轻松背单词新浪微博 轻松背单词腾讯微博
轻松背单词微信服务号
当前位置:首页 -> 9级英语阅读 - > 数字医疗投资重现火爆局面
数字医疗投资重现火爆局面
添加时间:2014-11-29 12:41:00 浏览次数: 作者:未知
Tip:点击数字可快速查看单词解释  
  • Ah, November, that special time of year when Americans get to re-enroll for health insurance and find out whether their costs will go up “just” 5% or whether they face a double-digit increase for the year to come.

    对于美国人来说,11月是个特殊的月份,因为他们要在这个月重新登记参加医疗保险,并且他们将算清楚来年的医保费用是“仅仅”增加5%,还是增加两位数。

    This year technology’s potential role in controlling seemingly unjustifiable increases is getting more attention than ever—in part because of wildly optimistic expectations surrounding consumer gadgets1 such as fitness bracelets2. By June, funding for digital healthcare technology companies reached $2.3 billion—surpassing the previous year’s total, according to Rock Health, a startup incubator.

    今年,在控制这种看上去不合理的医保费用上涨方面,科技的潜在作用得到了更多人关注——这在很大程度上是由于人们对运动手环等消费类电子产品的乐观期望。据创业孵化器Rock Health统计,截至今年6月,数字医疗科技类公司的融资总额已达到23亿美元——超过了去年的总额。

    Two illustrative examples from this month alone: Xerox’s unprecedented3 investment in telemedicine company HealthSpot, which plans to install its kiosks not just at medical facilities but also at big companies; and pharmaceutical4 giant Novartis AG’s growing interest in wearable technologies that can track the effectiveness of its drugs.

    仅本月就有两个明显的例子:施乐(Xerox)史无前例地投资远程医疗公司HealthSpot,后者计划将其远端临场医疗设施安装到医疗机构和大公司内;制药业巨头诺华制药公司(Novartis)对能够跟踪药效的可穿戴技术表现出日益浓厚的兴趣。

    Another indicator5 is the customer traction6 being reported this autumn by Castlight Health, which made its rather controversial I.P.O. in March. (The company debuted7 with a market cap of almost $3 billion, but its value currently stands around $1.01 billion.)

    数字医疗成为热门的另外一个迹象,是移动医疗公司Castlight Health在今年秋天公布的客户吸引力。该公司在3月进行了颇具争议的IPO。(公司最初上市时的市值约为30亿美元,但其现在的市值却一直维持在10.1亿美元。)

    Every year, U.S. employers spend a whopping $620 billion on healthcare benefits with very little visibility into where that money goes. Castlight puts those costs under the microscope for at least 40 Fortune 500 companies including Google, Kraft Foods Group, Microsoft, and Wal-Mart.

    美国雇主每年的医疗福利支出达到惊人的6,200亿美元,但他们却很难跟踪这笔钱的去向。而Castlight则可以将这笔支出摸得一清二楚,供至少40家《财富》美国500强公司了解其流向,这些公司包括谷歌(Google)、卡夫食品集团(Kraft Foods Group)、微软(Microsoft)和沃尔玛(Wal-Mart)。

    Its service, called Enterprise Health Cloud, shows the prices a company’s employees pay for everything from cholesterol8 tests to magnetic resonance9 imaging, or MRI, scans to wellness visits to their doctor. The vision is to help employers better understand these cost and to let employees make more informed decisions about what they can expect to pay and about the quality of care they will receive.

    这项企业医疗保健云服务,将显示出公司员工的医疗支出,包括胆固醇测定、磁共振成像(MRI)扫描以及健康体检等多个项目。这些数据不仅可以帮助雇主更有效地了解医疗福利费用,也可以让员工对他们想要付费的项目和可以获得的保健质量做出更明智的决定。

    “They have a cockpit where they get a ton of analytics about where the money is spent,” said Castlight CEO and co-founder Giovanni “Gio” Colella, whose previous company, RelayHealth, was acquired by McKesson in 2006. Collela’s co-founders were Todd Park (co-founder of Athenahealth and the tech guru who helped fix the troubled Healthcare.gov site) and venture capitalist Bryan Roberts (Venrock).

