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Virta's primary way of making money is by offering the Virta Treatment to the employees and dependents of self-insured employers. The company works with organizations to enroll their covered members who have type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, and employers pay Virta for each person that enrolls.
"We've estimated on average $10,000 in payer savings over a two year period for those receiving the Virta Treatment, which means that in addition to patients getting healthy, employers see a significant economic win," Paul Sytsma, Marketing Lead at Virta Health, told VatorNews.
The company has an "at-risk" business model, meaning if Virta doesn't successfully deliver diabetes reversal in those that enroll, it doesn't get paid. In addition, Virta also works directly with insurance carriers, with the same at-risk model, where fees are based on health outcomes.
"We feel strongly about seeing the healthcare industry move toward outcomes-based business models, as it aligns incentives for everyone involved," Sytsma said.
Virta's performance guarantees are based on HbA1c reduction, which it defines as achieving an HbA1c below 6.5 percent while eliminating all diabetes-specific medications. The company has separate pricing for year two and beyond, as it continues to help patients maintain those levels.
In its first peer-reviewed manuscript, Virta found that outcomes were at 10 weeks and that about half of the patients achieved HbA1c below the diabetic threshold. 87 percent of patients either reduced insulin dosage or eliminated it altogether.
"Anecdotally, though, it is not uncommon for patients to remove medications within a few weeks. In other words, results can happen rapidly," said Systma.
Finally, the company also offers a direct model for those who aren't covered by an employer or other insurance. Those fees come to $370 per month, and Virta providees a need-based payment assistance program to offset those out-of-pocket costs.
"The reason the economic savings are so significant is that instead of trying to manage type 2 disease, Virta's approach is to reverse it completely. Our peer-reviewed results demonstrated 60 percent reversal at one year, with 94 percent of patients who use insulin either reducing their dose or eliminating it altogether. We see substantial savings on both Rx and medical costs as a result of fewer doctor visits, hospitalizations, etc," Sytsma said.
"All of this is enabled by our model of continuous remote care, which gives patients near real-time access to our providers and health coaches. Once you flip the care model from periodic visits every three to six months to always-on care through a mobile device, you can open the door for sustainable nutritional and behavioral interventions."
Founded in 2014 by Trulia co-founder Sami Inkinen, Virta Helath has raised $75 million in venture funding, including a $45 million Series B round in April of this year. The company's investors include Venrock, Obvious Ventures, Creandum, Caffeinated Capital, Max Levchin’s SciFi VC, Founders Fund and Playground Global.
Editor's note: James McCarter, the Head of Research for Virta Health, will be joining us on Sept. 27 for our SplashX Invent Health - Precision Health salon. Save the date!
The Virta treatment reverses type 2 diabetes and other chronic metabolic diseases, safely and sustainably, without the risks, costs, or side effects of medications or surgery. Our mission is to reverse type 2 diabetes in 100 million people by 2025.
LIGHTHOUSE is a digital patient care program that brings together patients, their primary physician, extended care providers and our dedicated team of nurses, counselors and dietitians that will re-write the standards of care for people living with diabetes and elevate the impact of great self-management.
Our program is pre-approved for for a $500/year Medicare incentive and picks up where most diabetes protocols drop off — the moment a patient leaves their doctor’s office with a pile of great physician instruction, but with little guidance on how to translate their care plan into action. LIGHTHOUSE integrates into the existing patient/doctor workflow through the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system and helps the care team identify opportunities for care. The connected patient program draws on the deep library of partner expertise to slowly help patients develop core skills in diet, physical activity, adherence and logging.
A five minute enrollment process in the doctor’s office kicks off an Mayo Clinic patient management team focused on care coordination, patient self-management and a digital care plan shared by everyone supporting the patient living with diabetes. For a typical family practice of 8 physicians, our program could easily drive an incremental $1MM annually to their bottom line, while transforming the quality of care they deliver to their patients.
Sami Inkinen is the CEO & Founder of San Francisco-based Virta Health. Previously, Sami was a co-founder, COO and President of Trulia. He is an investor in companies advancing human health and performance as an angel investor and at Obvious Ventures.
How does Glooko make money?
Chobani has expanded its relationship with Droga5 to include social and digital responsibilities, three months after the agency assumed a lead creative role.
The Greek yogurt marketer said that while Droga5 will handle Chobani’s website and social channels, Weber Shandwick will continue to play a role in social strategy, particularly as it relates to influencers and engagement. A revamp of Chobani.com—from Droga5—will launch in the first quarter.
Big Spaceship previously handled Chobani's digital business.
