Dublin-based health technology start-up, GetHealth has been announced as one of 10 international companies picked as a ‘healthcare transformer’ by New York-based programme, StartUp Health Academy. Each transformer chosen will participate in a 3 year programme run by Start-Up Health in partnership with General Electric.
GetHealth Limited, started in September 2011 by two undergraduate students, competed against over 400 companies from around the world to earn a place on the coveted programme. The company has developed a mobile app which makes getting healthy simple and fun for users. The app enables users to check-in and earn points for their daily health achievements, such as eating their 5 fruit and vegetables or doing 30 minutes of exercise. The app also has a social component, allowing users to connect
with other like-minded individuals so that they can support and motivate one another in achieving their health goals.
GetHealth was initially funded by the NDRC Launchpad programme in September 2011 and has also been recipient of the Competitive Start Fund through Enterprise Ireland.
CEO of GetHealth, Liam Ryan said on this most recent success:”When we started GetHealth we could see that healthcare, particularly in the US, was starting to change focus away from reactive initiatives towards more preventative programmes. Here we saw the opportunity to leverage the growth in mobile technology to provide an
app which makes health simple and fun, and ultimately help people improve their lifestyle. In GE and StartUp Health Academy we are delighted to have found partners who understand our vision and want to work with us to help realise it.”
One area of focus for GetHealth at present is the growing corporate wellness market. Increasingly, companies are investing in wellness initiatives in an attempt to reduce
the substantial healthcare costs incurred by an unhealthy workforce, such as absenteeism, low productivity and employee health insurance.
The StartUp Health Academy represents a significant opportunity for a company such as GetHealth. The Academy bases itself on a simple premise: the best way to improve healthcare in America is to provide health and wellness entrepreneurs with inspiration, education, and access to customers, capital, and other critical resources. With this support, start-ups can innovate more quickly and build new solutions that will improve care and reduce out of control healthcare costs.
Speaking about GetHealth’s selection to the Start-up Health Academy programme, former executive director of the White House Athletic Centre, Ted Vickey – a GetHealth company advisor – said: “Getting people engaged in their health is one of the biggest opportunities for technological innovation. Creating behaviour change is the key to people living a healthy life. By combining game mechanics and social interaction, technology like GetHealth’s app is a simple and accessible way for people to make that change and enjoy the process of doing so.”
The StartUp Health Academy programme kicks off in New York today with workshops from senior executives from some of the world’s largest health companies including: Pfizer, Merck, Aenta and GE.