078 - Prevention is Not New, Incentives in Health Care, and Integrated Combination Products with Ramin Rafiei

Let's Combinate · 29 Mar 2023 · 42m

What this episode covers

Dr. Ramin Rafiei, CEO of Unleash Health and co-founder of Reformulate Health, discusses the evolution of combination products from simple drug-device pairs to integrated 'intervention plus prevention' systems. He critiques the failure of early digital health solutions like Proteus, which prioritized technology over user experience, and explains how Unleash Health leverages consumer brands (e.g., Nike, Lululemon) to drive preventative health through 'prevention as a service.' Rafiei highlights the perverse incentives in the current medical economy that favor reactive treatment over proactive wellness, arguing that aligning consumer brand incentives with health outcomes is key to scaling prevention.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Global Medical Device Podcast · 47m

    #375: Direct to Consumer - The Future of Healthcare

    Dr. Gail Lebovic, founder of Silicon Valley Innovations, explains how her company pivoted from a traditional clinical reimbursement strategy to a direct-to-consumer model for its nasal health product, Nasoclenz, during the COVID-19 pandemic. She details the decision to sell on Amazon, the importance of maintaining rigorous FDA-registered quality systems for consumer products, and the broader shift in healthcare toward prevention and patient empowerment. Lebovic also discusses her upcoming work in feminine healthcare and her advice for MedTech entrepreneurs on flexibility and risk management.

  • Global Medical Device Podcast · 48m

    The Future of Healthcare & How We Get There

    Daniel Kraft, a physician-scientist and founder of Exponential Medicine and NextMed.Health, discusses the transition from reactive 'sick care' to proactive, continuous healthcare driven by digital health integration. He advocates for connecting disparate medical devices, wearables, and data sources to create holistic patient views, enabling personalized interventions and better clinical outcomes. Kraft highlights the importance of cross-industry collaboration, citing examples like using video game mechanics for mental health and 3D-printed personalized pills, while urging clinicians and developers to adopt new technologies and share data to accelerate innovation.

  • The Hardware Entrepreneur · 39m

    #028 - Meet the creators of FitBit for medication, with Peter Havas of PillDrill, USA

    Peter Havas, co-founder and CEO of PillDrill, discusses his journey from a successful food-tech startup to creating a medication management system inspired by the Fitbit. He explains how PillDrill’s design principles of simplicity, flexibility, and dignity address the psychological stigma of medication, while leveraging a direct-to-consumer strategy to gather critical user feedback. Havas also details his reliance on the Brinc accelerator for manufacturing connections in Shenzhen and his philosophy on managing startup risks and investor relationships.

  • IoT For All Podcast · 26m

    Living Longer and Healthier With IoT | Jabil's Brad Womble | Internet of Things Podcast

    Brad Womble, Senior Director of Strategy at Jabil, discusses the convergence of IoT, AI, and digital twins in healthcare, specifically focusing on the Internet of Medical Things (IOMT). He explains how wearable devices like the Whoop band and Apple Watch collect data to create patient digital twins that offer personalized wellness guidance and early disease detection. The conversation highlights the challenge of data silos between competing medical device platforms and the potential for decentralized clinical trials and longevity medicine to reduce healthcare costs.

  • Being an Engineer · 51m

    S2E13 Relentless Empathy & Going Deep On Understanding The Problem | Ryan Eder

    Ryan Eder, Founder and CEO of Include Health, explains how his senior thesis project, the Access Strength Machine, evolved into a hardware-agnostic digital health platform. He details his process of 'relentless empathy,' which involved renting a wheelchair and visiting gyms to understand the barriers faced by disabled users, leading to a gold-winning design. Eder describes the transition from a proprietary physical machine to an IoT sensor system that digitizes existing fitness equipment, addressing both physical and administrative barriers in healthcare. The episode highlights the challenges of integrating software into clinical workflows and the strategic decision to make the technology compatible with third-party hardware to scale impact.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Let's Combinate. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.