Who are the startups disrupting the health industry and empowering individuals to look after themselves?

Here we look at five startups representing this paradigm shift in focus and showing the scope and range of innovation.

MeeDoc

A digital healthcare service that lets you consult a local doctor within minutes via a mobile device. Patients can have a consultation and get qualified medical advice, organize prescriptions and get treated anywhere in Europe.

Arsi Hyvärinen, MeeDoc’s managing director of UK and Ireland, explains: “Healthcare remains one of the last bastions where digitalization has not really had any effect on the core service delivery method. We still visit the GP the same way we did 100 years ago. At the same time we have the tools in our pocket to disrupt this behavior and provide better and easier healthcare for the masses.”

The app uses messages and video calls to connect patient to doctor, and due to the sensitive nature of exchanges, enlists military-grade encryptions to keep information safe.

“Many countries with free or affordable healthcare struggle to maintain a high standard of healthcare as demand for services are increasing due to aging populations. We offer a quick and convenient remedy for non-critical cases that would otherwise crowd out GP surgeries or A&Es, as patients using MeeDoc don’t need to leave their homes to receive a consultation. Similarly, doctors can treat a higher number of patients. As a result, medical services become more accessible and available. One could say we aim to democratize healthcare,” Hyvärinen adds.

MySugr

Another consumer-facing app but, like many other health disruptors, with the aim of tackling the problems of living with a specific disease. Based in Austria and launched in 2012, the service specializes in app-based care for people with diabetes. It’s backed by the Austrian Economic Service (a national development and financing bank), business angel Hansi Hansmann, XLhealth, Roche Ventures, and Iseed Ventures.

The business has created an ecosystem of mobile and desktop apps that help diabetes sufferers with services dedicated to different needs.

The MySugr Logbook, which is now a registered risk class 1 medical device in the US and EU, uses Bluetooth to allow people to transfer blood glucose readings instantly via Bluetooth. In other apps, new experiences facilitate the data from the Logbook to help make tracking and analyzing data easy, allowing people to make faster and smarter decisions about their health.

MySugr’s communications lead Scott Johnson says: “People with diabetes deserve apps that are as beautiful and well crafted as anything on the market, and that wasn’t the case until mySugr was created, taking one of the most boring (but necessary) parts of diabetes—data management—and making it beautiful, engaging, and useful.”

Viscira

Viscira disrupts from a slightly different angle and is best described as a full-service digital marketing and technology firm with an exclusive focus on the life sciences industry.

The agency uses its expertise in health, via a medical advisory board, to help brands navigate an industry that is increasingly competitive and highly regulated. It also builds its own technology and software, including an online speaker platform and interactive sales aid software.

If consumer-facing apps like Meedoc and MySugr are democratizing and simplifying processes, businesses like Viscira are doing the same but between brands and decision-makers. A key part of this is making the exchange of information much more visual and immersive. One of Viscira’s services, Vilumina, uses a Hollywood-quality production studio to create innovative Vilumina KOL video, which the company believes can drive audience engagement with a mix of live action and animation.

Noël Ashekian, marketing communications manager for Viscira, explains: “We constantly look for new technologies which we can augment and adapt for use within the life science space. Examples include technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality, POV animation, and our patent-pending QuickFlip technology for tablet devices.

“A key focus for the company is technology R&D. The company typically spends between 10 and 12 per cent of its revenue on R&D activities and has several patents pending. This enables us to continually develop new products and solutions that help our clients communicate with their target audiences, including healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers,” he says.

Catalia Health

Here is another consumer-facing service but, rather than being mobile or desktop-based, the service exists in a digital companion form. The Mabu is a cute-looking robot that learns about a patient and helps them take the right medication at the right time.

The robot learns personality, interests and treatment challenges over time through conversations tailored to each patient. According to Catalia Heath, these are based on proven behavioral models of psychology to promote behavior change. It says that unlike apps that are usually used for only a short period of time, patients continue to use the Mabu personal healthcare companion. This allows Mabu to have conversations with patients every day to manage their treatment and gather data about their progress.

A key thread running through the startups is data, and for Catalia Health the end goal of using the data collected by Mabu will be to understand patients better over time. In addition to building up a model of the patient’s personality and unique treatment circumstances, the Catalia Health Platform is cloud-based, and can provide doctors with real-time data about each patient.

Procrit

Tens of thousands of people suffer anemia as well as terminal cancer, severe kidney disease or HIV each year. Drug brand Procrit has been helping these patients for a quarter of a century by boosting their red blood cell count.

These patients are in constant need of health monitoring to ensure their day-to-day survival. In order to heighten that support, Procrit commissioned the development of a health-view app that would allow users to collect and manage their data.

The iOS app, created by Sudler & Hennessy and digital innovation company RockFish, allows users to track their health, with the resulting data then shared with their healthcare providers.

The app monitors heart rate, sleep, supplements, blood pressure, energy levels, headaches, shortness of breath, and a number of other vital signs and ailments that are a constant focus for sufferers.

These readings then generate graphs and tables to allow users and healthcare providers to compare their health levels.

Alert notices can also be sent to healthcare professionals, triggered by any alarming measurements, with the app linking to Apple HealthKit and also syncing with Apple Watch and other wearable devices.

It is a powerful example of mobile technology successfully improving the lives of users and reinvigorating the brand at the same time.