- 22/07/2016
- Category: Commentaries
Digital world makes it easier for people to connect and to comprise with certain condition. From the tip of a finger, now people could order package, send parcels, shop, and even get medical examination! Indeed, enjoying basic facility, such as health service, can be quite accessible or instead ‘complex’ depending on the condition. For some people in some countries, they have to make appointment to see their doctor and it may result to disappointment. Meanwhile, for some others they cannot afford the price of medical treatment as basic human privilege. These limitations proliferate digital health startups to be more and more omnipresent today. Seeing digital health startups as a universal upbringing phenomenon results to higher deals on digital health being made and more health – related startups being ubiquitously used. Nevertheless, question on how large health startup is today and further inquiry towards its sustainability must be highlighted as the innovation continues to flourish.
Conveying enhancement on the health startups this decade is quite allegedly vivid due to rapid increase of health apps that achieves 165,000 on the market until today.[1] From wide range of health apps specification to variety of service that is provided, we may recall more opportunities are discovered to gather innumerable users with different background; such as patients, doctors, medical personnel, nurses, healthcare companies and even investors. This has brought the innovation of health startups to come into another level that can be considered as ‘revolution’. The phase of revolution is confirmed with higher rate of investment in the digital health sector that has reached number of 3.9 billion US$ this year.[2] The growth is robust, if we compare to last year’s mid-year report that only peaked 2.9 billion US$.[3] Reviewing the growth from the year 2010 to the present day, the graph shows dominance of positive increases.
The growth is not yet well-depicted without evidence that comply with consumers’ demands. Thus, new-born startups like Zipnosis and AiCure are concrete evidences to the growth of health start-ups in the present era with high rate of users around the globe.[4] Zipnosis deals with online diagnosis platform since 2008 with certified doctors and engaged health care system.[5] Meanwhile, AiCure concerns more about patients’ medication scheduling system with artificial intelligence (AI) technology based on mobile devices.[6] Both contribute sophisticated innovations to digital health world, so that patients’ health records can be observed, evaluated and used to conduct diagnosis and even remind them about the responsibility to consume prescribed drugs.
The groundbreaking phenomenon is not only restricted in using health startups to connect patients and medical practitioners, but also extended to the case where even higher technology is asserted for the sake of humanity. The latest invention of digital health with purpose of humanity is MobileODT, of which enables the gynecologist or medical personnel to examine risk of cervical cancer on women by using mobile phone, internet connection and attached device, called colposcope.[7] Even though it offers commercial price to sell the product for approximately 1800 US$ for each order and 800 US$ if clinic buys at least 5 products, humanity purpose is still being promoted.[8]
Recognizing correlation between health and humanity, MobileODT provides online form for customers to apply for the products ultimately with humanity purpose. People who live in rural areas with limited medical personnel or even developing countries with high risk of cervical cancer disease are now not required to pay much to get cervical cancer check anymore. Government, clinic or any organization that raise awareness to eschew cervical cancer do not need to buy expensive conventional colposcope that is also considered as formidable for potential patients. They do not have to provide gynecologist that is meagre in numbers for some countries. The more digital health ideas continue to strive, the more opportunities for users to benefit and sustain for the future.
Alas, the sustainability challenge is still possible to exist and we must not neglect it. Digital health startups have developed momentously, whilst limitation is still a peril for some cases. For instance, countries with adamant healthcare that is highly related to complex bureaucracy will influence the progress of startups. Stagnancy might occur and it will result to inapt targets with non–integration between customers, healthcare investors and government. Another challenge comes from infrastructure – wise in developing countries or rural areas.[9] But, this can be improved throughout time with equal spread of infrastructure building. Finally, arduous challenge has also been discussed by many experts; challenge of funding to support and facilitate health-specific incubators.[10] Competitiveness can be a benefit or instead a challenge. This statement is undoubtedly germane to case of digital health startup. Regardless the hurdles, growth of digital health startup is an optimism for the healthy world. And in the end of the day, digital health is supposedly an accessible wealth for any individual.
picture credit: pexels.com
[1] Satish Misra, ‘New report finds more than 165,000 mobile health apps now available: takes close look at characteristics & use’, in iMedicalApps.com, http://www.imedicalapps.com/2015/09/ims-health-apps-report/ (accessed on 20 July 2016), 17 September 2015
[2]StartUp Health, LLC, ‘StartUp Health Insights 2016 Midyear Report’, StartUp Health Insights (online),
www.startuphealth.com/insights (accessed on 21 July 2016), 6 July 6 2016
[3] StartUp Health, LLC, 6 July 6 2016
[4]Diana Labrien, ‘8 Health Tech Startups you Should Know About’, in Tech.co, http://tech.co/health-tech-startups-2015-07 (accessed 20 July 2016), 27 July 2015
and also some datas are provided by Mobi Health News Staff, ‘42 digital health startups that raised money in Q1 2016’, in Mobi Health News (online), http://mobihealthnews.com/content/42-digital-health-startups-raised-money-q1-2016 (accessed 20 July 2016), 14 April 2016
[5] “Zipnosis: About,” Zipnosis, accessed 21 July 2016, https://www.zipnosis.com/about
[6] “Aicure: Advanced medication adherence solutions”, Aicure, accessed 21 July 2016, https://www.aicure.com/index.php
[7] Casey Lane, ‘MobileODT plans to defeat cervical cancer through low-cost, smartphone-aided screenings’, in Geek Time (online), http://www.geektime.com/2015/08/04/mobileodt-plans-to-defeat-cervical-cancer-through-low-cost-smartphone-aided-screenings/ (accessed 21 July 2016), 8 April 2015
[8] Casey Lane, 8 April 2015
[9] Prof. Bodo Kress, Roland Göhde, and Prof. Uta Meyding-Lamadé, “Digital Health— The Future of Medicine,” in World Health Summit Yearbook 2015, ed. Tobias Gerber, Prof. Shunichi Fukuhara, and Prof. Detlev Ganten (Berlin: WHS Foundation GmbH, c/o Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 2015), 20 – 21
[10] Dave Chase, ‘Why 98% of Digital Health Startups Are Zombies And What They Can Do About It’, in Forbes (online), http://www.forbes.com/sites/davechase/2016/05/18/why-98-of-digital-health-startups-are-zombies-and-what-they-can-do-about-it/#6cf790a068f3 (accessed 21 July 2016), 18 May 2016
