Portfolio News

Landmark Health Expands into Spokane and Thurston Counties

In November 2015 Premera and Landmark Health teamed up to provide in-home medical care for patients with chronic, complex conditions in the King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties of Washington state. In 2017, Premera and Landmark Health will expand that care to eligible members in Spokane and Thurston counties. Members will have the option for: 24/7 care from Landmark providers in their own home Scheduled, ongoing visits based on the patient’s needs Access to Landmark pharmacists, dietitians, nurses, and social workers Direct communication with primary care providers to...

Sutter Health’s Approach to Innovation and Physician Burnout

The AVIA Innovator Network, a collection of technologically advanced health systems, has stepped up to bring health organizations from small community hospitals to large academic medical centers into the 21st century and beyond. Network member Sutter Health, a non-profit health system in Northern California, is a great example of the work being done by AVIA organizations. Sutter Health’s “4-REAL” clinical practice connects technology with what actually happens in day-to-day healthcare encounters. 4 stands for Sutter Health providers’ less-than-4-sentence explanation of the problem they’re trying to solve. This...

Rock Health: Nearly half of consumers embrace digital health tools

Rock Health, a venture fund that invests in healthcare startups, has just released a new survey that found that 46% of Americans are active digital health tool users. Last year, only 19% of Americans were active digital health tool users. “Active digital health tool users” is defined as consumers who have engaged with three or more categories of digital health tools (e.g. Apple Watch, Fitbit, healthcare apps, live video calls, etc.). Rock Health found that telemedicine, as opposed to wearable technology, was by far the most...

“Google Glass for doctors” startup raises $23M as it eyes expansion

Google Glass startup Augmedix has raised another $23 million in funding, adding new investors McKesson Ventures and OrbiMed. Existing investors and customers include Catholic Health Initiatives, Dignity Health, Sutter Health, and TriHealth. Augmedix, founded in 2012, pairs doctors and nurses with remote scribes using a Google Glass device. An Augmedix scribe watches the live stream and takes notes as providers see their patients. The point of the service is to allow doctors to have uninterrupted conversations instead of having the distractions of writing notes and completing...

Augmedix Raises $23M to Cut Down on Doctor Paperwork

On average, doctors spend three to four hours a day on paperwork. That’s half a standard workday spent on menial tasks. But Augmedix is trying to change that. The company is using state-of-the-art technology to significantly reduce the amount of time that doctors spend on paperwork. Through the use of Google Glass, Augmedix is able to digitally record each doctor’s visit. A remote assistant is then able to fill out all the necessary paperwork in real-time. All the doctor has to do is review the paperwork and...