The COVID-19 epidemic has had a devastating impact on nearly every aspect of life, from the personal to the professional (how organizations interact with their customers, how consumers choose and purchase products and services, and so on).

According to a recent McKinsey poll of more than 200 businesses across industries, over 90 percent of executives expect the consequences of COVID-19 to drastically change the way they do business in the next five years, with almost as many claiming that the crisis would have a long-term influence on their clients’ requirements.

More than half of the entire adult population in the United States is afflicted with mental illnesses but is unable to get treatment, according to studies in the field of technology and health. When the globe faced a pandemic situation in 2020, real-time care access was a major worry, and health access was restricted. Telemedicine rose dramatically in popularity in 2020, and it will continue to be a popular healthcare technology in 2021.

Telemedicine software can provide simple access to high-quality treatment, which will be a significant benefit to the mental health industry in the United States. Physicians may conduct therapy sessions or counseling using new technologies in medicine such as video conferencing, and they can connect with patients through the chatbox mechanism. Telehealth technology allows people with mental illness to get high-quality care from any location at any time.

We examined the following top 4 Los Angeles Health Tech startups to understand their contributions in the healthcare sector, particularly with respect to data sources, digital health experiences, and the importance of data in a public health scenario.

Who are they, and what are their plans for the future of healthcare?

LA Health Tech Is Changing the Future of Healthcare

Headspace

Headspace, a Los Angeles startup was first established in 2010. It has one goal for everybody: Improving health and happiness around the world. The company developed an app to help individuals form healthy habits. These revolve around meditation, sleep, and awareness. The app is successful, with a rating of 4.9 stars from over 600,000 ratings. It surpassed a million downloads and currently has a user base of 70 million.

The app centers around guided meditation. Both the website and the app have a distinct calming art style. What is Headspace known for? It is known for its minimalist design and clean animations. The purpose of this app is to make users step back from their hectic lives if only for a few minutes, twice a day. This breaks the vicious cycle of stress that builds up throughout the day. More importantly, it encourages taking time every day to focus inward.

It helps manage mental health issues by providing clinical support services to those who are struggling with stress, anxiety, or other psychological problems.

According to Headspace, one in four Americans suffers from a mental illness. This implies that about 40 million people in the United States have similar issues every day. It’s important to remember that mental health problems are just like physical ones, in the sense that they are both medical issues. Anyone can have one.

The founder of the company Andy Puddicombe has a background in Sports Science. The founder became a monk, gaining his status in a Tibetan monastery. Andy returned to the UK to teach about mindfulness. He eventually set up a consultancy service. He has worked with leaders in business and politics. Andy helped grow the company with a funding of over $75 million and has a valuation of $320 million.

PatientPop

PatientPop is a Santa Monica-based startup co-founded by Luke Kervin. It’s a digital health marketing platform. The software helps patients connect with healthcare providers using their medical records. It’s a tool that benefits healthcare workers. It helps people since the pandemic limited patient access to hospitals and clinics. It has a built-in survey system. This helps doctors and health professionals establish their online reputations.

The company is best known for its intuitive customer management platform. It helps professionals manage their services and facilities. This software shows doctors who are available, when they are free, what they are qualified in doing, etc. Another service offered by the company is bookkeeping trackers for accounts payable, cash flow allocation, online payments, credit card processing…etc.

PatientPop’s customer support system offers assistance using the available resources of the company. Their workshops help training new hires on how to use PatientPop products. They offer access to supervisors who can answer specific inquiries with regards to product use or purchase-related questions/concerns.

PatientPop raised $50 million in Series C Funding in August 2020, to develop its healthcare online delivery service. PatientPop will help private practices provide excellent care virtually and in person with the additional cash.

This includes seamless patient communications and front office procedures that are streamlined for a better patient experience as a result of this focus. PatientPop will be able to continue to define the Practice Growth category and give the most comprehensive suite of solutions for clinics as a result of this approach.

NantHealth

Based in Culver City, NantHealth helps improve patient outcomes. It also assists professionals in making clinical decisions. NantHealth also helps reduce costs and maximize resources. The company has several services and tools. These improve the processes between healthcare, providers, and patients.

NantHealth at its core has a data-focused approach to health care. One of their unique solutions is Precision Insight’s GPS Cancer. This technology helps oncologists determine the best pharmacological “mix”. The technology will minimize damage to healthy DNA. The technology also allows a closer look at the tumor at a molecular level.

Although the company was not founded in the last decade, it’s a unicorn startup. The company has a value of $2B, receiving investments from various investors. Last month, two of NantHealth’s existing investors financed $137 million. The funds will help grow the business. NantHealth has 6 acquisitions, starting with Vitality in 2011. Last year, the company also acquired The OpenNMS Group.

Medely

Telemedicine has been on the rise and the surge for on-demand daily healthcare. During the pandemic, the number of calls made for telemedicine increased. Last year, a poll revealed that many people would prefer to have their doctor visits virtually rather than having them in person.

The worldwide pandemic is propelling the development of several independently operated healthcare services. Medely is at the forefront in addressing this new healthcare service by enhancing patient care. Medely is an on-demand platform for healthcare professionals, such as Registered Nurses and Technicians, to find per diem work. The organization was founded with the goal of creating a better world by giving people opportunities to earn money while pursuing their passions.

Medely’s mission is to help people get healthier faster. They provide concierge services like transportation and filling prescriptions for you without any hassle. Medely has a “caring professional” that helps manage all your concerns and issues from scheduling appointments to answering questions from your doctor.

Angie, as the Director of Nursing at an outpatient surgical center, was always frustrated trying to fill the surgical suite. Because agencies are too expensive, Angie spent numerous hours each day just searching for competent per diem nurses.

In 2015, Angie and her co-founders came up with a simple concept to eliminate this staffing gap using technology and make the process transparent and more cost-effective. What began as a notion to streamline operations in surgical centers has now become an everyday part of many administrator’s routines.

Conclusion

Healthcare is more essential than ever following a pandemic. If you’re wondering where healthcare will be in 2021 and beyond, we’ve got some news for you: remote patient care and communication will take the focus. Remote patient monitoring and virtual care will become more important, as well as tech-driven efforts by healthcare organizations.

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LAStartups.com is a digital lifestyle publication that covers the culture of startups and technology companies in Los Angeles. It is the go-to site for people who want to keep up with what matters in Los Angeles’ tech and startups from those who know the city best.