Olive exaggerates cost savings; Happify Health reports DTx curbs anxiety in psoriasis patients; and other digital health briefs

Also, Oura and Truepill make announcements.
By MobiHealthNews
02:45 pm
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Photo: Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images 

Axios'  Erin Brodwin published a new investigation which discovered healthcare automation startup Olive is exaggerating its capabilities and only uses "rough estimations" to gauge its cost savings. According to the report, Olive, which promises health systems cost savings, is only tracking savings if a client requests it. The report also highlighted Olive employees' concerns about how the company handles patient health information. 

This report comes less than a year after the company closed a whopping $400 million investment round, which brought its valuation to $4 billion. 


Digital therapeutic company Happify released results of its real-world psoriasis data analysis. Researchers found that patients with psoriasis who completed 16 Happify activities within a minimum of six weeks reported a 27% reduction in anxiety symptoms and a 27% boost in subjective wellbeing.

Meanwhile, the study reports that individuals who completed less than 16 activities improved their wellbeing score by 4.11% and reduced their anxiety score by 8.15%. 

The research was conducted by Happify Health and is not yet published in an academic journal.


Oura, maker of a ring health-tracking wearable, announced earlier this week its valuation had reached $2.55 billion. 

Though the company didn't release further details, a spokesperson told MobiHealthNews it had raised an "oversubscribed" funding round. Oura said the new investment will go toward research and development, personalized content and product innovation.

The startup most recently scooped up $100 million in Series C financing in May 2021. 

Oura revealed its Oura Ring Generation 3 in October. The wearable maker said workout heart rate monitoring, blood-oxygen sensing and an improved sleep algorithm will be added to the new wearable later in 2022. 


Digital pharmacy and telehealth startup Truepill is partnering with COVID-19 testing company Curative to offer patients access to Truepill's COVID-19 virtual care platform.

When a customer tests positive at one of Curative's testing sites, they can receive telehealth consults and antiviral medications through the platform if eligible. Truepill announced its COVID-19-focused virtual care offering in early December

This isn't Truepill's only virtual tool aimed at managing the pandemic. In January, it launched a test coverage platform to assist payers in developing their own direct-to-consumer test-purchasing sites, with Truepill fulfilling and shipping orders. In March 2021, the company rolled out a suite of diagnostics, medication delivery and contact-tracing tools for the employer market. 

"Access, speed and scale are essential to any COVID-19 response, and this is especially true when it comes to the distribution of antiviral medications," Truepill CEO and cofounder Sid Viswanathan said in a statement.

"We're thrilled to partner with diagnostic testing leader Curative to provide an end-to-end, white-labeled virtual care experience that enables efficient, streamlined access to treatment."

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