Connecting the dots for patients

Hey Health Techies!

Last week I highlighted an article about Hinge Health and Midi Health partnering up to create a holistic treatment approach for women experiencing menopause symptoms.

And I wanted to dive a little deeper into exactly why I think this is important and what my takeaway is from a partnership such as this.

🤔 What exactly do these companies do to begin with?

• Hinge Health is a musculoskeletal (MSK) solution that offers patients virtual physical therapy with the goal of improving muscle and joint health.

• Midi Health is a virtual care company that specifically supports women in menopause in perimenopause.

• Each of these companies are known as point solutions, companies that target a specific disease state or condition, most often via an employee benefit to target specific gaps in coverage of traditional health plans. These types of solutions have been growing in popularity over the past decade, with newer companies recognizing the success that older companies have had in this space. Patients have historically loved these solutions, since they often provide the expertise of a specialist without all of the hoops to jump through to get the care.

❓ Sounds great. What’s the problem with point solutions?

• Well, as you can imagine, for companies managing a bunch of different solutions for their employees, this can get a bit unwieldy. And this pain is being felt by over 1700 employers and health plans for Hinge Health alone. According to a Wellframe study, at least 50% of organizations offer 4+ point solutions, sometimes up to 20 or more. Not only that but the more crowded the space gets, the harder it is to make decisions since there may be two or more point solutions claiming to solve the same problem.

• Another issue is that as clinicians, we know that very few conditions exist in a vacuum. Point solutions have varying abilities to support comorbid conditions which can only take these solutions so far.

• Lastly, rarely are patients thinking about their health one condition at a time. Point solutions can make it very difficult for patients to coordinate care across multiple conditions, not to mention the difficulty of creating a semblence of continuity of care across multiple providers.

🤝 Opportunities for partnerships

• Point solutions taking on the work in easing some of the pain that they cause benefits managers and HR teams is a briliant idea. Partnerships mean that unique value can be positioned in front of decision makers. The bundling effect this has could be particulary interesting in taking some of the mental load away from benefits managers as they make decisions for their covered populations.

• In addition, patient acquisition can be tough for digital health solutions. Creating partnerships makes it easy for smaller point solutions to acquire patients and show the value that they can bring.

• Partnerships can also mean better outcomes for patients because conditions can be handled more holistically.

Though I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the classic point solution care model, the market has spoken in that there is interest in seeing some healthy competition and consolidation of these solutions. Partnerships like that between Hinge Health and Midi Health create more holistic solutions to problems (in this case MSK support for women experiencing symptoms of menopause and perimenopause). Ultimately, I believe this can make it easier for patients to manage their care.

I’m bullish on the idea that more personalized, customized solutions are the future of healthcare. And I’m optimistic that partnerships like this that foster easier ways for patients to feel empowered to take care of their health is a step in the right direction.

📰 Weekly Wrap-up

• Apple announces new health features for the Apple Watch and AirPods Pro2

• Abbott releases the Lingo, its first over-the-counter glucose sensor

👀 Don’t miss these open roles

• Clinical Pharmacist - Rightway Health

• Product Operations Manager - Oscar Health

• Compliance Manager - Charlie Health

• and more!

Until next time,

Lauren