Mobile health and apps news in brief

This month’s round-up from the world of healthcare apps and disruptive technologies includes a personalised treatment app for people with diabetes, mymhealth winning a contact with a CCG, and the growing market of US digital health startups.

Diabetes app treatment secures funding  

Cheshire-based company Gendius has secured funding for a digital diabetes treatment.

The digital health start-up has completed a funding round to launch an app-based platform designed to help those living with diabetes better manage their condition. Intellin uses an individual’s clinical history to predict those areas most likely of developing complications from their diabetes i.e. their individual high-risk areas. It then focuses the individual on clinically-validated tasks and measures to slow their progression in these areas. Gendius was founded by Chris Genders and Rory Cameron, who have both previously worked in the pharmaceutical industry.

my mhealth apps to enhance Dorset NHS services

mymhealth have been awarded a contract by Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to provide their digital health apps to patients suffering with diabetes, COPD and heart disease. Working with NHS providers over the next 12 months, my mhealth will introduce the apps myDiabetes, myHeart and myCOPD to at least 1000 patients.

The company will work with healthcare organisations in the area to explore new ways of delivering care to patients at a time and place that suits them, and that fully integrates with current NHS health services. The apps can be used on almost any device that connects to the internet, and have been tried and tested in patient populations in clinical trials.

my mhealth’s CEO Simon Bourne said: “Patients using these applications are educated to self-manage, adapt their lifestyle and manage their medication through a simple, easy to use interface. These apps will support current clinical services to deliver enhanced quality care at a scale that could never be achieved without a massive workforce expansion.”

Billions invested in US digital health startups

2017 is already the largest year yet for digital health funding in the United States, according to a Rock Health report.

The country saw $1.2 billion invested in 83 digital health startups in the third quarter of 2017 , with an average funding amount of $14.6 million, according to

Eight digital health startups received $100 million-plus in funding since 1 January with home DNA testing firm 23andMe hosting the largest funding round in the third quarter, raising $250 million in September.

The eight digital health startups that received $100 million-plus in funding since January this year are: health intelligence firm Outcome Health; Peloton Interactive, which makes an exercise bike through which users can remotely join live exercise classes; Modernizing Medicine, which offers an iPad-based electronic patient record: patient education firm PatientPoint; population health firm Alignment Healthcare; patient social network PatientsLikeMe; and personalised health and wellness platform Sharecare.

everyLIFE Technologies launches openPASS app

Surrey-based everyLIFE Technologies has launched openPASS, a smartphone app that provides patients, family members and friends with access to real-time care plans and records in its PASSsystem.

Former chair of NHS Alliance and now everyLIFE Technologies new advisory board chair, Michael Dixon said he believes “openPASS will mark a step change in how we deliver care.”

“For me, it’s about transparency and visibility. The ability for families and health professionals to see their relatives’ or patients’ care records when they want is an obvious step forward to improving quality.”

The app gives a window into the PASSsystem, allowing an individual’s care record to be viewed, but not changed. The person receiving care can choose who else can see their records, allowing trusted relatives and healthcare professionals to view the care record remotely in real time on any smartphone, tablet or PC.

Basic health advice available on Amazon through The Mayo Clinic

Minnesota-based nonprofit medical practice The Mayo Clinic is now providing basic health information and advice on Amazon Alexa-enabled devices. Owners who have downloaded the Mayo Clinic First Aid app voice their concerns to receive answers to dozens of everyday health issues or other self-care instructions.

It is the first health guidance skill Mayo Clinic has developed and launched for Amazon Alexa. The organisation cautions that The Mayo Clinic First-Aid does not replace medical care and should not be used in emergency situations.

It joins the clinic’s other Amazon Alexa service, Mayo Clinic News Network, which offers listeners a 60-second daily presentation with easy-to-understand health tips.

Other voice-assisted health services available on Amazon Alexa include Fitbit integration, Boston Children’s Hospital’s KidsMD skill, and Healthtap’s Doctor AI diagnosis tool.