So what if she's committed no crimes? To the right, that doesn't seem to matter.
Afraid driverless cars will cause more sprawl? Don't be.
We've tried suburban life and we don't like it.
PARKLAND, Fla. — The suspect in a deadly rampage at a Florida high school is a troubled teenager who posted disturbing material on social media before the shooting spree that killed at least 17 people, according to a law enforcement official and former schoolmates.
“I don’t know the specifics,” the sheriff said.
However, Victoria Olvera, a 17-year-old junior, said Cruz was expelled last school year after a fight with his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend. She said Cruz had been abusive to his girlfriend.
“We try to keep our eyes out on those kids who aren’t connected … Most teachers try to steer them toward some kind of connections. … In this case, we didn’t find a way to connect with this kid,” Furr said.
Israel said investigators were dissecting the suspect’s social media posts.
“And some of the things that have come to mind are very, very disturbing,” he added without elaborating.
Daniel Huerfano, a student who fled Wednesday’s attack, said he recognized Cruz from an Instagram photo in which Cruz posed with a gun in front of his face. Huerfano recalled Cruz as a shy student and remembered seeing him walking around with his lunch bag.
“He was that weird kid that you see … like a loner,” he added.
Dakota Mutchler, a 17-year-old junior, said he used to be close friends with Cruz but hadn’t seen him in more than a year following his expulsion from school.
“He started progressively getting a little more weird,” Mutchler said.
“He started going after one of my friends, threatening her, and I cut him off from there,” Mutchler said.
“I think everyone had in their minds if anybody was going to do it, it was going to be him,” Mutchler said.
However, a teacher told The Miami Herald that Cruz may have been identified as a potential threat to other students. Jim Gard, a math teacher who said Cruz had been in his class last year, said he believes the school had sent out an email warning teachers that Cruz shouldn’t be allowed on campus with a backpack.
A man who thought he had a poltergeist was amazed to discover a mouse had been "stockpiling" items in his shed.
When screws and metal objects kept reappearing in a box containing bird feed, Steve Mckears thought he "was going mad".
The 72-year-old from Severn Beach, near Bristol said he found a screw in a tub of crushed peanuts in February.
After the mystery continued for several weeks he set up a camera which revealed the rodent responsible.
Mr Mckears said when he and a neighbour, who helped set up the night vision camera, watched footage from overnight in the locked shed, he was relieved it was a mouse "and not a poltergeist".
"We were amazed at what he was doing, we just couldn't believe it," he said.
Mr McKears said as the weeks went by, he found more and more objects in the container, including some heavy bits of chain.
He said: "I thought 'there's something funny going on here', I'd never had a ghost in the shed before.
"I was worried, I'm 72 and you hear of things going wrong with 72-year-old gentlemen in the mind.
"That's why when we proved it wasn't me, I was happy.
He added: "I call it Brexit mouse because he is stockpiling for Brexit, but my friend calls him Metal Mickey."
Which Celebrity Cookbooks Would You Actually Recommend?
Are there any you've been particularly impressed by?
Celebrities often have spin-off careers from their day jobs. Particularly when it comes to cookbooks.
There's LOADS of cookbooks from famous faces out there. Even Audrey Hepburn has one.
But which ones would you genuinely recommend?
Maybe it's a cookbook from someone you wouldn't necessarily expect, like this one from 2Chainz.
Or maybe you've enjoyed culinary tips from an A-list star.
Which celebrity cookbooks would you recommend?
Tell us about them in the comments below and you could be included in a future BuzzFeed Community post or video!
For some folks, it’s a dream … a house where "move-in-ready" means just that: Everything is perfect and the new homeowners don’t have to lift a finger to design or decorate. And then there are the rest of us. We prefer to struggle with choosing (perhaps even installing) our home’s features ourselves. Decorating blogs, Pinterest boards, and samples of upholstery fabric or ceramic tile are the stuff our dreams are made of. If you’re one of us, you'll enjoy these 12 tips for successful DIY interior design.
Research. Learn as much as you can, as if you’re getting a certificate in countertops or a degree in drywall. The internet’s the obvious place to start, packed with ideas and available 24/7. But don’t stop there. Visit home centers and suppliers to view furniture, appliances, and materials in the flesh. Why? Well, you may read a dozen articles on say, quartz vs granite, and possibly even make your choice — in theory — but when you actually see and touch the two, that’s when you’ll fall in love.
Take stock. Look at your home as it is now. What do you love about it? What features could you love? For instance: There’s a gorgeous view but no way to enjoy it from indoors. Can you possibly create a new window to frame it? Or to enlarge a minuscule bathroom, might you be able to steal some space from a linen closet?
