Omri Shor is CEO of Medisafe, a leading digital health company, helping patients manage their treatment journey. Technology has always been an important part of healthcare, and as a result of the digital transformation caused by Covid-19, we've seen rapid advancements that have significantly improved the way care is being delivered. Now, after years of lagging behind other industries, healthcare is finally seeing a rush of new technologies not only being developed but also meaningfully implemented in clinical, administrative and operational applications--and across different types of organizations--to address many of the issues that have long plagued healthcare. The pandemic also led to patients wanting to become more involved in their healthcare decisions. When patients are more engaged in their healthcare journeys, they generally are more satisfied with the care they receive and have better health outcomes.

Enterprise analytics company Clarify Health has secured $115 million in series C funding to scale its self-service healthcare analytics cloud and business software. Clarify Health combines longitudinal data for more than 300 million "unique patient lives" from government and commercial claims, electronic health records (EHRs) and prescriptions, according to the company. These data can help healthcare professionals manage population health and commercialize pharmaceutical and biotechnology products. "By linking CMS claims data with commercial claims, EHR, prescription and socioeconomic data, our models are trained on large cohorts and a more complete picture of each patient's longitudinal healthcare journey," Clarify Health CEO Jean Drouin, M.D., told Fierce Healthcare. The San Francisco-based company was launched in 2015 and has raised $178 million to date, according to Crunchbase.

Buoy Health, a Boston, MA-based AI-powered healthcare navigation platform, today announced the completion of a $37.5 million Series C funding round. Cigna Ventures and Humana led the funding round and were joined by Optum Ventures, WR Hambrecht Co, and Trustbridge Partners. To date, Buoy has raised $66.5 million. Today, hospitals and insurance companies are increasingly investing in digital health innovations like Buoy to solve problems related to accessing the healthcare system and helping patients to get to the right care setting on the first attempt. Founded in 2014 by a team of doctors and computer scientists working at the Harvard Innovation Laboratory, Buoy Health uses AI technology to provide personalized clinical support the moment an individual has a health concern.

More Americans are seeking technology as part of their healthcare experience, according to UnitedHealthcare's annual survey of consumer sentiment. The survey of 1,008 adults was conducted for United by Engine Insights by phone and supplemental interviews last August, and found that 75 percent of respondents are prepared for this year's open enrollment season, which runs from November 1 to December. Some 37 percent of those surveyed in this year's survey have used the internet or mobile apps to comparison shop for care, up from 14 percent in 2012, according to other United sources. Millennials (50 percent) were the most likely to use comparison-shopping resources. Among all comparison shoppers, 80 percent described the process as "very helpful" or "somewhat helpful," including 39 percent saying the shopping process prompted them to change their healthcare provider, facility, or both.

London and Berlin-based, AI-powered health app maker Ada Health has raised $47 million (40 million euro) in a funding round led by global investment group Access Industries. June Fund, Cumberland VC, and entrepreneur William Tunstall-Pedoe also contributed along with existing investors. Ada Health officially launched its app back in April after a soft launch in late 2016 and six years of research and development. It asks relevant, personalized questions and suggests possible causes for users' symptoms. The company says more than 1.5 million people have used the app since March.