Today In Healthcare: VC Sinks Big Bucks Into Startups; Telehealth Providers Turn To AI

Today in healthcare, HC startups have raised almost $15 billion in venture capital funding this year and UnitedHealth has strong Q2. Plus, telemedicine is turning to AI to solve its privacy problems and consumers need a digital component as part of their in-person healthcare experiences.

Healthcare Startups Have Raised $15B In VC Funding This Year

Startups in the digital healthcare space have raked in $14.7 billion in the first half of this year from venture capital firms, topping the $14.6 billion in healthcare investments by VCs in all of 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday (July 15), citing data from Rock Health.

Optum’s Tech-Enabled Services Boost UnitedHealth Q2 Earnings

Optum’s revenue rose 17 percent to $38.3 billion, accounting for more than half of UnitedHealth’s total sales of $71 billion for the three months ending June 30, according to the firm’s Thursday (July 15) earnings release.

Healthcare Providers Use AI To Solve Telemedicine’s Privacy Problem

PYMNTS’ June/July Future of Identity report shows that healthcare providers are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to solve the privacy problem that’s been triggered by the increased use of telemedicine services since the pandemic began early in 2020.

Consumers Demand Digital Component To In-Person Healthcare Experience

In PYMNTS’ “Connected Healthcare: What Patients Want from Their Healthcare Customer Experiences,” a collaboration with Rectangle Health, respondents say they want to be able to review their medical histories, fill out medical forms, communicate with medical professionals and pay bills online more than ever, although an overwhelming 78 percent say they prefer in-person appointments to virtual ones.

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