DHNY CEO Bunny Ellerin Recipient of 2023 Glen de Vries Epic Award
Join us in congratulating our own Bunny Ellerin, who was this year's recipient of the Glen de Vries Epic Award from Medidata Solutions for her remarkable contributions to healthcare innovation. The award was presented earlier this month at the Medidata NEXT conference in NYC.
Join us in congratulating our own Bunny Ellerin, who was this year's recipient of the Glen de Vries Epic Award from Medidata Solutions for her remarkable contributions to healthcare innovation. The award was presented earlier this month at the Medidata NEXT conference in NYC.
Insights from DHNY Summit 2023: Transitioning Modern Care from the Hospital to Home
At this year’s DHNY Summit, Arkin Digital Health’s Dr. Nadav Shimoni moderated a panel that brought together government, payer, and provider stakeholders to spotlight exactly where we are today when it comes to moving health care from the hospital to the home.
We’re in an era of change. While innovations in how care is delivered are opening pathways to the future, roadblocks remain. Entrenched norms in the insurance industry, existing reimbursement structures, government red tape — all of this and more is converging to a place where we’re currently grappling with how to build a scalable, sustainable model for home care.
Before an audience of digital health leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs gathered in the heart of New York, Dr. Shimoni welcomed a dynamic group of panelists:
Nicholas Gavin, MD, MBA, MS, the System Vice Chair of Population Health & Clinical Innovation at Mount Sinai Health System
David Shulkin, MD, Former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs President of Shulkin Solutions, LLC, and a member of Arkin Digital Health’s Advisory Board
Mona Siddiqui, MD, MPH, MSE, the SVP for Enterprise Clinical Strategy and Quality at Humana Home Solutions
They shared their successes, cautionary tales, and predictions for where they see home care in the future.
Policy roadblocks
“Home care and health policy in this country is really somewhat in a crisis,” Dr. Shulkin said.
The current policy climate makes innovation hard. New ideas have to be “budget neutral.” He pointed to 2018 legislation that changed the model for paying for home care to “patient-driven group models.”
This “bundled together 30 days of home care business,” removing the fee for service, but resulted in the “volume of care” going down as the “severity of care” went up. A “behavioral offset” responded to the drop in healthcare visits, but brought the rates in home care visits down.
This policy “is a failure,” it slows down the progression to higher home care volume, he said.
He did cite the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’s (CMS) Acute Hospital Care at Home program — in 289 hospitals — as a success. The catch? It’s only funded through 2024.
A period of ‘regulatory uncertainty’
The COVID-19 home care boom transitioned to an unknown future. Mount Sinai’s Dr. Gavin calls it a period of “regulatory uncertainty.”
In a positive, he highlighted this era’s collaborative environment. He used the example of a patient 911 call resulting in his ER doctor “holy grail” — paramedics and hospital connected via Zoom, the ER seeing the patient’s EKG, leveraging hospital and first responder expertise.
Humana’s Dr. Siddiqui mentioned the current regulatory limbo.
“If you’re regulating whether or not a particular license-level person can go into the home and the exact set of things they’re able to do, well, given the labor shortage that we’re facing right now, that really inhibits the level of innovation that you can do,” Dr. Siddiqui explained.
She said we need to reexamine a compliance-driven present and move to “how do we pay for outcomes?”
Taking data out of silos
Dr. Shimoni brought the conversation back to health data.
Previously the nation’s Chief Data Officer for the Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Siddiqui said many health data sharing blind spots exist.
While data collection is mandatory for CMS — think hospitalizations and patient experience metrics — she explained that a home care patient might go to the ER, but then the home health company itself will have zero idea that even happened.
“You really have to be able to connect those dots in a holistic way, which will give you a much better sense of how well both the home care company is performing and what kind of experience that patient is having,” Dr. Siddiqui said.
How this will reorient today’s existing systems
Moving to home care affects costs and payment. Incentives have to align, Dr. Siddiqui said. If the cost structure will be less, should reimbursements follow?
Dr. Gavin touched on home care impacting long-term treatment. Mount Sinai is investing in a “connected devices portfolio” — patient and remote therapeutic monitoring. Long-term home care monitoring can help health systems assess who is at risk for serious hospitalizations and provide interventions.
For his part, Dr. Shulkin is “very frustrated” we haven’t progressed enough — the “forces of the status quo” are a “repeatable lesson in healthcare.”
He hasn’t seen enough home care companies revise business models. He points to home care workforce shortages leading to long patient wait lists. Why? Low home care worker pay. “We need more radical models now,” he stressed.
All three concluded that home care is here to stay. The challenge rests in how stakeholders work together to make the system adapt to change.