Decide whether you’re ready to renovate. "Renovate or adapt?" That is the question. What are your budget, time frame, and tolerance for chaos? Evaluate whether you’re willing to undergo a full-scale home remodel (or a minor one) to get the look and the functionality you’re dreaming of.
Plan your intended use. Go through the house, room by room, deciding what you’d like to use each area for. Function is the foundation on which you’ll base every aspect of your DIY interior design, from traffic patterns to the right type of flooring.
Find a focal point. Choose a central element to design around. This may be a feature already in place, such as elegant original wooden moldings, or something meaningful you yourself bring to the space, like a treasured antique carpet.
Think furnishings. What furniture and appliances do you already own? How will various furniture pieces work together and fulfill your intended use of the room? Start with an accurate floor plan and take both measurements and clearance into account.
Keep some empty space. The true purpose of a home is living, not display. So leave some empty space for your family to fill. A small hallway alcove can become a beloved "cave" for children to play in, if it’s not crammed with knickknacks.
Coordinate. Balance elements without being too matchy-matchy; think a lamp in a subtle leaf pattern that harmonizes with your favorite philodendron. A unified theme in each room and throughout the house will avoid visual overwhelm. At the same time, a certain amount of contrast sparks interest — for example, that dainty vintage dresser on a modern concrete floor.
Look at lighting. How much natural sun comes into the room? How much light will you need for the space’s intended purpose? To illustrate: A kitchen is likely to need more supplementary lighting than a home entertainment center.
Choose colors. The Rule of Three applies here. Select a maximum of three colors as the basis for your DIY interior design scheme, and combine them in a proportion of 60:30:10. Be sure to look at all colors — paint, upholstery, etc. — in appropriate light, to see their true shade.
Bring in a touch of nature. A natural element or two, like houseplants, rocks, or even a tree trunk will add warmth and charm. This could be a stand-alone decorative element (a tall vase filled with graceful branches) or incorporated into a larger whole — perhaps a slate fireplace surround.
Delegate. Know your limitations. Indulge in hiring a contractor, such as a professional landscaper or expert flooring installer, for part or all of the project, to make your vision come to life in the best possible way.
Ms. Bland is pulled over and accused of failing to use a turn signal. Brian T. Encinia, a state trooper, approaches her car, takes her information and returns to his vehicle to write a ticket. When Trooper Encinia returns, he asks if she is O.K. and says that Ms. Bland seems irritated.
Can a routine traffic stop lead to an arrest?
Failure to use a turn signal is technically an arrestable offense in Texas, though it rarely happens, according to Andrea Roth, an expert in criminal procedure who works as an assistant law professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Rebecca Robertson, the legal and policy director for A.C.L.U. in Texas, said, “The initial stop should not have resulted in an arrest.” Trooper Encinia could have just handed Ms. Bland a ticket through the window and let her drive away, she said.
In a traffic stop, is it legal for an officer to order a driver to put out a cigarette and exit the car?
Ms. Bland has a right to smoke in her car, but Trooper Encinia could argue that the cigarette was interfering with legitimate police business. Since he had already processed the papers, however, “I don’t see a good reason,” said Robert Weisberg, a criminal procedure expert and law professor at Stanford University. During a traffic stop, a police officer has the right to ask a driver to get out of the car even for a non-arrestable offense, as a way of securing his own safety. The officer has almost complete discretion and the driver is legally obligated to get out when asked. “He has control over the location of drivers,” Mr. Weisberg said. “It is equal to an officer patting you down to see if you have a gun.” In this case, Mr. Weisberg said, there is no evidence that Trooper Encinia feared for his safety. He would have to argue that Ms. Bland’s refusal to put the cigarette out gave him the impression that she was violent. If Trooper Encinia had feared for his safety, he would not have walked away from the car for five minutes, Mr. Weisberg said.
Trooper Encinia reaches into the car to remove Ms. Bland. Ms. Bland refuses to cooperate. He repeats “You are under arrest” and requests backup. After a struggle, Trooper Encinia pulls out a taser and yells, “I will light you up.” Ms. Bland exits the car.
Is there a legal basis for arresting Ms. Bland at this point? Is it legal to pull a driver out of the car?
The action continues outside of the view of the dashboard camera. Ms. Bland is heard yelling, “You are about to break my wrist.” Another officer is heard assisting in restraining her. Ms. Bland says that she cannot hear and that her head has been slammed into the ground.
Is it legal for an officer to use force while arresting someone?
