Boston, Mass., March, 17, 2017–Medical technology is growing in Boston and for good reason:
Connected medicine is revolutionizing medication adherence. Jim Joyce, creator of the HealthBeacon, believes that connecting real life data about a patient’s behaviour can provide powerful clinical insights and targeted interventions to improve treatment and outcomes. Enter a smart tool for managing medication, the flagship product: The HeathBeacon.
HealthBeacon officially opened their third office at 423 W. Broadway in South Boston, MA on Thursday, March 16th, 2017. The ceremonial ribbon cutting was performed by Irish Minister Katherine Zappone TD, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, and accompanied by Fionnuala Quinlan, Consulate General and her team. This expansion will allow for a North American hub that delivers Irish technology, manufactured in Dublin and exporting it to the world. What better way to drive medical technology growth and development between countries than to have an Irish-American serial entrepreneur leading the way?
Born and raised in Boston, MA, Joyce saw the opportunity that Dublin provides innovative start-up companies. After working several years for a multinational, Joyce decided to venture out on his own and made his first foray into entrepreneurship. His first company, Point of Care, was established in Dublin with the goal of transforming the way patients experience medical treatments in their community. Joyce explains that it was this venture that gave him the idea for the HealthBeacon. He explains “I was originally trying to figure out a way to manage waste disposal and costs, and fumbled my way to an idea that can fundamentally change the pharmaceutical industry.”
HealthBeacon’s digital platform exploits the increased trend in healthcare to connect devices and data for better health delivery. Co- Founder of HealthBeacon, Kieran Daly explains “At HealthBeacon we believe that technology should be near invisible and sophistication should be masked by simplicity. When we thought about how to develop our medical adherence tools we wanted to make sure that the patient experience was frictionless but the impact was meaningful.” It is this seamless connectivity that is driving the internet of things (IoT) trend, and will drive fast adoption and scaling of the platform, especially as it supports lower cost health delivery.
The New England Healthcare Institute estimates that 290 billion dollars is spent each year because of poor medication adherence. Evidence also suggests that patients on average comply with their medication only 52% of the time without digital intervention. Recent studies show that those patients using digital intervention are compliant 77% of the time. We believe that it is this evidence that has led to HealthBeacon’s being embraced by both clinicians and patients.
According to Jim Joyce, “This is the perfect location for an Irish company to launch into the US market. Our Boston team will provide critical technical development and support to pharmaceutical and biotech companies looking to digitally connect their medicines.”
Tim Connelly, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a public economic development agency which promotes the digital health sector across Massachusetts, highlighted the importance of HealthBeacon’s addition to Boston.
“Massachusetts is home to more than 350 digital health organizations working at the intersection of health care and technology,” stated Connelly. “HealthBeacon will find a welcome community of innovators and entrepreneurs, both in healthcare and technology, who can help the company develop, market, and grow their innovative products. As a leading state in healthcare policy, we welcome with open arms companies like HealthBeacon that are working to enhance the delivery of care and ultimately to better the lives of patients.”