AUSTIN, Texas—As the healthcare industry grapples with equity challenges, experts are laying out the business case for investors to back new innovations in this space.
Myechia Minter-Jordan, M.D., president and CEO of the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, said during a session at South by Southwest's health and medtech conference this week that a number of persistent myths in the industry have hindered investment in health equity efforts. For one, a common refrain is that Medicaid represents too narrow of a market to focus on, or that homing in on communities of color is limited.
Minter-Jordan said that the opposite has proven true in multiple real-word examples; Cityblock Health, for instance, has focused its care services in vulnerable communities, and just hit a $5.7 billion valuation last fall.
"The opportunities to invest in any number of these areas are endless," she said.
That said, while there's plenty of opportunity for investment out there, Minter-Jordan said companies need to be thoughtful about where they're planning to invest. Not every investment is a good one for the people you're trying to help, she said.
For example, if an investor doesn't do their homework, they could build a solution for a problem that doesn't need to be solved. In a previous role at a community health center, Minter-Jordan said a large health system came to her team with a detailed plan and funding to boost HPV vaccinations, only to learn that the center's vaccination rate was already 90%.
In an effort to lead the charge on this, CareQuest Innovation Partners is teaming with MATTER Health to launch an initiative called SMILE Health, which seeks to identify early-stage startups that want to tackle the intersection between oral health and equity.
The SMILE acronym highlights what the program is looking for, solutions that are: Simple, Minimally-invasive, Ingrated, Low-barrier and Equitable.
"This is one way we're putting our money where our mouth is, literally and figuratively," Minter-Jordan said.
CareQuest will accept applications through April 22 and will select up to 10 startups from the applicants. Each selected company will be paired with dedicated mentors over the course of a 12-week program as well as provided access to a curated curriculum from subject matter experts in oral health, innovation and venture capital.
In addition, they will be provided with a $10,000 stipend to participate and have the opportunity to conduct validation studies with potential consumers that aim to help them refine their offerings.
The program will culminate in a September Demo Day, where each of the participants will be able to present their companies to industry leaders, including potential partners, clients and investors.
“Innovations focused on improving oral health have lagged the tremendous advances focused on medicine,” said Steven Collens, CEO of MATTER, said in a statement. “SMILE Health is the beginning of the end of that unfortunate dynamic and we couldn’t be more enthusiastic about partnering with CareQuest Innovation Partners on this work.”