Digital Health startup focussing on senior care
Hometeam, a digital healthcare startup has entered the senior&nbsp;healthcare market. Hometeam's software operates like a matchmaking services, intelligently matchmaking families with experienced caregivers.&nbsp;
Caregiver matchmaker Hometeam’s emergence from stealth mode, two years after Bain Capital VC Josh Bruno started the business, is the latest example that non-healthcare entrepreneurs and investors have cottoned onto the substantial market opportunity of the senior care market, specifically aging in place.

The company raised $11 million in a Series A round from Lux Capital, IA Ventures, and Recruit Strategic Partners, to support a blitzkreig of office openings — it plans to add 15 offices in nine states over the next 12 months, according to a company statement.

Among its board members are Jeff Kindler, a former CEO of Pfizer and currently a venture partner at Lux Capital, and Bryan Sivak, former CTO of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Hometeam likens its software to a matchmaking service “that intelligently matches families with experienced caregivers, connects families to their loved ones through mobile technology…. and helps caregivers plan days that improve the quality of life of older adults.”

Just last week Honor made a splashy announcement that it would bestow a total of $1 million in credits for its by-the-hour care coordination service in 10 cities starting with San Francisco. Hometeam and Honor make the argument that their software is powerful enough to transform endemic problems in healthcare — the inefficiencies, poorly delivered care and fragmented services.

One thing that makes me curious about these matchmaker services is that they’re developed for the children of the seniors to make these coordination decisions on their behalf. How much of a voice do seniors really have in who cares for them and how? What kind of facility are these programs providing that their services aren’t just meeting the needs of the family caregivers but the seniors at the center of them.

I don’t doubt that there’s a practical necessity for these platforms to be aimed at the younger people looking after their parents. But I hope someone will take an interest in quantifying the success of these models not just by the number of customers they sign up, but how satisfied the seniors really are. As cool an idea as the AARP’s Project Catalyst is, the interest in making sure these devices meet the needs of the target market should come during the design process, with universal design is an ideal.

Ideally, companies shouldn’t treat the needs of seniors as secondary to those of the people who are actually buying their product. I hope the digital health companies targeting senior care have or will make it easy to get constructive feedback from them.