Burda on Healthcare: Rust Never Sleeps. Neither do Healthcare Revolutionaries.

When I was 18, Neil Young and Crazy Horse said rust never sleeps. I took it to mean that something that appears to be superficial and static actually is quietly working below the surface 24/7 to transform itself into something new. Hey, that’s how teenagers thought in 1978.

It’s 2024, and I stand by my interpretation. Especially as the phrase applies to healthcare revolutionaries who are trying to fix all that’s broken with the healthcare system in the U.S.

I’m using this month’s column to briefly update you on three 4sight Health Healthcare Revolutionaries. Since we began our How Healthcare Revolutionaries Think series in February 2021, we’ve gotten inside the heads of 32 people who think differently about the healthcare system than me or you.

Or maybe they do think like me or you. The difference is they’re doing something about it. I just write about them and hope to ride their coattails.

Bruce Brandes

In December 2022, we profiled Bruce Brandes, president of care.ai, an Orlando, Florida-based technology firm that designed an AI-powered, “ambient” software platform for hospitals and nursing homes. You also can listen to a podcast interview with Brandes here.

In August, Stryker, the Kalamazoo, Michigan-based company best known for manufacturing hospital beds, said it was buying care.ai for an undisclosed amount. In the press release announcing the deal, Stryker said, “The acquisition will strengthen Stryker’s growing healthcare IT offering and wirelessly connected medical device portfolio.”

When the deal closed last month, Stryker said, “We welcome the care.ai team to Stryker and look forward to working together to accelerate our digital vision.”

I reached out to Brandes. He said the management team and staff at care.ai are committed long-term to continue their work under Stryker. He said his position of care.ai president is no longer necessary, and his new role “is still being defined.”

“I will be involved full-time to ensure the promises we’ve made to the market broadly, and our clients specifically, are fulfilled,” he said.

Dan Trigub

In February 2023, we profiled Dan Trigub, CEO and co-founder of MedArrive, a New York-based company that deployed a network of EMTs and paramedics, or “field providers,” to give basic healthcare services to people at home. You also can listen to a podcast interview with Trigub here.

In August, MedArrive made what Trigub called a “strategic pivot.” Instead of putting bodies in homes, it’s putting high-tech in homes. It has developed a clinical operations orchestration platform to coordinate care for people who need home care.

“As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, so too must our strategies,” Trigub said in an email to me about the company’s new business model.

The target audience for “ClinOps for healthcare@home” is in-home healthcare providers. Providers can use the platform to manage staffing levels, manage resources and shifts, optimize schedules and routes, and coordinate care with other providers.

MedArrive says it’s looking for “co-development alpha partners” to adopt and scale the platform.

Covering MedArrive’s shift, the publication Digital Health Wire said in a Sept. 23 article, “One of the best ways to get close to the problems of your end users is to spend time in their shoes, and it’s hard to get closer than MedArrive has by actually delivering in-home care. That experience should give MedArrive a leg up on competing platforms if it can help replicate its results with new partners.”

Mark Engelen

In April, we profiled Mark Engelen, CEO and co-founder of a St. Petersburg, Florida-based company called RxLive. RxLive offers a virtual platform through which clinical pharmacists — pharmacists who don’t fill and dispense prescription drugs — become an integral part of a patient’s care team. Clinical pharmacists work with other clinicians to manage the medication portion of a patient’s overall prevention, wellness or treatment plan. You also can listen to a podcast interview with Engelen here.

Seven years after starting RxLive, Engelen announced in September that he and his wife Kristen, a clinical pharmacist and co-founder of the company, are moving on. I learned about it when I read his social post on LinkedIn.

“We’re both looking forward to our next adventure! What should we tackle next?!” Engelen asked his LinkedIn connections.

As it turns out, the Engelens sold RxLive to a competitor called Scriptology for an undisclosed amount. Scriptology is an Atlanta-based comprehensive medication management (CMM) company. From my brief tenure as a ghostwriter for a major drug distributor (I have bills to pay just like everyone else), I learned that CMM is a thing. It’s a model of care that assesses a patient’s medical condition and health status to make sure that the patient’s drugs — prescription and over-the-counter — are right for that patient. It’s like medication therapy management (MTM), which is also a thing, but at a higher level.

“RxLive’s technology will seamlessly integrate into Scriptology’s platform, enabling better data-driven decision-making, comprehensive patient support, and a more efficient medication management process,” Scriptology said in a press release announcing the deal. “By integrating RxLive’s technology and resources, Scriptology will save millions in development costs and accelerate productivity and profitability across existing partnerships.”

Engelen has hung out his shingle and is open to new work as a consultant, CEO, COO or founder.

You can never keep a good healthcare revolutionary down as illustrated by his Oct. 3 LinkedIn post and photo on how he was affected by Hurricane Helene:

“What a week. It is hard to describe all that has happened since we lost our home and ‘stuff’ to Helene last week. I certainly could not have fathomed the destruction that a 9ft storm surge could cause. But…I also could not have imagined the outpouring of love, care, empathy, and faith that has accompanied it. So, rather than focus on destruction, pain and loss, I want to celebrate the humanity and grace we have received this week from friends, family and strangers alike. Thank you to everyone who has been there for us.”

We here at 4sight Health wish Engelen and his family the best of luck on all counts.

I’ll be back with more periodic updates on our healthcare revolutionaries. They’re always up to something.

Thanks for reading.