I’ve got a raft of news to cover this week, but before we jump into the news, I wanted to surface our upcoming live events for paid and free subscribers. We will keep adding events in the coming months.
Webinar Topic | Timing | Registration |
Employers vs. Rising Healthcare Costs: Strategies for Employers to Cut Costs Without Cutting Care | Sept 4 | Anyone can sign up here |
Leading companies as the media landscape changes: Thinking about PR in a world of independent journalism (in partnership with Hospitalogy) | Sept 8 | Paid subscribers can sign up here |
In theory, August should be a slow month. But it has been feeling like anything but for the health-tech industry. On the personal front, I will be publishing my first book six weeks from now on September 23. The topic is on the power of storytelling in business, drawing upon my experience as both a journalism and venture capital investor. If you’d like to get involved in co-hosting a book party, let us know! If you’d like to pre-order a copy of the book, which is a VERY BIG DEAL for authors, you can do so here with the discount code Farr20.
Back to healthcare. I have a lot of friends in the industry grappling with the question of the impact of the Medicaid cuts, particularly on health systems. Meanwhile, there are tailwinds for both AI and telehealth, which may bolster access to lower acuity, primary care. And yet, it remains very concerning to hear that many health systems are considering closing their emergency rooms. That will put even more pressure on those that remain.
There continues to be a lot of enthusiasm about the longevity space, but also big questions swirling about whether health optimization has gone too far. All the fascinating public health research around the Blue Zones, which are the parts of the world where people tend to live longer, point to the importance of social activities and community. Are we moving into a lonelier version of life where we communicate with chatbots and avoid all foods and beverages that might lead to a less than perfect night of sleep? Or will we all be setting timers to remind us to eat because of GLP-1s? There may be some benefits to that but we have seen examples of late of over-optimization, so much so that life becomes far less fun.
Lastly, Epic Systems’ User Group Meeting (UGM) is around the corner, and there’s lots of rumors about what to expect from the EHR giant. No one in our networks would be surprised to see Epic move into the ambient scribing space after partnering with companies like Abridge. The big question with ambient scribing is: If this technology becomes a commodity, what’s next? We’re personally fascinated by the opportunity to support providers with inbox management. Another area that continues to attract big dollars is revenue cycle management. But how do we avoid more upcoding and ensure that we’re investing in tools that can improve efficiency and reduce waste? These are some topics that I want to dig into over the next several weeks.
A quick message from a sponsor, the awesome team at Academy Health who has an upcoming conference in DC.
How do we move from big ideas to real-world impact? Find out at AcademyHealth’s 2025 Health Datapalooza, Sept. 4-5 in Washington, D.C. Health care’s doers and disruptors will dig into this year’s theme: Innovation Unfiltered: Evidence, Value, and the Real-World Journey of Transforming Health Care. Register here to join the conversation.
And onto the news…
Linda Yaccarino is eMed’s new CEO
What’s been reported: Only weeks after leaving her post as CEO of X, Linda Yaccarino is making a pivot to healthcare, becoming the CEO of eMed. The company is working on a platform to deliver GLP-1 drugs.
The resume: Yaccarino has no experience in health care or pharma, but was chosen for her ability to “forge game-changing partnerships and navigate complex markets.” Having spent the past few years working at X, we can’t deny that she’s been through some ups and downs.
What Yaccarino said: The healthcare and pharmaceutical industry have been careful to highlight that GLP-1s are medications, not a lifestyle choice, but eMed’s new CEO is saying the quiet part out loud. “There is an opportunity to combine technology, lifestyle, and data,” she said in a statement of what she sees as the potential for eMed, saying a healthcare leader has the opportunity to redefine the industry.
Expert POV: There’s a whole lot of competition when it comes to companies selling GLP-1s online, so it’ll really be a question of whether companies can throw sufficient marketing dollars at the problem. Where it gets interesting, in our opinion, is where these GLP-1s are part of metabolic health programs that payers are willing to subsidize. We may see more of that in the future as the ROI gets more clear and cost savings more immediate. According to one opinion column this week in WSJ, pharmaceutical industry expert Stephen Buck argued that these drugs may even start to pay for themselves.
Meta violated user privacy using Flo Health data for ads
Leaking: Period tracking and fertility app Flo Health shared its users’ reproductive health data with several companies, including Google and Meta, which in turn used it to deliver targeted ads. The other companies involved, including Flo Health, settled the class action, which was brought on by 38 million women, while Meta went to court and was found guilty of using the data.
The fine: Meta may have to pay up to $190 billion in damages, up to $5,000 per violation.