Designing digital health for Black consumers

According to Rock Health’s 2023 Consumer Adoption of Digital Health Survey, Black consumers lead the way as digital health adopters and have 20% greater odds of owning a wearable as compared to non-Black respondents. Yet despite high levels of virtual care adoption, Black consumers have historically reported lower rates of satisfaction with their experiences of digital solutions relative to other racial groups.

This “satisfaction gap” that Black consumers experience with digital health tools shouldn’t be surprising, given that most healthcare services don’t center the lived experiences of Black consumers. Black individuals with diabetes in the U.S. are less likely to be prescribed GLP-1s, and many Black consumers feel left out of the obesity care movement. Less than one-quarter of mental health professionals in the U.S. are people of color, challenging access to culturally competent mental healthcare. Additionally, 16% of Black infants are born in areas with limited or no access to maternity care services.

Innovation leaders can learn from startups centering Black perspectives and needs in digital health to make progress in addressing this satisfaction gap. Learn more about designing and scaling solutions for the Black community in the latest installment of our health equity series.

+ Does conducting research and working with Fortune 500 companies on digital health innovation sound like a dream job? Love writing, building slide decks, and consider yourself an Excel whiz? If this sounds like you, apply to become a Rock Health Advisory Fellow!

+ Are you a pharma leader looking for practical tips on harnessing AI’s capabilities? Join Rock Health Advisory and leaders from Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, and Huma.AI for a webinar on June 11 that will discuss concrete ways AI can drive operational efficiency and innovation at your organization. Register here!

Headlines

Dollar General, DocGo End Pilot Program For Mobile Health Clinics
Retailer ends partnership that started in 2023 to operate mobile health clinics Modern Healthcare

Ro Launches GLP-1 Supply Tracker To Help Patients Navigate Shortages
Telehealth company launches tool to help consumers find in-stock GLP-1s CNBC

Pharma Giant Cencora Says Americans’ Health Information Stolen In Data Breach
Pharma co sends letters to individuals affected by February cyberattack TechCrunch

Talkspace And Labcorp’s Ovia Health Spearhead New Women’s Health Coalition
Coalition forms to address women+ health needs, weeks after Wonder Woman Collective launch Femtech Insider

Sheba Medical Center And Salignostics Develop Saliva Test For Oral Cancer Detection
Saliva diagnostic advances amid Q2 testing innovation streak HIT Consultant

The New Menstruation: Girls Are Getting Their Periods Earlier And Less Regularly
Apple, NIH, Harvard co-sponsor JAMA study analyzing data from 71K U.S. females STAT

Recent Funding

  • Koios Medical brings in $130M for its AI-enabled ultrasound clinical decision support tool
  • AI-powered tumor analysis and oncology diagnostic platform Valar Labs lands $22M
  • Plenful, a no-code admin automation tool for providers and pharmacies, picks up $17M
  • Ritten, an EMR and clinic management software for behavioral health providers, raises $11.5M
  • Weave Bio inks $10M to use AI to automate the Investigational New Drug application process
  • Kythera Labs nabs $9.2M for its healthcare data collection and insights solution
  • Digital male fertility clinic Posterity Health secures $6M
  • At-home care and rehabilitation provider InHome Therapy reels in $5.1M
  • Heru raises $4M for its real-time VR eye tests and ocular therapeutics
  • GeoH adds $2.9M for its home care administration and payments software