Livongo comes to Higi's health kiosks, Pear's reSET-O rolling out to dozens of treatment centers and more digital health deals

Also: Doctor on Demand-powered benefit goes live for Walmart associates; Samsung, Sleep Number's CES announcements.
By Dave Muoio
01:57 pm
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Digital chronic care management company Livongo and health kiosk startup Higi have teamed up for a new program that will bring a Livongo-branded on-stage program to nearly 500 retail pharmacies in Michigan, the companies announced today. Through these and other channels, consumers will be able to measure indicators of chronic disease, enroll in Livongo programs, participate in health surveys and more as the collaboration scales across Higi’s full network over the course of 2020.

“By integrating with Higi’s Smart Health Stations, Livongo is truly meeting members where they are and can offer people living with chronic conditions a seamless, end-to-end experience including health screening, tracking and enrollment in Livongo’s proven platform, all within their daily routines,” Livongo President Dr. Jennifer Schneider said in a statement. “This experience effectively strengthens Livongo’s AI+AI engine by aggregating important consumer health information, shared with their consent, from their daily life flow, closing gaps in care and offering consumers proven solutions at an important moment when they are actively participating in their health.”


Hot on the heels of a flurry of licensing and acquisition deal announcementsPear Therapeutics has come out with another new agreement with Crossroads Treatment Centers that will see the prescription digital therapeutics company’s reSET-O treatment for opioid abuse disorder implemented in 38 western Pennsylvania treatment centers. That initial rollout will happen later this month, according to the companies, with plans for a broader distribution across 10 states planned for the rest of the year.

“reSET-O is a complementary therapy to our outpatient treatment program that has already shown to be successful in keeping more patients on the path to recovery,” Dr. Rupert McCormac, CEO of Crossroads Treatment Centers, said in a statement. “Our collaboration with Pear means more people will get access to the support they need to fight opioid addiction.”


Walmart and Doctor on Demand have gone live with an expanded telehealth benefit program that not only allows retail associates to book video visits for as low as $4, but also provides an personal online primary care doctor. First announced alongside other Walmart benefits programs back in October and available in Colorado, Minnesota and Wisconsin, associates can book their primary care visit within an hour, and a behavioral health visit within a week.


The Mayo Clinic has received a multimillion-dollar endowment from Sleep Number that will finance new sleep health research with a particular focus on cardiovascular medicine. The two groups will be establishing a joint advisory team for this effort, which was announced this week at CES.

“Collaborating with Mayo Clinic will amplify our impact on improving society’s overall sleep and wellness. By uniting our unparalleled sleep knowledge and technology with world-class clinicians and researchers, we’re poised to make meaningful advancements to the science of sleep, with goals to materially foster better sleep — and health — for society.”


Speaking of CES, Samsung also announced two new new collaborations with Kaiser Permanente and IrisVision during this year's tech show.

The former has yielded a home cardiac rehabilitation system that employs a Samsung smartwatch and the company's HeartWise smartphone app to deliver exercise reminders and monitor activity. The latter will bring IrisVision's low vision technology for patients with macular degeneration to Samsung's smartphones and headsets. 


Sharecare’s digital health engagement platform is being made available to everyone in Arizona regardless of their insurance carrier or status, thanks to a newly announced partnership between the company and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. These residents can download the platform to access a handful of personal health tracking tools, while those who are BCBSAZ members will be able to access additional services.

“Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona has a strong commitment to improve the value of healthcare for not only our members, but every single Arizonan. Sharecare embraces our same dedication to helping people build longer, better lives by enabling health transformation at the individual, organizational and community levels,” Pam Kehaly, president and CEO of BCBSAZ, said in a statement. "It's our privilege to be the only Arizona-based plan offering Sharecare’s personalized health platform and to embark on this journey to make Arizona one of the healthiest states in the country.”

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