#30 - Building the Shopify of digital health - Dan Vahdat - Huma

Impulse - Meeting Healthcare Pioneers

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Dan Vahdat is an emblematic figure and entrepreneur in healthtech.

A visionary we could say, having anticipated the problem of point solutions in the industry, while predicting the essential role smartphones would have in empowering patients to take control of their health.

The company he founded after pausing his PhD, Huma, has pioneered the field of digital health and remote patient monitoring, having been one of the first to successfully deliver digital disease management programs across multiple conditions.

The first to receive regulatory clearance in Europe (IIb) and the US (II) for its configurable disease management platform.

As the firm is nearing the status of “unicorn” in its 13th year and approaching profitability, it’s never been so close to realizing Dan’s vision: augmenting the capacity of health systems at scale while enabling true proactive and predictive care.

Huma’s list of successes is immense: more than 3000 hospitals and clinics supported, 27 million patients served, Winner of the 2022 Prix Galien award for digital health, and the list goes on…

But the Founder’s ambition does not stop there.

In this fascinating episode, Dan explains Huma’s journey toward becoming the “Shopify” of digital health, or in other words, the central infrastructure on which other digital health companies can successfully build disease management programs, more efficiently and at less cost.

In the challenging business of digital health, Dan shares his reflections on what enabled Huma to succeed where many other companies failed.

He explains the approach they took when it comes to fostering patient engagement, addressing healthcare professionals’ needs, and being relentless about building robust clinical and economic evidence.

An inside look into one of the most innovative firms in digital health, and the future of this industry!

Timeline:

• 00:03:04 - Dan’s background from dropping out of his PhD to founding Huma
• 00:06:16 - Huma’s starting point focusing on rare diseases
• 00:08:09 - The Huma platform and how it is changing how we deliver care
• 00:10:56 - Creating the Shopify for digital health
• 00:17:25 - How Huma is improving running decentralized clinical trials
• 00:21:53 - The importance of UX and evidence generation
• 00:24:42 - Making engaging digital health solutions
• 00:28:14 - What excites Dan for digital health’s future
• 00:34:02 - Dan’s reflections on his journey from PhD dropout to Huma’s CEO
• 00:37:40 - Maximizing operational efficiency in a healthtech startup

What we also talked about with Dan:

• Second Opinion
• Peterson Technology Health Institute
• Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
• 23andme
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals

We cited with Dan some of the past episodes of the series:

• #21 - Transforming hypertension care with a bracelet - Jay Shah - Aktiia
• #23 - Disrupting the smart wearables industry - Leo Grünstein - Spiden

This episode was made possible with the support of HLTH Europe!

As mentioned by Dan during the episode, you can join the waitlist for the Huma Cloud Platform here. You will find on their website more information about their latest news and research.

You can follow Huma’s activities on LinkedIn and X, and get in touch with Dan via LinkedIn.

If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email!

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