Optum, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, has acquired another digital health company. The target is Vivify Health, whose mobile, cloud-based platform offers remote care management services such as personalized care plans and biometric data monitoring. The deal was first reported by CNBC.
Vivify’s program uses health devices ranging from a wireless weight scale to portable blood pressure cuffs. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) systems offer a great deal of value for providers and payers. They help physicians and doctors stay up to date on a patient’s health without any hospital visits or trips, an they offer an opportunity to take preventative measures if a patient’s health declines. According to Vivify, its platform created a 65% reduction in unplanned readmissions for patients. The digital health company had raised more than $20 million in funding from the venture firms of large healthcare organizations including Ascension, a health system, and diagnostics giant LabCorp (NYSE: LH).
This deal follows UnitedHealth’s acquisition of PatientsLikeMe in June, the world’s largest personalized health network. It uses patient-generated data, deep biology and artificial intelligence to compile over 43 million data points on diseases and treatment solutions.
Between these two purchases, UnitedHealth and Optum have access to a vast amount of healthcare data points, from blood pressure to chronic disease, that can give providers valuable insights into a patient’s health. Between the success of the Apple‘s (NASDAQ: APPL) Apple Watch and Google‘s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) recent $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit (NYSE: FIT), it’s no surprise to see UnitedHealth try to capitalize on the wearable RPM market. In a 2018 report released by ResearchAndMarkets.com, the RPM market is expected to reach $31.3 billion by the end of 2023, increasing from $15.9 billion in 2017, growing at a CAGR of 12% during the forecast period.
Based on preliminary results, there was a healthy amount of M&A activity in the eHealth sector in October, according to our Deal Search Online database. With 27 deals reported so far, four of them are focused on RPM.
Micromed, a medical device company, acquired OSG BVBA, which provides software that performs sleep neuromonitoring and diagnostics and clinical neurophysiology with advanced capabilities in artificial intelligence. Micromed gains direct access to the Benelux market with OSG’s 230 clients and 50% market penetration in the Netherlands. Micromed will integrate OSG into its global sales network, offering OSG products in most of Micromed’s 78 markets, including the group’s key markets of Germany and the United States.
Verita Healthcare Group, a vertically integrated international healthcare provider, bought Hanako, a German mobile health check platform. The company uses portable, high-end screening equipment together with cloud-based analytics and artificial intelligence to provide a range of real-time health checks with detailed analysis, reports, health recommendations, and doctor consultations.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) jumped into the fray as well, announcing its second acquisition in the digital health realm. It bought Health Navigator, which integrates with digital health services to standardize patient care, provides online symptom checking and triage tools to companies that are trying to route patients to the proper level of care.
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