5 Healthyish Things I like/don't like this week, including Elicit

If you want real, honest, reliable answers to health questions (and I assume you do, or else you wouldn’t be here), research is essential. But it takes time.

Enter Elicit, an AI tool I dream I’d had years ago, back when I was spending hours on PubMed looking for the right solutions to my health issues growing up the biggest kid in the class. With its ability to summarize years of research in a simple, shareable way, Elicit is one of the coolest applications I’ve seen of AI.

All you do is enter your medical query and Elicit pulls up a summary of up-to-date research, providing a list of major themes and links to the most relevant papers so you can dig deeper. It’s imperfect (and you, of course, still have to spend time doing research for real) but it’s a great starting point that could save researchers, doctors, and knowledge hungry health nerds like myself tons of time.

It’s hard enough for wealthy, privileged people to figure out how and where to find a trusted doctor. Trying to navigate all of that without resources like language, education, trustworthy guidance, transportation, and money is a whole different ball game.

Underserved and minority communities have the most barriers to healthcare and education, and Pair Team is doing what they can to break them down. The startup makes quality healthcare convenient and accessible by setting up telemedicine services in nonprofits like food pantries and shelters. Clinicians work with patients on location, and patients can follow up with questions and concerns over phone and text 24/7. Patients also get a list of actionable steps to improve their physical, mental, and social health (like housing and employment).

Anything meeting people where they’re at is fundamentally helpful– and an area I’m personally very passionate about. Plus, some of the coolest companies in healthcare take this approach (shout out to Live Chair Health for bringing health education to the Black community via barber shops, and Fabric Health—plus its fierce founder, friend Courtney Bragg—for helping people navigate the healthcare system while they’re at the laundromat).

So much health innovation happens on first world problems. The companies that put their energy toward the underserved communities are the ones that deserve more attention. 👏

Okay, so I’ve been trying to get more companies to adopt what I call “Bring Your Own Labs” or BYOL. Most people already get blood work done as part of their regular healthcare routine. So why don’t more services and solutions tap into all that information if you’ve got it already? Seems like a no brainer. 

Yes, you can get them with Function Health (now going on its third straight week of mentions and the #1 clicked link, no big deal). Yes, Elo Health takes blood results and turns them into protein and supplement packs. And yes, I kind of just want to share my labs with almost everyone and see how they can help.

Now, the first place I’ve really seen this in action is Stack Supplements. Started by multi-time successful founder friends Dave Ronick & Gaspard de Dreuzy, Stack is very early, but neatly recommends a personalized list of supplements (a “stack,” if you will) based on your blood test results, your current medications, clinical studies, and your answers to their thorough health assessment questionnaire. 

I tried it out, and Stack recommended a better alternative to the fish oil I was taking (these Nordic Naturals are the ones in case you’re curious), so I made the switch. Easy! Stack is another great example of how AI can make more accessible, personalized health recommendations at scale, and I dig it. And go give them a try, since they’re looking for new users and more feedback. 🙏

On the other hand…

The biggest health news this week is Thrive Global’s Ariana Huffington (yes, of Huffington Post) and Open AI’s Sam Altman sharing their plan to create an AI health coach. 

Much of the healthcare industry has been focused on how ineffective most health interventions without actual people have been. (Thought this LinkedIn take by the great Dr. Ben Schwarz was particularly good.) To me, though, an AI health companion that gives us recommendations based on our health history, blood work, and personal info is exciting and, frankly, inevitable. Think like a souped up Apple Health Kit.

But will Thrive Global be the one to do it? LOL. Corporate wellness is a tough industry (many have tried, few have lasted) and the fact that Thrive Global is still only bringing in $20M after nearly 10 years in business… doesn’t give me confidence about their ability to execute. Just about the only thing I think Thrive Global does well on is send press releases. 😬

Today, this country’s entrenched and frustrating healthcare system operates in basically the complete opposite way it should on almost everything that could actually fix our chronic disease crisis (root cause medicine, lifestyle changes, healthy food, exercise). Just saying.

Most of my career has been dedicated to fighting this through the private sector with innovation and startups. But the actual system needs to change, too, and End Chronic Disease is stepping up to the plate. This coalition of leaders from top health & wellness brands like Thrive Market, Sweetgreen, Athletic Greens, and more are working to educate lawmakers and collect compelling patient stories to get our incentives right again—and ultimately get more people access to healthy food, exercise programs, supplements, and other non-pharmaceutical interventions.

I’m, duh, very into this. I want to get involved—and where the heck was my invite? 😂 Do you want to get involved? They’re looking for more stories from folks who’ve reversed chronic disease through lifestyle changes. Share yours here.