Digital Health New York (DHNY) Releases the NY Healthcare Innovation Report 2023
Funding in 2022 in New York region was $3.9B, a 57% decrease from 2021; Biotech and startups focused on analytics and provider enablement garnered most investment
Report includes New York Digital Health 100 (DH100) recognizing the most exciting and innovative health startups in the New York region
New York, NY (February 1, 2023) – Digital Health New York (DHNY), the premier network of CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors, payers and providers driving New York’s healthcare ecosystem, today released its New York Healthcare Innovation Report 2023. In its 6th year, the report is a comprehensive analysis that takes an in-depth look at the data, trends and people that have propelled New York to become the capital of healthcare innovation. More than 50 leaders are featured in quotes, insights and analysis throughout the report.
In 2022, in the New York region, 141 companies raised $3.9B, a decrease of 57% from the high of $9B raised in 2021. Q1 was the largest quarter at $1.3B (50 deals), and funding decreased throughout the year to a low of $.62B (23 deals) in the fourth quarter. Early stage companies received 39% of the funding (as compared to only 15% in 2021), and late stage companies received 61% of the funding in 2022 (as compared to 85% in 2021). Biotech received more investor attention than in years’ past, as did startups focused on analytics and provider enablement. Women’s health plummeted to a low of 2%, reflecting a reversal of the upward trends of 2021. The report also includes a listing of the Top 20 funded companies in 2022 (Kallyope tops the list at $236M).
“We recognize that 2022 was a reset year and forecasts for 2023 are not particularly sanguine. Funding is down, the market is challenging and unpredictable, and people are nervous,” said Bunny Ellerin, Co-Founder and CEO, DHNY. “Yet there is still room for optimism. We are gratified to see significant focus on making meaningful changes to the way we consume and deliver healthcare. Together, our collective innovation is making a difference.”
Within the report, DHNY released its New York Digital Health 100 (DH100), a list of the most exciting and innovative health startups in the New York region. In 2023, the DH100 had double the number of applicants compared to 2022. With this explosive growth, the scope of the list greatly expanded, and now represents 35 new companies; counts 12 unicorns among its ranks; has 23 organizations that are led by female CEOs; and 37 of the companies on the list raised $1.6B in 2022. There are also several second and third generation founders that have companies included on the list. Given the number of seed stage companies that applied to be part of DH100, DHNY also launched a new category this year: “10 Startups to Watch.”
“In 2023, the New York Digital Health 100 includes an incredibly diverse, innovative and forward-thinking set of companies and leaders that are making an impact on the future of healthcare,” continued Bunny Ellerin. “On behalf of the entire New York healthcare ecosystem, we are delighted to spotlight these organizations, support their growth and applaud them for their meaningful contributions to improving healthcare.”
In addition to DH100, the 2023 report features:
A Q&A session with Ashwin Vasan, MD, PhD, Commissioner, New York City Department of Health And Mental Hygiene about the intersection of public and digital health.
New insights from the annual State of New York Digital Health research, conducted in partnership with AlleyCorp, of a range of stakeholders (CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors, payers, providers) who shed light on market trends and their perspectives on today’s business environment. 47% of leaders surveyed reported they were concerned or very concerned about the economic outlook and its potential business impact for 2023.
Photographs of New York from talented clinicians and business leaders that grace the pages of the report.
Highlights and perspectives from DHNY Summit, an invitation-only event that brought together the leaders and visionaries who are driving digital health in New York.
New York City Health Business Leaders (NYCHBL), the organization that formerly published the report, has combined with DHNY, an important milestone in the evolution of the healthcare landscape in New York.
To download a copy of the New York Healthcare Innovation Report, please click here.
About Digital Health New York (DHNY)
Digital Health New York (DHNY) is the premier network of CEOs, founders, investors, payers and providers driving New York’s healthcare ecosystem. DHNY works to increase the visibility of New York as a leader in healthcare innovation, showcases the organizations and leaders curating the future of healthcare, and brings people together to share ideas, spark new directions and create success. For more information, visit www.dhny.co.
A Note from Bunny Ellerin: NYCHBL & DHNY Exciting News
After 14 incredible years of building New York City Health Business Leaders (NYCHBL), I am proud to announce that we are taking the organization to the next level by combining with a new entity called Digital Health New York (DHNY). Some may already be familiar with DHNY, as we hosted the inaugural DHNY Summit in September. The new organization, called DHNY, represents an important milestone as together we have dramatically evolved the healthcare landscape in New York.
DHNY’s vision – similar to that of NYCHBL’s – is to create a connected community that shares ideas, sparks new directions and creates success for the entire healthcare ecosystem. With investment and support from AlleyCorp, DHNY will be run by the same team that presided over NYCHBL, and I will serve as its CEO. We will continue to publish the trusted content and insights that NYCHBL has been known for – content that has documented the dynamic trajectory of NewYork as a healthcare capital and has become the de facto publication for our healthcare community.
With our new structure, we will introduce new programs and experiences, and of course, continue to host exclusive events and networking opportunities to bring together the people, influencers and organizations that represent the robust healthcare community in New York.
