iHealth Labs is dedicated to empowering people to live healthier lives. The company is a leading provider of cloud-connected medical devices, personal health care devices, and home-based tests and is at the forefront of the digital health revolution. Pulse 2.0 interviewed iHealth Labs CEO Jack Feng to learn more about the company.
Jack Feng’s Background
What is Jack Feng’s background? Feng said:
“Before I joined iHealth in 2019, I co-founded Wandou Labs, which is a mobile app marketplace and search engine. I served as the Chief Technology Officer there. We were able to secure over $100 million in funding from Softbank, and eventually, Alibaba acquired us in 2016. Before that, I worked as a software engineer at Nokia Siemens from 2007 to 2009, and at Alcatel Lucent from 2005 to 2007. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.”
Formation Of iHealth Labs
How did the idea for the company come together? Feng shared:
“The idea for iHealth came from a group of visionaries who were passionate about improving health management with innovative and user-friendly mobile healthcare products. We founded iHealth in 2010 in Silicon Valley and launched the world’s first Bluetooth-connected blood pressure monitor that works with iOS devices in 2011. Since then, we’ve expanded our product range to include various medical devices, all aimed at making health management easier and more accessible for everyone.”
“At iHealth, our mission has always been to empower people to live healthier lives, whether we are developing life-saving products like our orange box COVID-19 tests, creating new products that fill gaps in the healthcare system, or finding innovative ways to support patients with chronic conditions.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Feng reflected:
“My favorite memory of working at iHealth is from a time that was actually very stressful for me and my team – the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. People were so afraid of getting sick or dying – and this motivated us to push ourselves to do more to help save lives. We successfully fast-tracked the development of an easy-to-use COVID test that could be administered at home.”
“After the federal government selected iHealth to supply tests for households across the country, there was an unbelievable spike in demand. In order to make sure we could keep up, it was all hands on deck in the office, with every member of the team working long hours in the warehouse to help sort, pack, and ship out our test kits. Some people even brought their family members and friends to help out and make sure we could help as many people as possible during this critical time, filling all the orders that were pouring in. In my mind, this is a perfect example of how passionate and dedicated my team is here at iHealth, which is why this memory really stands out to me.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Feng explained:
“iHealth offers a variety of FDA-approved health monitoring devices, such as blood pressure monitors, glucometers, thermometers, and oximeters. These devices sync via Bluetooth with the iHealth app, making it easy for users to track and monitor their health metrics. We also provide convenient at-home testing kits, including our popular orange-box COVID-19 tests and our new 3-in-1 kit that detects COVID, Flu A, and Flu B.”
“In addition to our extensive range of products, we also offer an AI-enhanced service program called Unified Care for patients with diabetes and hypertension. This all-in-one program combines iHealth’s remote monitoring devices with personalized care plans, nutritional counseling, lifestyle coaching, and ongoing encouragement to achieve better clinical outcomes for patients, improve care quality metrics, and reduce healthcare costs.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Feng and the team face in building the company? Feng acknowledged:
“When the pandemic started, we had to ramp up production of our contactless thermometers to meet the sudden spike in demand. However, seeing the widespread fear and suffering motivated us to do more to help during this critical time so we jump-started the development of an at-home COVID test that would be affordable and easy to use. This was a serious test of our ability to quickly scale up our development, production, and distribution systems.”
“Our hard work paid off when we received FDA emergency use authorization for our COVID test kits in November, 2021 and were chosen to provide tests for the federal government the following January. We boosted our production capacity by opening a new manufacturing plant in Los Angeles in less than 6 months, making iHealth a leading supplier of at-home COVID tests. To date, we have shipped out over 1 billion test kits across the US!”
Evolution Of iHealth’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Feng noted:
“Since our launch, we have continued to expand our offerings of Bluetooth-connected health monitoring products as well as testing kits. Our latest advancement is a service program called Unified Care that leverages our remote monitoring technology and combines it with personalized care to help patients and providers manage diabetes, hypertension, and related chronic conditions more effectively. The program’s unique approach to chronic care management enhances the connection between patients and doctors within a sophisticated digital health ecosystem to drive positive outcomes for enrolled patients.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Feng cited:
“iHealth has reached several significant milestones since its founding in 2010. We were the first to introduce a Bluetooth-connected blood pressure monitor compatible with iOS devices in 2011. By 2012, we had established ourselves as a leading provider of personal and enterprise-level digital IoT health solutions. In 2018, we expanded our mission to focus on leveraging our technology to simplify the management of chronic conditions and improve patient outcomes.”
