Our Investment in Hinge Health: how Digital Care for Common Injuries is Transforming Outcomes
The delivery of healthcare today is broken; accessibility and quality of care can vary widely. We believe digital technology can provide preventive programs to avoid surgery and deal with problems before they become major issues. Hinge Health is at the forefront of this within the musculoskeletal (MSK) realm.
Over 50% of the US workforce report a musculoskeletal (MSK) injury — such as knee pain, shoulder pain, or back pain — every year. This is well-known for causing loss in productivity, depression, weight gain, over reliance on strong painkillers and ultimately expensive surgery. While there is consensus on what best practice for MSK care is — a combination of physiotherapy and education — the big problem is that it’s expensive, time-consuming and difficult to deliver to a patient on a consistent basis. People in pain often live with it while taking strong painkillers for relief or have expensive surgeries that are unlikely to solve chronic pain issues anyway.
As a result of the prevalence of the problem, MSK injuries cost employers in the US alone around $100bn a year. Many millions of workdays are lost annually, often due to injuries which are easily treatable. Workers on the other hand frequently receive suboptimal care or unnecessary medical procedures and are forced to live with pain and real restrictions on lifestyle.
Founded in 2015 by Daniel Perez and Gabriel Mecklenburg in London, Hinge Health is transforming the delivery of employer MSK healthcare, reducing costs for employers while improving outcomes for workers.
Hinge Health offers digital, non-surgical treatments for MSK conditions. Patients are provided with wearable sensors and a tablet computer with preinstalled Hinge Health software, which then creates a remotely-delivered, coach-led 12 week Digital Care Pathway for musculoskeletal conditions. Patients are given personalised therapy through an online coach and provided with support on how to change behaviour to improve their health.
Hinge Health’s results speak for themselves, showing a 50%+ improvement in clinical outcomes and 90% engagement levels for participants after 12 weeks. Employers on the other hand are reporting 30%+ reduction in costs by avoiding paying for unnecessary surgery.
Hinge Health’s vision is to make this kind of quality care universal. Musculoskeletal conditions are only the starting point for how the company hopes to revolutionise delivery of care. This is why we are delighted to be leading in Hinge Health’s $8m Series A funding round alongside current investors including Eleven Two Capital and The Vertical Group.
We’ve been extremely impressed by Daniel and Gabriel, and their determination to tackle a big problem in society. With the new funding, we hope to help Hinge Health rollout its life-changing solution across the US and beyond, further develop its product offering and hire the best talent.
Carolina Brochado will be joining the board. Our Growth Acceleration team, including Alexis Dormandy, a qualified doctor, will guide the team on hiring world-class talent, navigating the industry and scaling the business into a category winner.