When we started NYCHBL, healthcare innovation in New York was in its infancy. With this community's support, New York has emerged as the digital health capital and now is the time for this important next step. Personally, I could not be prouder of what we have achieved, and I hope you share my excitement for the future. Thank you for being part of this journey.
Warmly,
Bunny
Bunny Ellerin
CEO
DHNY
Top 5 Takeaways from DHNY Summit
With NYC as our backdrop, DHNY Summit brought together the who’s who in digital health. Our speakers were frank, candid and bold in true New York fashion. We’ve distilled the day’s dynamic and insightful conversations to 5 key takeaways.
NY has become a digital health powerhouse
Early entrants like ZocDoc, Flatiron Health and Oscar proved that New York was a viable digital health market, and these pioneering companies spawned dozens of new startups and founders. This has led to a vibrant ecosystem with opportunity, energy and immense talent.
Disruption in healthcare is hard
Creating lasting change in healthcare is not for the faint of heart. Big tech's philosophy "to move fast and break things" doesn't always apply to healthcare, particularly when it might cause harm to patients. When you add misaligned incentives, lengthy contracting processes and regulatory hurdles to the mix, it’s clear that systemic change is what is needed to achieve true disruption. Winners will need to demonstrate tenacity and grit.
There's no health equity without equitable outcomes
Access to care is a key to health equity, but it’s not the only goal. Ultimately there must be a commitment to equity in outcomes. Technology can play a role, but given the unique obstacles that these communities face (lack of connectivity, language barriers, resources), there’s a significant need to provide tools and services that are tailored to each population to improve health outcomes.
Value Based Care is still in its infancy
While VBC has drawn much attention and attracted many pilots, its full promise has yet to be realized. Some barriers include data access and sharing, lack of interoperability and attribution. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and there’s optimism that we’ll make it to the finish line.
Technology is improving the patient experience, now let's focus on physicians
The focus on patient experience and engagement has created increased options for consumers when it comes to on-demand care, accessibility and virtual care. On the provider side, the reality is just the opposite – technology has often led to a greater burden on doctors. For healthcare to realize technology’s true potential, it’s incumbent upon all of us to find solutions to address provider experience.
The “Why” Behind DHNY Summit
Since we opened registration for the invitation-only DHNY Summit, we have had the opportunity to speak directly with many of the confirmed attendees. Below we highlight a few of the most commonly asked questions about why we created DHNY Summit, what to expect, and how the new event represents a new movement in digital health in New York.
Since we opened registration for the invitation-only DHNY Summit, we have had the opportunity to speak directly with many of the confirmed attendees. Below we highlight a few of the most commonly asked questions about why we created DHNY Summit, what to expect, and how the new event represents a new movement in digital health in New York.
What's your vision for DHNY Summit?
Our vision is to create a connected community that shares ideas, sparks new directions and creates success across the entire digital health ecosystem. It will include a diverse set of stakeholders from CEOs to members of the venture capital community to payors and providers.
Why do we need another digital health conference?
We asked ourselves this same question when imagining DHNY Summit! We took best practices from the hundreds of conferences and events we’ve collectively attended, then conducted in-depth research to understand what people want and need in an event in today’s environment. We improved upon what we liked, did away with what didn’t work, and listened to feedback and honest input to design DHNY Summit. The result? An environment that brings together relevant players in a way that promotes substantial conversations and impactful networking plus carefully curated content, activities, and influencers with relevant and distinct perspectives.
Why New York?
The growth of digital health in New York has been nothing short of incredible. Even prior to COVID, NYCHBL launched the New York Healthcare Innovation reports and NYC Digital Health 100. But the magnitude of funding and the breadth of companies created during COVID pushed it to another level. During this time, New York became the de facto epicenter of healthcare innovation.
Yet we have no signature conference, so our community has to travel to Boston, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco and other destinations to meet the same people that work next door. New York’s founders and funders are one of New York’s greatest strengths, and it is in recognition of them that we’ve created DHNY Summit – to inspire, to convene and to connect digital health leaders in New York.
Who are some of the confirmed speakers?
Our speakers represent a who’s who in healthcare in New York and beyond including founders, funders, payers, providers and thought leaders. A few names you’ll recognize:
Alan J. Murray, President & CEO, Empire BlueCross BlueShield
Carolyn Magill, CEO, Aetion
Kate Ryder, CEO, Maven Clinic
Kevin Ryan, Founder, AlleyCorp
Melynda Barnes, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Ro
Richard Park, MD, Founder and former CEO, CityMD; Managing Partner, Ascend Partners
Zach Weinberg, Co-Founder, Flatiron Health; Founder, Curie.Bio; Investor, Operator Partners
What are you most excited about?
In planning DHNY Summit, we have been amazed and impressed by the energy and excitement from the community. DHNY Summit represents a new movement – defined by the ideas, leaders and technologies that are truly transforming healthcare.
We're also excited to host this esteemed group of leaders at the incredible Edge in Hudson Yards and kick things off with our launch party at the exclusive Zero Bond, a private members’ club in lower Manhattan.