Clearwave acquires Odoro, Vitality Group adds DarioHealth to its benefits marketplace and more digital health deals

Digital check-in, insurance eligibility and automated patient collections technology company Clearwave today announced that it has purchased Odoro, the maker of a patient-scheduling and check-in tool. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal, but said that they plan to integrate Odoro’s scheduling technology into Clearwave’s platform so that both the patient and practice can understand which services will be covered prior to the appointment.

“Healthcare is seeing a dramatic transformation, due in large part to the challenges brought on by COVID-19,” Ohad Ranen, cofounder and CEO of Odoro, said in a statement. “Practices and facilities are using this moment to revisit their current systems and processes and identify opportunities to provide a better, more cohesive and more reassuring experience for their patients. We believe the combination of Clearwave and Odoro is exactly what the industry needs for this transformation, and we look forward to working with our customers to achieve new levels of efficiency, cost savings, and patient engagement and satisfaction.”

Vitality Group, a firm providing wellness and behavior change programs to employer and health plan customers, has added DarioHealth‘s digital chronic condition management tools to its Gateway Flex benefits marketplace. The move follows a partnership between the two companies that kicked off back in March, which aimed to improve Dario’s presence in the self-insured employer market.

“While we were developing our Gateway Flex offering, we rigorously vetted a number of digital therapeutics providers before selecting DarioHealth,” Tal Gilbert, CEO of Vitality USA, said in a statement. “In this new business environment, more employees than ever before are working remotely and will be doing so for the foreseeable future. We believe Gateway Flex fills a significant need for companies and their employees by identifying only those applications that will most impact an individual’s health without the ‘one size fits all’ approach offered by many of our peers.”

Livongo‘s diabetes offering will soon be coming to certain Florida Blue members, thanks to a new deal between the chronic disease management company and the plan’s parent company, GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation. These members will be able to enroll through Florida Blue’s Onlife Health platform.

According to the companies, the deal was facilitated by Teladoc Health, which already worked with Florida Blue and in August announced plans to merge with Livongo. The new deal is among the first examples of Teladoc and Livongo integrating and delivering their offerings side-by-side for “whole person” care.

“Livongo is proud to partner with Florida Blue to provide our consumer-centric virtual care solutions to Florida Blue Members,” Glen Tullman, Livongo founder and executive chairman, said in a statement. “By leveraging our recently signed reseller agreement with Teladoc Health we were able to accelerate the partnership, and allow Florida Blue to offer much needed services to their most vulnerable populations. This is a great example of how we can combine technology with the empathy so critical to a great health and care experience that meets people where they are and wherever they are.”

Last week telehealth company Amwell and remote examination platform maker Tyto Care announced they would be expanding their partnership by introducing and promoting “exclusive integrations and newly designed workflows and tools.”

To start, the companies will be pairing the TytoHome device, which takes and transmits vitals readings from the home to a remote clinician, with Amwell’s broader telehealth platform. Further, Amwell is set to resell Tyto Care’s devices to its clients, and will be bundling these with additional features like livestream integration through Amwell’s platform.

“As COVID-19 wages on and more patients and providers adopt telehealth, it’s critical that we accelerate the depth of care that can be provided in the home – to keep patients and providers safe,” Roy Schoenberg, president and co-CEO of Amwell, said in a statement. “Our latest integration with Tyto Care will allow providers to clinically come closer than ever before to patients during telehealth encounters, allowing them to see, interact, examine and deliver care in ways that growingly resemble in-person care.”

The U.S.’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has tapped continuous remote-patient-monitoring startup Current Health to assist with understanding the early signs of severe COVID-19 and predicting whether a case will deteriorate. BARDA plans to use patient biomarkers collected using the company’s technology – which collects a range of vitals such as respiratory rate, pulse rate, spirometry, body temperature and more – in its effort to develop and validate COVID-19 severity biomarkers and, as a result, help guide monitoring and treatment.

“Our ultimate goal is to save lives and employing technology such as remote patient monitoring platforms will allow hospitals to preserve capacity for those COVID-19 patients who need escalated care while enabling healthcare providers to offer the necessary care for COVID-19 patients being treated at home,” BARDA Acting Director Gary Disbrow said in a statement.