“As I mentioned, the pandemic really tested our ability to develop scalable solutions to address this sudden public health crisis. iHealth distributed over three million thermometers and one billion COVID-19 testing kits – 50% of all tests used in the US! We also donated $10 million worth of PPE and test kits to government agencies and community organizations.”
“We continue to thrive and innovate to fill gaps in our healthcare system and are empowering people everywhere to take charge of their own health. Our Unified Care program now has nearly 20,000 participants and is growing rapidly, improving quality of care for patients while also reducing healthcare costs.”
Customer Success Stories
When asking Feng about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“Since we launched Unified Care, thousands of patients have benefited from our unique approach to chronic care management. Two recent studies published by the American Diabetes Association and American Heart Association showed a 75% reduction in the number of patients with poor control of their HbA1c levels and a 44% reduction for those with uncontrolled blood pressure. The number of patients with good control increased by 31% for those with diabetes and 78% for those with hypertension during the same timeframe.”
“In terms of a specific success story about how our program does this, I’d like to talk a bit about ChantelleChantele, a 63 year-old patient with essential primary hypertension. She was referred to Unified Care by her PCP because she often felt fatigued and wanted to improve her health so she could keep up with her grandkids. After only six months in the program, her average blood pressure had decreased from a baseline of 134/87 with only 6% of vitals in normal range to an average of 119/79, achieving her goal for BP reduction!”
“This was accomplished through regular interactions with our care team because they emphasized the importance of vitals monitoring and provided dietary adjustments with ongoing feedback and encouragement. Their consistent support helped her make changes that significantly improved her overall health.”
“When we asked about her experience with the Unified Care team, Chantelle shared: ‘Because of them, I have a lot more energy these days. I’m making healthier food choices, exercising at least three days a week, and have lost ten pounds! I haven’t reached my weight goal yet but this program keeps me motivated to keep on going!’”
Funding
When asking Feng about the company’s funding details, he revealed:
“iHealth is a privately-held company, so I’m not able to discuss the specifics of our revenue. However, I can share that iHealth has been experiencing robust growth over the past few years as we have diversified our product and service offerings.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Feng assessed:
“If you combine our medical device sales business and our Unified Care service program, we are pursuing a $10 billion market within the US.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Feng affirmed:
“iHealth has emerged as a company at the forefront of designing and manufacturing at-home medical devices that empower people to take charge of their health. Our award-winning products, available across the country, are well-designed and highly-rated in customer reviews. Beyond our innovative product offerings, we also have a multidisciplinary care team which is part of a turnkey holistic chronic disease management program called Unified Care.”
“As I mentioned earlier, Unified Care combines our own in-house developed medical devices with AI-enhanced technology and a dedicated care team to drive positive outcomes for high-risk patients with diabetes and hypertension. Unlike other companies, we provide an all-in-one solution for chronic care management that bridges the gap between the doctor’s office and home, providing personalized support as needed to help patients better manage their chronic conditions.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Feng pointed out:
“Our future plans include expanding our Unified Care program throughout California and into new geographical markets. In addition, we are increasing iHealth’s product offerings to include more easy-to-use products and tests that enhance user experience. We have several exciting projects in our pipeline, which we are continually building out as we identify additional areas where innovative new products and solutions are needed.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Feng concluded:
“One area of interest which I’m especially passionate about is the potential for AI to revolutionize healthcare technology. For example, the iHealth app that connects with our medical devices leverages AI capabilities to help customers improve how they take their measurements and offers helpful guides and advice as needed.”
“Within our Unified Care program, we’re finding that the use of AI-powered tools can increase the team’s efficiency and boost patient engagement. By combining AI insights with the care team’s expertise, we are able to develop highly-personalized care plans and make adjustments to the support we provide, optimizing a patient’s ability to manage their chronic conditions. Leveraging the power of AI tools also makes our solutions more efficient and scalable, enabling us to work towards our mission of empowering people everywhere to live healthier lives.”
