On Jul. 28, 2020, StartX announced the launch of its StartX Med Alliance of Remote and Telehealth (SMART) Initiative and the mobilization of its digital health medical companies to support healthcare providers in their delivery of telehealth, remote monitoring, remote diagnostics, and virtual care services. The consortium will collaborate on partnerships with healthcare providers and government agencies to help them respond to the massive shifts in patient care delivery caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SMART Initiative is part of the StartX Med COVID-19 Task Force and provides a range of innovative solutions that equip frontline providers in their day-to-day care delivery, helping to minimize health risks to providers and patients in this new COVID-19 environment. Examples of innovation include remote patient monitoring of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, software enabling clinics to offer high volume drive-by COVID-19 testing, remote stem cell and blood sampling for point-of-care use, telehealth and virtual care platforms for physician practices and senior care providers, and telemedicine-enabled mobile retinal scanners that allow nurses and medical assistants to detect eye disease rapidly.

The consortium collaborates with healthcare providers serving high-risk and vulnerable patients in U.S. regions that have been the hardest hit by COVID-19. As such, the StartX companies are offering their solutions and support to healthcare providers that receive funding from the Federal Communications Commission COVID-19 Telehealth Program. The consortium is engaging hospitals, senior care providers, community health centers, local health departments, and providers in other settings to support their telehealth, remote monitoring, and remote diagnostics initiatives.