OSF Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare, has announced the closing of its sophomore venture capital fund of $75M. The sophomore fund will focus on investing in new technology, devices, and services that offer improved and more cost-efficient healthcare.Investment PhilosophyOSF focuses on investing in companies seeking funding at all post-seed stages and has invested primarily in Series A and B rounds. In addition, OSF Ventures is open to
Read More
Centene Leads $60M Round for Behavioral Health Platform Quartet
Quartet, an NYC-based innovative healthcare technology and services company has announced a strategic partnership with Centene Corporation to ensure the most vulnerable populations have access to mental healthcare. In addition, Quartet has raised $60 million in Series D funding led by Centene Corporation, and returning investors F-Prime Capital Partners, GV (formerly Google Ventures), Oak HC/FT, and Polaris Partners. The latest round brings total funding raised to date to $153M.Growing Focus on
Read More
Telepsychiatry Improves Access to Mental Healthcare in Rural Areas, Study Finds
A new study by Genoa Healthcare and Relias found that combining telepsychiatry with in-person visits improved the timeliness of care and increased the number of regular psychiatric appointments for people with severe mental illness in non-metropolitan areas where provider resources tend to be scarce. Study Key FindingsRecently published in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Rural Mental Health, the peer-reviewed study analyzed data from 242 Medicaid patients in rural Missouri
Read More
Is Specialization a Contributing Factor to Deteriorating Mental Health Care?
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." - Robert A. HeinleinIn almost every walk of life, we worship at the altar of specific expertise. It
Read More
Can Telemedicine Transform the Mental Health Care Delivery Model?
People who suffer from mental illness not only struggle with their condition, but oftentimes struggle to get care. This is especially concerning when you consider that mental illness affects 1 in 5 people or 43 million in the US and that number is growing.1 These individuals stand to benefit from behavioral health counseling and support, but unfortunately their need is met with a shortage of mental health professionals. In fact, according to the U.S. Health Resources and Services
Read More
Parity Not Apparent: Mental Health Still Not Receiving Equal Attention
Getting legislation through Congress—often a monumental battle, as demonstrated by recent efforts to pass the American Health Care Act—is one thing. But implementing new laws may be a greater challenge simply because they require so much sustained energy and attention.Take mental health parity laws, for example.Congress passed the Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA) championed by Sens. Paul Wellstone (D-MN) and Pete Domenici (R-NM) in 1996. The law prohibits employee-sponsored group health plans
Read More
Can Mobile Health Apps Transform Mental Health Care?
Any conversation focused on what’s great about America usually includes a mention of optimism, hopefulness or some variation on the theme.
Americans generally still believe in a brighter future, and especially the ways in which technology can enable that future. But that sense of optimism contains a kernel of potential disappointment when we ask technology to do too much.
Consider the case of mental health care, a profession that faces massive budget shortfalls.
According to Robert
Read More