Want to launch the next big idea in health-tech? It takes a village

It’s a problem that vexes many doctors: patients with serious chronic conditions who can’t seem to make the lifestyle changes they need to get better.

Dr. Carl Brandt, a GP practicing in Southern Denmark, experienced that frustration watching his patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a breathing disorder, continue to reach for the cigarettes that caused their condition in the first place. 

But then he discovered something which led to a much-publicized paper in the medical journal The Lancet: When patients were told they had “smoker’s lung,” rather than “chronic obstructive lung disease,” they were twice as likely to stop smoking after their diagnosis and to continue to abstain one year later.

That fundamental idea—of delivering medical information in easily understandable, consumer-friendly terms—led Brandt to start his first entrepreneurial venture, NetDoktor, in 1999. The site remains one of the largest health information portals in Europe. And it continues to shape the thinking behind his most recent company, Liva Healthcare, a digital-coaching platform for people with chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

Founded in 2015, Liva has grown in the UK and Denmark through partnerships with the national health systems in those countries. Expansion plans in Sweden are also on the roadmap. 

Doctors are trained to decipher the reams of information that comes from patients: their health histories, lab results, imaging tests, physical exams and so on. But the idea that doctors should be proficient in how to communicate that information back to patients began gaining ground only as recently as the 1980s when the United Kingdom’s General Medical Council advocated for this type of training. Medical schools in the United States started following suit shortly thereafter.

Yet many patients are still dissatisfied with their doctor’s communication skills, even as doctors tend to overestimate their abilities, studies have found.

Liva is designed to fill in the gaps when patients leave the exam room, so they can continue to make behavior and lifestyle modifications in their daily lives.

The company’s strength, according to Brandt, is having a leadership team with a range of skills, not just clinical expertise. Its co-founders include Rune Bech, a journalist who helped publicize Brandt’s earlier paper on smoker’s lung, and Kristopher From, whose background is in human physiology. 

Those different skill sets help create an experience that can meet patients where they are, regardless of their lifestyles or education levels. Liva, for instance, is full of gamefication elements to encourage individuals to make healthier choices. 

Where Brandt’s medical background comes into play is when it comes to the importance of collecting data and testing against it. While the internet has democratized access to information, it has also made it easier for people to find misleading or even harmful health advice. 

The number of digital health apps has proliferated in recent years, with one report suggesting that as many as 200 new digital health apps per day were being added to the Apple Store and Google Play.

Yet most of these apps aren’t peer reviewed. And while the majority of these mobile tools fall into the category of general wellness, an increasing number actually target people with specific medical conditions or are intended to be used as part of a doctor’s care plan.

In response to growing concern about accuracy, the UK’s National Health Service has undertaken an ambitious plan to provide more validation to patients and doctors.

Liva is currently one of about six-dozen digital health platforms listed in the NHS’ app library, which was launched in 2017 as part of its larger initiative to help people make informed decisions about the digital health tools they use. To gain inclusion in the NHS’ app library, Liva has been reporting data every six months from an ongoing clinical trial with 1,000 patients.  

The company also has partnerships to participate in at least two NHS initiatives: a diabetes prevention program as well as a healthy aging program.   

Brandt’s medical background has also given him insight on a physician’s workflow. A grant in Denmark, for instance, allows Liva to send data directly into a patient’s electronic medical record.

Liva is also trying to distinguish itself from other apps by simplifying the tracking process: Users can record their food intake by taking photos of their meals, for example, and doctors can get real-time data on how many steps their patients take each day.

“You don’t need a college education for users,” Brandt said. “Sometimes clinicians forget that patients aren’t necessarily like you.”