The
digital
health
funding
landscape
has
gone
through
a
series
of
twists
and
turns
ever
since
the
Covid-19
pandemic
—
once
characterized
by
a
frantic
investment
pace
and
overblown
valuations,
then
later
hesitance
and
a
dead
exit
market.
But
for
the
past
six
months
or
so,
the
digital
health
sector’s
funding
environment
has
been
quite
stable
and
busy,
noted
Billy
Deitch,
partner
at
Oak
HC/FT,
during
an
interview
this
week
at
the
ViVE
conference
in
Nashville.
This
year
“feels
busier”
in
terms
of
quality
investment
opportunities,
Deitch
stated.
“Coming
out
of
the
boom
times
of
‘21
and
‘22,
there
were
a
couple
years
of
companies
tightening
their
cash
burn,
not
raising
—
and
now
we’re
seeing
so
much
more
activity.
I
would
say
since
around
Labor
Day
of
last
year,
and
then
continuing
into
this
year,
the
pace
of
opportunities
that
we’re
seeing
is
much
higher
than
it’s
been
in
years,”
he
declared.
He
noted
that
this
isn’t
entirely
surprising,
given
many
companies
have
been
preserving
the
capital
over
the
past
two
years
with
the
plan
to
raise
funds
in
2025.
In
the
past,
it
was
common
for
startups
to
raise
capital
every
six
months
or
so,
Deitch
pointed
out.
With
all
that
cash,
a
lot
of
them
have
focused
inward
over
the
past
couple
years,
figuring
out
ways
to
scale
their
business
and
increase
their
revenue,
he
explained.
Deitch
also
highlighted
that
“growth
at
all
costs”
has
proven
to
be
an
unfit
motto
for
digital
health
startups.
“The
fact
of
the
matter
is
healthcare
can
move
really
slowly
—
a
lot
more
slowly
than
other
sectors.
You
need
to
really
deliver,
and
you
need
to
move
at
the
pace
that
health
systems
or
payers
are
willing
to
move
at,”
he
remarked.
“You
can’t
just
sell
solutions.
You
have
to
sell
solutions,
deliver
on
solutions
and
make
sure
that
your
customers
are
saying
great
things
about
you
—
that
gives
you
the
right
to
continue
to
grow.”
Deitch
added
that
point
solutions
probably
won’t
continue
to
receive
high
amounts
of
investment
like
they
did
in
2021
and
2022.
“Point
solutions
got
funded
[in
the
past]
—
they
had
a
narrow
focus,
so
let’s
say
a
health
system
has
to
buy
10
of
those
to
have
a
solution.
These
companies
can
struggle
on
their
own,”
he
stated.
He
said
he
is
seeing
more
and
more
point
solution
providers
merge
with
each
other
to
create
platforms
with
broader
sets
of
tools
—
and
added
that
he
believes
this
trend
will
only
become
more
common.
Photo:
aurielaki,
Getty
Images