Interview with MyVitalz

Tell us a little about MyVitalz and the work that you do.

MyVitalz Remote Patient/Physiologic Monitoring SaaS platform is designed to connect at- home patients with their healthcare providers seamlessly, securely, and accurately. Our technology compiles biometric health data generated by the patients’ use of in-home medical devices. These devices securely transmit data to the MyVitalz cloud where the data and our advanced analytics assist the Provider team in prioritizing care and potential interventions. MyVitalz utilization of innovative technology (such as remote patient /physiological monitoring) improves services to the at-risk and high-risk patient population, the chronically ill and medically underserved. Especially at-risk and high-risk patients living in urban and rural areas present multiple barriers, especially, SDoH along with limited access to care due to distance. Chronic condition populations with unmet social determinants of health have poorer outcomes and ultimately higher costs of healthcare.

What led you to found MyVitalz?

"Necessity is the mother of invention"

In 2010, I had a quadruple bypass surgery and the next six months were an emotional and physical roller coaster. I was constantly going back to the hospital after each symptom whether medically necessary or not. It later became my mission to develop a product that was not only easy to use, but also allowed the patient to monitor his or her own health, and cut back on expensive hospital visits, all while being virtually connected to their health care team.

What early barriers did you face?

1. Funding

2. Technology Chasm

3. A Patent Troll1

4. Alice Saves Medical Startup From Death By Telehealth Patent2

What advantages or challenges does Nebraska pose for a tech firm?

Since 2013, most funding was directed toward Agricultural and Golfing APPs. Any IP that was developed within the " walls" of UNMC, startup collaboratives, e.g., the usual college and Chamber social crowds. As a trending, viable and leading business today, still the relative mindset of the community is still unfortunately set in the "old way of doing things, despite a plethora of Government Grants and legislation since the Public Health Emergency.

1 https://www.eff.org/alice/alice-saves-medical-startup-death-telehealth-patent
2 https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/02/video-interview-how-justus-decher-beat-patent-troll-help-alice

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/13/top-states-for-business-nebraska.html

Advantages:

1. USSTRATTCOM

2. 4 Fortune 500 Corporate Headquarters

3. 10 Fortune 500 Presence

4. Home to 4 Billionaires

5. More than 40.5k Millionaires

6. Largest pipes (IT) in the world

7. Telecommunications Capital of the World

8. Small town feel

Where do you see MyVitalz heading over the next five to ten years?

We have positioned MyVitalz today as one of the only, privately funded, zero indebtedness RPM companies in the country. We truly anticipate that with our “under the radar” developing a product/solution strategy will payoff through a merger or acquisition within the next 2 years, primarily because of how the “genie is out of the bottle with telehealth 3” and the many benefits that it provides, especially those with health disparities and inequities, the most at-risk and high-risk acuity patient population.