“What’s disturbing here was that she was arrested for assaulting an officer,” Ms. Robertson said. “He had to arrest her because she was resisting arrest, but her resistance is a response to the officer escalating the situation.”Use of force against a citizen is allowed when an officer is arresting someone, but it should be proportional to the circumstance, she said. “While they are forcefully holding her down, I don’t think a judge would see that restraint as disproportionate physical force against Ms. Bland,” Ms. Roth said.In the arrest affidavit, Trooper Encinia described Ms. Bland as “combative and uncooperative” and said she had begun swinging at him with her elbows after she was removed from the car, handcuffed and forcibly subdued.
A video of the arrest recorded by a bystander, below, shows Ms. Bland on the ground with the trooper standing above her.
About 6:30 a.m., Ms. Bland refuses a breakfast tray. Shortly after 7 a.m. she responds, “I’m fine” to a jailer making the rounds, officials say, and she later asks how to make a phone call.Shortly after 9 a.m., a jailer finds her hanging. A video released by the sheriff’s office shows that there was no activity in the hallway leading to her cell for about 90 minutes before an officer checked on her and then called for help. The closed-circuit video below shows guards and a nurse rushing toward Ms. Bland’s cell. Emergency workers unsuccessfully administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation before she was pronounced dead at 9:16 a.m.
The Waller County Sheriff’s Office issues a statement saying that Ms. Bland was found not breathing from what appeared to be self-inflicted asphyxiation. An autopsy classifies her death as suicide by hanging. County officials say she was found in a “semi-standing position,” hanged with a plastic trash-can liner affixed to a U-shaped metal hook on a partition in her cell. Friends and relatives have expressed skepticism at police statements that Ms. Bland killed herself, and they have called for an independent autopsy. “Based on the Sandy that I knew, that's unfathomable to me,” another sister of Ms. Bland’s, Sharon Cooper, said at a news conference in Chicago.
SINGAPORE, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The dollar firmed against the pound and euro on Monday as British efforts to secure a Brexit deal ahead of a key European Union summit kept global investors’ preference to safe haven currencies.
The euro traded around 0.1 percent lower at 1.1549 on Monday, while the sterling lost 0.34 percent to 1.3109 after hitting an October high of 1.3258 on Friday.
The dollar index, a gauge of its value against six major peers, was up 0.1 percent at 95.31.
The problem of Britain’s land border with Ireland has thwarted a drive to clinch a Brexit deal, as negotiators over the weekend admitted defeat after marathon talks and pressed pause for the coming days.
The pound is also under pressure after former British foreign minister Boris Johnson’s comments in a newspaper column on Sunday that Britain must stand up to bullies in the European Union and press for a “super Canada” deal.
Johnson, a key figurehead of the campaign to leave the EU in 2016 and bookmakers’ favourite to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, is the latest critic to redouble efforts to urge the prime minister to rethink her plan to leave the union.
The yen strengthened to 111.94 versus the dollar on Monday. The yen has strengthened in the last six out of seven trading sessions versus the dollar, as a global risk-off sentiment kept a safe haven bid active on the Japanese currency.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday that Washington wants to include a provision to deter currency manipulation in future trade deals, including with Japan, based on the currency chapter in the new deal to revamp NAFTA.
The Australian dollar changed hands at 0.7101 against the dollar, down 0.25 percent. The Aussie hit a two-year low of 0.7039 on Oct. 5.
The Canadian dollar traded flat versus the dollar on Monday, at 1.3028.
The Swiss franc, seen as a safe haven currency by traders, was little changed at 0.9905 versus the dollar.
Canon has unveiled five new enterprise-level printers that bring a new level of wireless and smart-device printing into the home office and small businesses.
The new range is known as Maxify and includes four multi-functional printers [MFP] as well as one single-function printer [SFP] that can offer print volumes of up to 1,500 pages per month.
“The ability to print anywhere – directly from mobile or tablet, or even from a range of cloud storage providers through dedicated mobile printing applications – means that SMBs can take the office with them like never before,” said Mark Robinson, market business developer at Canon UK and Ireland.
The four MFPs have the model numbers MB2050, MB2350, MB5050, MB5350 whereas the SFP is the iB4050 and every printer in the new range provides Wi-Fi printing as standard as well as a first-time print-out time that can be as low as seven seconds.
The Maxify Cloud Link allows printing from scans to be handled directly from the printer screen to cloud storage providers that include Evernote, Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive.
Maxify MB5350 features Canon Single Pass two-sided Scan technology that allows both sides of a document to be scanned at the same time and saves precious time in the process.