    Castlight Health公司的CEO兼联合创始人乔瓦尼o“吉奥”o科莱拉表示:“他们有一个系统,其中包括对医疗福利费用的大量分析。”科莱拉之前的公司RelayHealth在2006年被麦克森公司(McKesson)收购。科莱拉的联合创始人包括托德o帕克(电子病历管理公司Athenahealth的联合创始人,同时也是一位技术专家,曾帮助解决美国医保网站Healthcare.gov的故障)和风险投资人布莱恩o罗伯茨(风投公司Venrock)。

    One Castlight customer, for example, discovered an unusually high incidence of back pain issues within certain departments. The company came up with an ergonomic solution to this problem, paring back on those medical costs, Colella said.

    例如,Castlight的一位客户发现某个部门内背部疼痛的发病率之高,有些异常。于是,该公司针对这一问题提出了一项人体工学解决方案,削减了这部分医疗费用,科莱拉说道。

    How did Castlight convince almost every insurance company (except United Healthcare because of an exclusivity clause) to disclose this information? By convincing businesses to demand the information. Right now, the service covers most medical procedures and pharmacy10 information. Offerings that cover dental plans and behavioral health are in the wings.

    那么,Castlight是如何说服几乎所有的保险公司披露这些信息的呢[只有联合健康保险公司(United Healthcare)因排他性条款未披露相关信息]?通过说服客户索要这些信息。目前,该服务涵盖了多数医疗程序和药物信息。公司即将推出包括牙科保健计划和行为健康的服务。

    Castlight boasted 159 customers at the end of the third quarter. According to its latest earnings11 report, the company expects to generate $43.9 million to $44.3 million this year, with anticipated losses of $74 million to $75 million. (Its CEO and CFO are scheduled to present updates at two investor12 conferences later this week.)

    Castlight宣称截至第三季度末共有159家客户。其最近公开的收益报告显示,公司今年的预期收益为4,390万美元至4,430万美元,预期损失7,400万美元至7,500万美元。(公司CEO和CFO计划在本周晚些时候召开两次投资者会议,公布最新财务数据。)

    Christopher Lochhead, partner with consulting firm Play Bigger and advisor13 to Castlight’s management team, says healthcare costs are among the top three to five costs for most big businesses. The rise of powerful analytics technologies along with the transparency demanded by social media are driving interest in Castlight’s services. “This is a company, as corny as it may sound, that could do very well by doing a lot of good,” Lochhead said.

    咨询公司Play Bigger的合伙人、Castlight公司管理团队顾问克里斯托弗o洛克希德表示,医疗成本在大多数公司的开支项目中排在前三至五位。功能强大的分析技术的兴起和社交媒体需要的透明度,正在使更多人对Castlight公司的服务产生兴趣。洛克希德表示:“虽然听起来有些老套,但这家公司可以通过做好事把事情做得更好。”

    Healthcare provider are also hungry for data that can help them make more informed decisions on behalf of their patients, said Mike Harden, co-founder and senior partner at ARTIS Ventures. This observation comes while during our chat last week about the role of wearable technologies in corporate14 wellness initiatives. “In order for make that information of value, it needs to connect to a professional,” he said. “It needs to connect to something that your nutritionist or doctor might be able to see. Together, you can make improvements to your health.”

    投资公司ARTIS Ventures的联合创始人兼高级合伙人麦克o哈登表示,医疗保健服务提供商也渴望得到这些数据,帮助他们为患者做出更明智的决定。上周,笔者与哈登就可穿戴技术在公司健康计划中的作用进行了交流,他当时提出了上述观点。他表示:“要使这些信息产生价值,就必须将它们与专业人士联系在一起。这些信息需要与你的营养师或医生可能看到的数据相关联。多方合作一定会改善你的健康。”

    That philosophy is behind ARTIS Ventures’ three rounds of financing for Practice Fusion15, which manages electronic health records in the cloud for more than 112,000 healthcare professionals. So far, it has raised almost $160 million since it was founded in July 2005.

