Healthrageous
The wireless remote health monitoring market is white hot these days. Seems like a lot of creative folks are looking at the increasing ability of connected devices, sensors and wondering why aren’t these disrupting healthcare. Some luminary research centers rooted in academic institutions have found enough financial support to establish formal presence specifically in this space. West Wireless Institute in San Diego, UCLA Wireless Health Institute are good examples.
Established in 1995, the Center for Connected Health is another such example within Partners HealthCare in Boston. They’ve dabbled in a number of remote monitoring pilots- diabetes, dermatology, heart failure, etc. Healthrageous is their first spin-off. It started as a pilot project conducted in 2006 with EMC Corp. to give employees self-management tools for blood pressure. In June 2010, Healthrageous raised $6 million in a Series A funding led by North Bridge Venture Partners of Boston.
Having read enough of them, I think the marketing message around the concept of continuous care through remote monitoring has now been perfected from multiple angles. Read the descriptions from Welldoc, HealthBuddy, Telcare, iMetrikus, Hommed, Cardiocom, Gentag, BL Healthcare for example. Healthrageous also does a good job at describing the high-level value proposition.
But it seems that the transition from online paragraphs to a generally available, well-known and affordable solution has not happened. I searched for what product/service I could buy through Healthrageous to help a close friend manage her hypertension, but couldn’t find anything. There are some encouraging success stories on the website, but no explanation as to where can one sign up for becoming a success like that. I wish these websites were more transparent and lucid, maybe even at the risk of being less enchanting.
PS: Found two candidate consumer-oriented solutions for remotely managing hypertension. One is not available yet (Withings BP Monitor), and other needs an Apple iOS device to work (iHealth Lab’s BP3) and didn’t get great reviews. If anyone knows of other products/services, please share through comments below.
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Thanks for the mention. Sorry for the confusion! Our services are currently only available through employers and health plans, and are not offered direct to consumers.
Your friend could talk to her employer’s HR representative (if she has one) about Healthrageous, and I could set up a call with the HR rep to discuss how we could help the overall health of their entire population. Contact me if I can help at alexDOTshearAThealthrageous.com.
Some great insights on the industry here, now that I know about it I’ll be sure to check in periodically.
Alex Shear
Marketing Manager
Healthrageous
Alex,
Appreciate your feedback. My friend is 55 years old, and self-employed. She manages to take her bp every now and then, but doesnt keep an active record. It all ends up being very subjective. That is where I think solutions like Healthrageous can help.
That story aside, I totally understand the positioning of Healthrageous. Your value proposition is more through the conventional payer network and that is understandable.
Keep up the good work..
~Pallav