Innovators compete. Ascensia Diabetes Care has announced the six finalists in its innovation competition, which is aimed at finding digital platforms to support Type 2 diabetes management. The competition included 116 submissions from North America, Asia, and Europe. The six finalists are: Foodient by Whisk, an artificial intelligence-powered dietary app that connects to large grocery retailers, GlycoLeap by Holmusk, a health coaching app aimed at helping people with diabetes live healthier, QStream, a mobile game designed to change user behavior, My Diabetes Coach by Macadamian, a tool which uses Amazon’s Alexa to help people with diabetes manage their care, Path Feel by Walk with Path, a feedback insole that provides feedback during a user's walk, and xbird, an AI software that analyzes micro-movements.
“We've received entries from entrepreneurs and start-ups around the world who are at the forefront of healthcare innovation. We have been delighted by the quality and variety of the submissions we have received, which offer digital solutions that could revolutionize a number of aspects of Type 2 diabetes management,” Michael Kloss, CEO of Ascensia Diabetes Care, said in a statement. “We are now looking forward to the finalist event and hearing more about these truly innovative ideas.”
Each finalist will take home $12,275 (10,000 euros) in prize money.
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Making sure payday comes. Hollywood Florida-based C&C Medical Administration launched a web-based medical billing service, called iClaim, for medical business owners, doctors, and healthcare providers with the goal of getting paid faster. The service is expected to stop coding mistakes and lower claims rejections. iClaim helps doctors and managers see every part of their billing, denials, coding, charges and statements. The company also said it will streamline billing services.
"Every physician and healthcare provider deserves to be paid and deserves to receive full comprehensive reports about paid claims. Our iClaim system effortlessly avails our customers of a smooth integration feature with billing, scheduling, eligibility of insurance as well as a comprehensive report system," Fernando Castillo, president of C&C Medical Administration, said in a statement.
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A watch dog for crime. A murder victim’s Apple Watch heart rate data is now being used as evidence in her homicide trial in Australia, according to the Australian Associated Press. The prosecution is expected to use the data as evidence against a 26-year old woman accused of killing her mother-in-law. The Apple Watch shows the time when the victim’s heart stopped beating. Law enforcement can also narrow the time frame of when the victim was attacked by her heart rate.
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A good night’s sleep. Nokia has announced the launch of Nokia Sleep, WiFi-enabled sleep monitor that is placed underneath a user’s mattress. The pad, which launches on April 10, can measures the various phases of a night’s sleep, and incorporates these measurements with other health metrics collected by Nokia wellness products within the Health Mate app.
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Excuse me, that's private. Grindr, a dating app that caters to gay men, has been providing its users’ HIV status to app optimization companies, Apptimize and Localytics, BuzzFeedNews reports. Gridr sent the companies information about the users’ location, phone number, and email, which meant they could identify the specific user and their HIV status. On the app, users can chose from several options about their HIV status and treatment including positive, positive and on HIV treatment, negative, and negative on PrEP.
Grindr denies selling third parties this information; rather, Scott Chen, Grindr's chief technolgoy officer, told Buzzfeed that Grindr paid these companies to use their software services and improve the app.
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Preventing diabetes. Benefits network Solera Health is launching a new platform called MedicareDPP.org, which will work as a referral and selection website for the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP). The platform, which is free to Medicare users, is designed to help educate users about diabetes risks and help them find local diabetes prevention programs. It was developed to guide users through their eligibility verification, blood value collection, and finding an MDPP provider.
"The Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program can reduce the risk for Type 2 diabetes by up to 70 percent and provide a positive financial return of $2,650 in 12 to 14 months,” Brenda Schmidt, CEO of Solera Health, said in a statement. "Through MedicareDPP.org, Solera functions like a dating or travel website to find the best diabetes prevention program for Medicare members to help them live healthier lives. We are excited to work with our MDPP network partners to achieve this goal."
