In this year’s first episode of Breaking Health and to celebrate Heart Health Month, guest host Payal Agrawal Divakaran, partner at .406 Ventures, speaks with Jeffrey Wessler, MD, MPhil, CEO of Heartbeat Health, about virtual cardiovascular healthcare, how Heartbeat makes it possible for physicians and patients to give and receive treatment through telemedicine, and the advances in technology the company is making. Dr. Wessler also shares his thoughts on selecting VC partners, the dynamic for physician entrepreneurs as it relates to fundraising, and the significance of Heart Health Month.  

In this episode of Breaking Health, guest host Payal Agrawal Divakaran, partner at .406 Ventures, and Kate Condliffe, CEO and co-founder of Diana Health, discuss providing accessible maternity care and the future of women’s health. Condliffe shares how her company empowers and supports women to live their best lives, how Diana Health works with hospitals, and how to choose the right fundraising partners. Divakaran and Condliffe also delve into how the new presidential administration will make an impact on women’s health into 2025, including the women’s research movement, abortion, and potential major changes around Medicaid. 

Links from this episode:  

HealthEdge
.406 Ventures
Diana Health 

In this special video episode of Breaking Health / In this episode of Breaking Health, guest host Payal Agrawal Divakaran, partner at .406 Ventures, speaks with Kristina Saffran, cofounder and CEO of Equip about providing accessible eating disorder treatment for patients everywhere. Saffran shares the origins of Equip, busts some myths surrounding eating disorders, and explains how her company pays for health plans. She also discusses the importance of working with the right cofounders, picking the right VC partners, navigating rough patches, fundraising, and more. Divakaran and Saffran also share their thoughts on contemporary topics and trends in the industry in a lightning round. 

Links from this episode:  

HealthEdge
.406 Ventures
Equip 

In this episode of Breaking Health, host Steve Krupa speaks with Jon Maschmeyer, partner at Permira. Maschmeyer discusses what it’s like working with executives and what they learn from him about investments, what sector has the most activity today in terms of deal flow, what attributes he finds exciting when considering a deal, and the key to working with private equity as a management team. He also shares his thoughts on how lower rates for high-volume drugs affect other countries, specialty pharma, and how healthcare has evolved in the past 20 years. 

At the Digital Healthcare Innovation Summit WEST 2024, leaders of the AI technology industry discussed the tangible progress that’s been made, identified which tools are useful (and not so useful), and charted the realities—and sensationalism—around how generative AI will reshape the future of health systems, care delivery, and personalized treatments. They also shared their thoughts on new challenges that have arisen, such as what characteristics are associated with organizations that can make it in this new age, regulatory framework, liability cases that have occurred since AI’s deployment, and more. 
 
Links from this episode:  

DHIS West 2024
PANEL DISCUSSION: Generative AI in Healthcare: Hype or Hope 

When is the best time to make an investment? In the healthcare industry, this can be tricky to determine. In this episode of Breaking Health, host Steve Krupa speaks with Andrew Adams, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Oak HC/FT, about organizing capital into the right companies, where the healthcare industry is going in terms of deployment of technology, and the state of the market today. With a broad and impressive portfolio, Adams provides valuable insight and techniques on finding the right opportunities to invest, as well as value-based hotspots and new ventures that Oak HC/FT is conducting.   

Links from this episode:  
HealthEdge 
Oak HC/FT 

When patients receive prescriptions, many find themselves at a loss over the lack of information on the medications’ clinical uses, costs, and more. In this episode of Breaking Health, host Steve Krupa speaks with Kyle Kiser, CEO of Arrive Health, about giving patients the ability to access information on medications to help them make better healthcare decisions. Kiser also delves into what real time benefits are, the company mantra “Lucy up,” and how Arrive Health calculates and provides valuable data to their customers, such as general savings. He also talks about his journey from being a healthcare insurance wholesaler to starting Arrive Health, as well as tips for aspiring entrepreneurs on patience and perseverance.

Links from this episode:  
HealthEdge
Arrive Health 

From sports goods salesman and stand-up comedian to co-founder and CEO of a software company, Chris Severn is helping patients by providing price transparency in healthcare through an easy-to-use platform. In this episode of Breaking Health, host Steve Krupa speaks with Severn about how he got the idea for a service that provided patients with upfront quotes, the value of such price transparency, and how to compare plans to help patients discern the best rates. Severn also shares his perspectives on new laws’ impact on the healthcare industry and the potential future of a competitive market for medical procedures. 

Links from this episode:  
HealthEdge
Turquoise Health 

For the past few years, digital health has made great strides in providing new ways of healthcare access for patients. But this also means new challenges and obstacles have emerged. This year, at the Digital Healthcare Innovation Summit, leaders in women’s health talked about how they and their companies are finding ways to help patients access healthcare more easily, as well as the creation of sustainable business models, understanding the market, and how to measure success. They also share their own experiences of working with patients and what inspired them to find new ways to help the underprivileged. Finally, they address generational needs and differences and discuss their hopes for the future of women’s health. 

Links from this episode:  
HealthEdge  

Kamal Jethwani began his medical training in India and soon found himself more intrigued by solving of the administrative issues around care delivery. This interest came to a head when he found himself on the front lines of crisis response when his 10-bed emergency department received—and treated—1,700 patients in 72 hours. Afterward, Jethwani realized that there was a whole field of medicine focused on the design of care delivery, he told Breaking Health host Steve Krupa. He knew he had found his focus. After coming to Harvard to earn a master's in public health and finish his medical training, Jethwani worked closely with digital health tools to improve care for patients. He launched Decimal.health during the pandemic to solve the administrative issues around connecting both patients and providers to evidence-based, valid, repeatable, reliable digital health tools. 

Links from this episode:  
HealthEdge 
Decimal.health