DENVER, Colo. – A lot happened in Colorado’s health innovation community this month. A new cohort of health-tech startups graduated from the Boomtown Health-Tech Accelerator. Entrepreneurs sounded off about the Prime Health Challenge. A digital health startup shared its plans to make healthcare consumerism possible.

Overall, it was a strong finish to our ecosystem’s biggest year yet. Here are the investments, partnerships, and studies that made the headlines in December.

Littleton-based brain imaging company Cerescan closed a $5.18 million funding round this month. As reported by Amy DiPierro of Denver Business Den, the money will be used to improve the company’s software and database.

Denver-based Catalyst HTI, a first-of-its-kind, 180,000 square foot health-tech industry integrator, added two new tenants this month. Both Hitachi Consulting and the American Osteopathic Association announced their decisions to lease space within the building when it opens in early 2018.

Two health-tech startups graduated from the Boomtown Health-Tech Accelerator this month.

“I’m thrilled to have Hitachi Consulting and the American Osteopathic Association joining our community,” said Mike Biselli, president of Catalyst HTI. “The expertise and insight of both organizations will contribute greatly to our efforts to reimagine healthcare.”

EMS Relay, a Broomfield-based startup focused on improving EMS through digital technology, announced the results of a recent study of its smartphone app. According to the study, the app’s pre-registration function increased the speed at which patients were admitted into the emergency department.

“Emergency medical services have also noticed a change in metrics,” wrote Mike Kobneck, founder of EMS Relay. “Crews that pre-register their patients have a turn time of four to six minutes sooner since all formalities are taken care of before arriving.”

Denver-based digital health giant Healthgrades released a report that analyzed the behavior of healthcare consumers. Among other findings, the report noted that for consumers seeking a new physician, the availability of online scheduling was just as important as the physician’s patient satisfaction ratings.

“The research is indicative of an important shift in consumers’ expectations about searching for a physician online,” said Scott Booker, CEO of Healthgrades. “Transparency, accessibility, and convenience are paramount.”

Earlier this month, a panel of entrepreneurs discussed their experiences in the Prime Health Challenge.

Centennial-based MDValuate, a physician evaluation startup, published a report entitled Why You Lose Patients: Common Negative Patient Comments & Reviews. The report analyzed the common characteristics of 300 negative patient reviews.

“The data contained in our report help to explain the most common reasons for negative patient sentiment published to public websites,” said Tod Baker, CEO of MDValuate. “Physicians and their teams can use the information in this report to develop strategies that can improve ratings and strengthen their practices.”

Denver-based digital behavioral health startup myStrength added a suite of self-care resources aimed at reducing opioid dependency. The resources were created in partnership with leading chronic pain experts from both the public and private sectors.

“We provide 24/7 access to evidence-based resources for managing pain, helping our members live more meaningful lives, while also addressing any co-occurring issues of depression, anxiety or addiction,” explained Scott Cousino, CEO of myStrength.

Upcoming Events
Society of Physician Entrepreneurs
Thursday, January 5, 2017, 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM
At this month’s SoPE meeting, James Hodge, associate vice chancellor of CU Anschutz, will speak about social impact investing and why it matters.

Prime Health
Wednesday, January 18, 2017, 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Prime Health’s January meet-up will take place at the Industry co-working space in downtown Denver.

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