Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1362166
38 INNOVATION 7 digital health 'unicorn' exits in 2020 By Jackie Drees W ith digital health adoption rates sky- rocketing from the COVID-19 pan- demic, healthcare 'unicorn' activity hit record levels in 2020, according to a March CB Insights report. The digital health space saw seven 'unicorn' com- panies, or private companies valued at more than $1 billion, exit. The exit activity, which is when the company goes public or is acquired, nearly dou- bled the four exits in 2019 and two exits in 2018. Here are the seven digital health unicorns that exited in 2020 and their valuations: • GoodRx: $12.7 billion • Grail: $8 billion • Gan & Lee: $3.6 billion • Cure Vac: $2.8 billion • One Medical: $1.7 billion • Hims & Hers $1.6 billion • Butterfly: $1.5 billion n How Mayo Clinic retooled its idea exploration process: 4 insights from CIO Cris Ross By Jackie Drees W hile the COVID-19 pandemic has been credited as an ac- celerant to virtual care and digital health adoption, the situation has also invoked new decision-making process- es within the health IT realm. At Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, CIO Cris Ross has led numerous health IT initiatives in response to the pandemic. In a Feb. 21 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Ross shared how the health system reinvented its idea exploration process for IT projects. Four insights: 1. Mayo Clinic eliminated its "approval to think about an idea" step from its process for exploring new ideas, Mr. Ross said. 2. This extra step, he explained, required proponents to outline their ideas with enough details to justify getting resources to ex- plore it. However, some good ideas don't always present well on first look, or a proponent might not be able to articulate the case adequately because the ideas haven't been fully formed, he said. 3. By removing this outlining step, Mr. Ross said Mayo streamlined decision-making. "We're basically removing a layer of required docu- mentation before people can begin to look at an idea, allowing them to move ahead, after discussions with management about their ideas." 4. Mr. Ross said the goal of the process is to get ideas workshopped more quickly. n Walgreens rolls out voicebot to help customers schedule vaccine appointments By Jackie Drees W algreens tapped Nuance's artificial in- telligence-powered digital assistant to expand scheduling COVID-19 vaccine appointments for consumers beyond the retail giant's web-based portal. Walgreens customers can call a toll-free number or a Walgreens store and speak to Nuance's con- versational voicebot to get answers to COVID-19 questions, confirm eligibility for vaccination and schedule appointments wherever vaccines are available, according to a March 10 news release. The voicebot also sends the customer a text mes- sage in English or Spanish to confirm appoint- ments after the call. n Philips appoints chief innovation and strategy officer By Katie Adams P hilips named Shez Partovi, MD, its chief innovation and strategy officer, effective March 22. Dr. Partovi will replace Jeroen Tas, who has served in the role since 2017. Mr. Tas will help facilitate Dr. Partovi's transition into the role until July 1. Dr. Partovi most recently worked as Amazon's worldwide head of business development for healthcare, life sciences and medical devices, where he led market strategy, customer cloud transfor- mation, and artificial intelligence and machine learning efforts. Be- fore joining Amazon in 2018, he worked as the chief digital officer and senior vice president of digital transformation at San Francis- co-based Dignity Health. Mr. Tas will take on a part-time position at Philips and will work to develop the company's strategic business growth until the end of 2022. n