Announcing the Top 50 in Digital Health 2019

Each year we convene the leading entrepreneurs, investors, technologists, reporters, and providers dedicated to bringing technological advancements to healthcare and recognize their work from the past year at the Top 50 in Digital Health Dinner hosted by Rock Health, Fenwick & West, Goldman Sachs, and Square 1 Bank.

Within the Top 50, a number of individuals and organizations are honored through public nominations and votes from the digital health community for making exceptional progress in driving resources, attention, and innovation toward a massively better healthcare system. From a commitment to hiring diverse talent to writing policy that incentivizes innovation to investing in new ideas, we want to recognize the people and organizations making digital health thrive. Today, we’re excited to announce the winners of the Top 50 in Digital Health.

Disruptive Founder of the Year

Sean Duffy, Omada Health

Sean Duffy is the Co-founder and CEO of Omada Health, a pioneer in digital behavioral medicine that has developed a new approach to tackling the growing epidemic of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Their online, value-based programs combine world-class science, technology, and design to inspire and enable people everywhere to live free of chronic disease.

Reporter of the Year

Rebecca Robbins

Rebecca Robbins covers the life sciences industry for STAT News. She has extensively covered the implications of a wide range of emerging technologies in digital health, including genetic testing and how it relates to data privacy and society and culture broadly, the cost and value of precision medicine, and the broad intersections between healthcare, business, and technology.

Best Digital Health Evangelist

Atul Gawande, MD

Dr. Atul Gawande is a surgeon, writer, public health leader, and now CEO of the new non-profit-seeking health care venture formed by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase. He is the founding executive director and chairman of Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation, and chairman of Lifebox, a nonprofit organization making surgery safer globally. As a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine and the author of several best-selling books, he is an established thought leader on the future of healthcare.

Digital Health’s Biggest DC Champion

Mandy Cohen, MD

Dr. Mandy Cohen is the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. She’s being recognized for her work to pass the nation’s first Medicaid waiver, which incorporates social determinants of health—and for transitioning North Carolina’s Medicaid program to a managed-care model, which has resulted in a number of startups entering the state.

Digital Health’s Most Beloved CEO

Robbie Cape, 98point6

Robbie Cape, Co-founder and CEO of 98point6, maintains a 100% approval rating on Glassdoor for his dedication to building a collaborative, mission-driven culture. Under Robbie’s leadership, the company has developed a thoughtful set of core values that are foundational in decision making across the company, creating an atmosphere that welcomes innovation and celebrates the power of collaboration.

Most Tech-Friendly Provider

Renee Dua, MD

Dr. Renee Dua is Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Heal, a technology-enabled doctor house call company. At Heal, she guided the development of a proprietary technology to alert doctors at the point of care about risk factors and care gaps relevant to each patient. Her penchant for thorough, quality care paired with the development of novel technology platforms has empowered the 100+ doctors working for Heal to deliver modern care. Dr. Dua is board certified in nephrology, internal medicine and hypertension, and maintains her private practice in nephrology.

Best New Startup

Suki

Suki is an artificial intelligence-powered, voice-enabled digital assistant that helps doctors focus on taking care of patients. Using voice commands from a physician to create a clinically accurate note which is then pushed to an EHR system, early indications show physicians who use Suki reduce the time spent on medical notes by 70%.

Digital Health Startup To Watch

Oscar Health

In just under six years, the first consumer-focused, technology-driven health insurance company has grown from a small New York-based startup to a $3.2B company with a nationwide footprint. In 2018, Oscar Health offered plans in six states and enrolled 250K members—a 250% increase in membership over 2017. Oscar currently offers individual and small group plans, and will expand to Medicare Advantage in 2020.

Best Digital Health Company To Work For

Solv

The team at Solv has thoughtfully created a work culture inspired by their mission of simplifying healthcare with a mobile-first digital health platform that enables convenient, quality healthcare for millions of people. Led by Co-founder and CEO Heather Fernandez, Solv has a 5.0 rating on Glassdoor and is committed to building a business they can be proud of as they continue to grow.

Diversity And Inclusion Leadership Award

Cityblock Health

Cityblock Health has made inclusion front and center of everything they do as a company. The team at Cityblock understands building a diverse team is critical to helping them build a new model for community health—one that reflects the diverse population they serve. This focus on diversity comes from the top: the leadership team is composed of individuals of varying genders and ethnicities, and has been reporting diversity stats to their board since the first meeting.

Nonprofit of the Year

Dignity Health

Dignity Health provides health care to communities at more than 40 hospitals and care centers in AZ, CA, and NV. And while not everyone may live near a major medical facility, Dignity Health is leveraging technology to bring resources closer to where people live and work. Dignity Health and UCSF Health are collaborating to develop a state-of-the-art digital engagement platform to provide information and access to patients when and where they need it as they navigate primary, preventive, and specialty care.

Most Prolific VC

Founders Fund

Founders Fund is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm investing in science and technology companies solving difficult problems. In 2018, Founders Fund contributed to several funding rounds of leading healthcare technology companies, including Neurotrack, Virta Health, Siren Care, Hims, and others.

Most Prolific Corporate VC

Google Ventures

Launched as Google Ventures in 2009, GV is the venture capital arm of Alphabet, Inc. that has invested in more than 300 companies in the fields of life science, healthcare, artificial intelligence, robotics, transportation, cybersecurity, and agriculture. In 2018, Google Ventures participated in funding rounds of healthcare startups including Collective Health, DNAexus, Quartet Health, Verana Health, and more.

Best Designed Product

Apple Watch Series 4

With an FDA-cleared electrocardiogram (ECG) feature, fall detection, and Emergency SOS, the Apple Watch Series 4 goes beyond simply tracking activity and calories burned. This version of the Apple Watch was fundamentally redesigned and re-engineered to help wearers improve and monitor their health by staying connected to their bodies.

On behalf of Rock Health, Fenwick & West, Goldman Sachs, and Square 1 Bank, congratulations to this year’s honorees! We are humbled to work alongside you and thank you for your contributions to digital health. Learn more about the Top 50 in Digital Health here.