    ARTIS Ventures参与Practice Fusion公司的三轮融资,也正是基于这样的理念。Practice Fusion公司通过云技术,为超过112,000名医护专业人员管理电子病历。公司从2005年7月成立至今,已经获得融资约1.6亿美元。

    Heather Clancy is the author of Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology.

    希瑟o克兰西是《财富》科技公司每日资讯栏目Data Sheet的作者。

     9级    英语新闻 


    点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

    1 gadgets [gæ,dʒets] 7239f3f3f78d7b7d8bbb906e62f300b4   第8级
    n.小机械,小器具( gadget的名词复数 )
    参考例句:
    • Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
    • This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置,做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
    2 bracelets [b'reɪslɪts] 58df124ddcdc646ef29c1c5054d8043d   第8级
    n.手镯,臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 )
    参考例句:
    • The lamplight struck a gleam from her bracelets. 她的手镯在灯光的照射下闪闪发亮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    • On display are earrings, necklaces and bracelets made from jade, amber and amethyst. 展出的有用玉石、琥珀和紫水晶做的耳环、项链和手镯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    3 unprecedented [ʌnˈpresɪdentɪd] 7gSyJ   第8级
    adj.无前例的,新奇的
    参考例句:
    • The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths. 这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
    • A flood of this sort is really unprecedented. 这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。
    4 pharmaceutical [ˌfɑ:məˈsu:tɪkl] f30zR   第9级
    adj.药学的,药物的;药用的,药剂师的
    参考例句:
    • She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory. 她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
    • We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company. 我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。
    5 indicator [ˈɪndɪkeɪtə(r)] i8NxM   第9级
    n.指标;指示物,指示者;指示器
    参考例句:
    • Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation. 黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
    • His left-hand indicator is flashing. 他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。
    6 traction [ˈtrækʃn] kJXz3   第11级
    n.牵引;附着摩擦力
    参考例句:
    • I'll show you how the traction is applied. 我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
    • She's injured her back and is in traction for a month. 她背部受伤,正在作一个月的牵引治疗。
    7 debuted [] b3e2d85131439fe8678f6628fda0ec90   第10级
    初次表演,初次登台(debut的过去式与过去分词形式)
    参考例句:
    • In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末,全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队,推出。
    • The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名,很快就取得了白金销量。
    8 cholesterol [kəˈlestərɒl] qrzzV   第8级
    n.(U)胆固醇
    参考例句:
    • There is cholesterol in the cell of body. 人体细胞里有胆固醇。
    • They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels. 他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。
    9 resonance [ˈrezənəns] hBazC   第7级
    n.洪亮;共鸣;共振
    参考例句:
    • Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments. 一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
    • The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal. 两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。
    10 pharmacy [ˈfɑ:məsi] h3hzT   第8级
    n.药房,药剂学,制药业,配药业,一批备用药品
    参考例句:
    • She works at the pharmacy. 她在药房工作。
    • Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness. 现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。
    11 earnings [ˈɜ:nɪŋz] rrWxJ   第7级
    n.工资收人;利润,利益,所得
    参考例句:
    • That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter. 那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
    • Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings. 去年他的收入减少了20%。
    12 investor [ɪnˈvestə(r)] aq4zNm   第8级
    n.投资者,投资人
    参考例句:
    • My nephew is a cautious investor. 我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
    • The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon. 这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。
    13 advisor [əd'vaɪzə] JKByk   第8级
    n.顾问,指导老师,劝告者
    参考例句:
    • They employed me as an advisor. 他们聘请我当顾问。
    • The professor is engaged as a technical advisor. 这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。
    14 corporate [ˈkɔ:pərət] 7olzl   第7级
    adj.共同的,全体的;公司的,企业的
    参考例句:
    • This is our corporate responsibility. 这是我们共同的责任。
    • His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail. 他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。
    15 fusion [ˈfju:ʒn] HfDz5   第9级
    n.溶化;熔解;熔化状态,熔和;熔接
    参考例句:
    • Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
    • This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal. 这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

    文章评论 共有评论 0查看全部

      会员登陆
      热门单词标签
    我的单词印象
    我的理解: