Mario covers technology in health care, including FDA regulation of artificial intelligence; how Medicare pays for health tech; the use of AI in clinical care; mental health chatbots; and consumer wearables. He’s also the co-author of the free, twice weekly STAT Health Tech newsletter. You can reach Mario on Signal at mariojoze.13.Cadence, a digital health company that cares for patients with chronic conditions, has raised $100 million as it seeks to expand its footprint and automate the work of its clinicians with artificial intelligence.
The new investment, led by Spark Capital, values Cadence at $1.23 billion and finds the company at a crossroads. Cadence’s core billing model, in which it charges insurers monthly for remote monitoring of patients, has come under scrutiny from the federal health department’s watchdog and from insurers, including UnitedHealthcare. Critics argue that the reimbursement framework is ripe for abuse and may support low-quality care.
That model currently supports a bulk of Cadence’s work with over 20 health system customers that refer patients to the company’s chronic disease management programs. Cadence uses devices such as blood pressure cuffs and an army of hundreds of clinicians to monitor and care for patients with hypertension, diabetes, and heart failure. But the foundation of Cadence’s business may change entirely with a large investment in AI. The company currently manages over 100,000 patients, and CEO and founder Chris Altchek hopes to “take it to the next level,” by automating a chunk of the human work.
