unexpectedly lost a remarkable leader and visionary this weekend with the passing of Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard Tyson. We remember his unwavering commitment to make healthcare more accessible, equitable, and human for everyone.