Hanna Helms
Hanna Helms is a manager with AVIA’s Center for Care Transformation which focuses on population health, specialty care, and health equity. Recently, she led the behavioral health and substance use disorder initiatives of the Medicaid Transformation Project. In her role, she conducts extensive research and due diligence on digital health solutions, interfaces with health system leadership to develop strategy and business plans for implementing digital solutions, and leads project management efforts across multiple engagements. Prior to AVIA, she worked at the Advisory Board on their health IT research team.
MedCity News
Grifols reaches across the Atlantic and shells out $450M in a pair of M&A deals
Grifols s acquisition of GigaGen comes as the startup s Covid-19 antibody drug is set to start Phase 1 testing. Barcelona-based Grifols says GigaGen’s technology could also help it expand to engineered antibody therapies.
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Plasma is the lifeblood of Grifols, serving as the raw material for the biological medicines that generate most of the company’s revenue. But the Barcelona-based firm has eyed expansion beyond plasma-derived products and its acquisition of GigaGen offers the company the opportunity to add antibody drugs to its pipeline.
Paying close attention to social determinants of health, like ability to drive or proximity to a grocery store, can also help predict who is at highest risk of being food insecure which, in turn, can help a plan know which resources to offer to those members.
MedCity News
Cognito looks to light, sound for potential Alzheimer’s treatment
Digital health startup Cognito shared results of a Phase 2 trial of its device, intended to treat Alzheimer’s disease using gamma frequency light and sound. Based on the results, it plans to launch a pivotal study of the treatment.
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In a sea of failed Alzheimer’s treatments, a digital health startup is hoping to find answers in a noninvasive treatment using light and sound.
Cognito was founded by MIT Professors Li-Huei Tsai and Ed Boyden. The company was spun out of research where they found they could reduce amyloid plaques in mice by exposing them to light flickering at a certain frequency. Now, they’re seeing if the treatment holds promise for Alzheimer’s patients.
MedCity News
The mounting behavioral health crisis is our next pandemic
Covid-19 will continue to illuminate the behavioral health crisis, but effective use of digital solutions can drive clinical innovation and expand access to care.
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“We know we have an intense need. Behavioral health is the next pandemic.” This is how an IT leader at a large health system recently opened a conversation about 2021 goals. Two things struck me: addressing the behavioral health crisis is a rising priority across organizations, and IT leaders are folding behavioral healthcare into their system-wide digital transformations.
Prior to Covid-19, the gap between behavioral health supply and demand was staggering. In 2018, only 43% of adults with mental health needs were able to receive services for all necessary conditions. And it’s only gotten worse. Data from mid-July showed that 53% of adults in the United States reported that the pandemic has negatively impacted their mental health.