Rock Health backs eight new startups, signs three new corporate partners

Digital health accelerator and venture investor Rock Health is busier than ever as more startups and large industry players turn to it for funding, advice, and partnership.

San Francisco-based Rock Health announced today that it has added eight new startups to its portfolio and has landed deals with three large corporate partners. The new corporate partners include pharmaceuticals and medical devices giant Abbott, insurer Blue Shield of California, and the health practice of the Deloitte consulting firm.

The new startups are addressing a variety of healthcare pain points, including chronic disease, neurological disorders, biotech issues, and health data privacy.

Health startups have little trouble finding areas in the U.S.’s inefficient and costly healthcare delivery system to improve upon, and with the Affordable Care Act as a catalyst, many startups are finding the funding they need to work toward solutions.

Rock Health managing director Malay Gandhi says that he and his colleagues expect to evaluate more than a thousand digital health startups as potential investments this year.

Rock Health’s latest startups:

Accountable is an online platform that helps companies handle personal health data securely and in compliance with federal HIPAA laws.

Acumen is in the process of building a telemedicine platform that will let doctors evaluate, assess, and manage neurological disorders via patient video.

Aptible provides a development platform in which digital health companies can build apps and services that are HIPAA privacy-compliant. Aptible, which is also backed by Y Combinator, launched this month.

Benchling provides a cloud-based data management and collaboration platform for life science research and development.

TelePharm provides a web and mobile service that allows pharmacists to verify and approve prescriptions, and consults with patients in locations where no pharmacist is physically present. Telepharm recently raised a $2.5 million investment round led by medical tech investor John Pappajohn and Iowa state Board of Regents president Bruce Rastetter.

Welkin Health provides daily coaching to diabetes patients via a mobile app. The company has recently contracted with two healthcare providers that plan to prescribe the app to diabetes patients.

An additional two startups have joined the accelerator’s portfolio, but the companies are still in “stealth” and will be announced later.