Funding round led by Nebraska Medicine, Teal Ventures, HIP and Cohn Family Trust
- 29% of adults with a medical condition also have some type of mental health disorder and close to 70% of behavioral health patients have a medical co-morbidity1
- Approximately 90% of total health expenditures are spent on patients with chronic disease and behavioral health issues2
- Nudj Health provides virtual care infrastructure to providers nationwide to integrate behavioral health treatments that help improve patients’ mental health and social determinants of health, encourage necessary and healthy lifestyle changes and ultimately drive positive patient outcomes
PASADENA, Calif., April 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nudj Health, a tech-enabled health service that partners with providers nationwide to deliver telehealth lifestyle interventions to patients using the collaborative care model, announced today the closing of its Series A funding round at $10 million led by Nebraska Medicine, Teal Ventures, Cohn Family Trust and HIP (Health Innovation Pitch). Nudj Health will use the capital to grow its clinical, technology and commercial teams to rapidly scale its turnkey evidence-based behavioral health services in cardiology, oncology and primary care settings nationwide.
In the U.S., 29% of adults with a medical condition also have some type of mental health disorder and close to 70% of behavioral health patients have a medical co-morbidity.1 Additionally, each year over $3.4 trillion of U.S. healthcare expenditures - approximately 90% of total costs - are spent on patients with both chronic disease and behavioral health issues.2 This problem is exacerbated by the lack of integrated behavioral health services into primary and specialty care settings.
“Providers are challenged to support existing patients without the proper infrastructure. Nudj Health steps into this gap to extend the provider’s services to care for patients beyond the walls of the office and to help patients make healthy changes that will improve their health and well-being while decreasing their disease burden,” explained Yuri Sudhakar, founder and chief executive officer of Nudj Health. “By empowering and guiding patients to adopt healthy lifestyles, a whopping 80% of all chronic diseases could be prevented.”
“There’s already evidence that a person’s mental health and physical health, including chronic disease, bidirectionally influence each other to either worsen health risks or improve them,” continued Sudhakar. “If providers had the necessary infrastructure to help their patients make healthier lifestyle choices then their patients’ health would improve along with their mental health. It’s all connected. We help providers prescribe lifestyle interventions using evidence-based clinical pathways. Behavioral health treatment should be continuous and not episodic.”
Nudj Health uses the collaborative care model and thus far its services have demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of moderate to severe depression, anxiety, and insomnia with scores decreasing by 42-52% within 12 weeks. Patients also experienced a reduction or maintenance of blood pressure and weight, improved mobility, improved medication adherence and improved connections with family, community and Nudj Health support systems.
“The collaborative care model works. Patients get better and they get better faster than any other treatment modality I’ve experienced in mental health. And that gets to the root of why doctors go into medicine. We want to help people heal, to achieve optimal health, well-being and happiness, not just to help maintain a chronic illness. At Nudj with our care integration, I also get to help other doctors be more effective healers,” said Katie Hill, a board-certified psychiatrist and chief medical officer of Nudj Health.
“Nebraska Medicine invested in Nudj Health because of the company’s mission and because the leadership team has a proven track record of scaling a virtual healthcare business. They know how to seamlessly partner with a provider’s staff, understand the nuances and complexities of the provider workflow, and integrate with provider electronic medical records. We also see the need for more integrated behavioral health services and Nudj’s model makes sense for our provider teams,” said Michael Ash, MD, executive vice president and chief transformation officer of Nebraska Medicine and a Nudj Health Board Member.
“Teal Ventures decided to invest in Nudj Health because they checked many of the boxes for success: proven and experienced team, focused strategy, integration with provider’s staff, workflow and systems, and, most importantly, focus on value-add services for patients,” said Eddie Wang Rodriguez, Partner at Teal Ventures.
“Nudj Health is an ideal example of strong leadership, disruptive technology, and healthcare expertise coming together in an innovative startup that understands the healthcare landscape. The unique value proposition that provides lifestyle medicine in a collaborative care platform that fits current volume and value workflows is exceptional and we are excited to support the journey of building an impactful organization that will help providers and patients alike. HIP’s investment thesis is based on a healthcare expert-led collaborative diligence process, and Yuri and his team shined in every discussion we had with them,” said Samir Batra, managing partner of HIP and a Nudj Health Board Member.
About Nudj Health
Founded in 2021, Nudj Health delivers integrated, whole-person, and continuous care for patients with chronic disease beyond the walls of the doctor’s office. The company provides collaborative care using evidence-based, Medicare approved pathways centered around six interconnected lifestyle areas: stress management, physical activity, sleep quality, social support, behavioral risks and nutrition.
Based in Pasadena, Calif., Nudj Health has already integrated its service with several cardiology and oncology providers across the nation.
Affiliated providers can now integrate the use of evidence-based lifestyle medicine therapeutic interventions as a primary treatment designed to prevent, treat and often reverse chronic disease.
To learn more, visit nudjhealth.com.
Sources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Mental Health and Chronic Disease in the Workplace.”
- Health and Economic Costs of Chronic Diseases
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kat Kirsch/Melissa Penn
media@nudjhealth.com
