A new wave of ideas and leadership - why HealthXL is launching the Digital Health in Oncology Community

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Digital tools are beginning to have a real impact on cancer patient outcomes. Now is the time to come together as a community to accelerate innovation.

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In February, HealthXL began a conversation with several healthcare trailblazers focused on where digital health solutions could have the greatest impact on cancer patients' lives. 

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While the outcomes for people diagnosed with cancer have transformed over the past few decades, that discussion illustrated that we have the potential to do a lot more.  

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The way people interact with healthcare is changing, with digital technology adding new avenues to empower clinicians and patients to monitor and manage their health. Oncology is an area ripe for discussion, as we have seen growing interest in using digital tools to help cancer patients to monitor, report and manage their symptoms and treatment while maintaining the highest possible quality of life. 

That is why we are launching our Digital Health in Oncology community.

There are many pain points along the patient journey where Digital Health can play a role. By harnessing the power of the community, we can accelerate how we use information and technology in a compelling way that delivers better patient outcomes and quality of life. 

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Among the key takeaways from our meeting last month was an increasing emphasis on where patient support can improve quality of life. 

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Aside from the disease itself, oncology patients deal with mental health issues and side effects. This is an area where digital health solutions can, and do, make a difference. However, the adoption and integration of solutions truly focused on quality of life is still lacking. 

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Our discussion also examined where long-term monitoring could potentially improve overall survival by preventing complications, improving the preparation of chemo sessions, and early relapse detection. 

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Although gathering evidence is challenging, we have already seen promising studies showing positive outcomes. 

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Given the prevalence of cancer as a disease, the clinical need for focusing on improving patient outcomes is an easy argument to make. There is also a clear commercial drive, as investment into innovation is increasing and digital health companies working in oncology are attracting significant investment.

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In 2022 to date, we have seen the likes of New York-based cancer care coordination and experience startup Jasper Health raise $25 million in Series A funding led by General Catalyst. TrialJectory, which matches cancer patients to clinical trials, also recently announced it had raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Insight Partners. 

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As a community, we will explore opportunities in the status quo of management of cancer patients, and their diagnosis and treatment with the use of digital health. This community will share perspectives on relevant use cases, business models, partnership opportunities, investments, adoption, payment models, regulation and evidence generation.

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Over the next month, we will be showcasing innovation, looking at implementation and adoption, and examining digital health partnerships. We hope that you will join the community to work together to meet the needs of the patient and the sector as we expand the conversation. 

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