Canary Health Acquires bLife to Strengthen Consumer-Focused Mobile Health Strategy

Los Angeles-based startup Canary Health leverages digital health tools to help people prevent and manage chronic diseases. According to mobihealth, Canary Health recently acquired bLife for an undisclosed amount. bLife is a digital health management company that has developed a stress management app to help improve mental well-being.

Canary Health is a health management company that sells disease management solutions to healthcare systems such as hospitals, primarily targeting institutional clients. bLife is an app development company whose application is directly aimed at the general consumer market, helping people manage their stress. In addition to individual consumers, bLife’s clients include the Oprah Winfrey Network, Deepak Chopra, and The Huffington Post.

Integrating Design Thinking to Address Mobile Shortcomings

Adam Kaufman, CEO of Canary Health, stated, “bLife focuses on the general consumer. Acquiring bLife allows us to place greater emphasis on consumers and refine our consumer-centric design thinking, which is a significant gain. In our collaborations with clients, we have observed that, to some extent, there is a lack of in-depth product design thinking within companies. For instance, while companies may conduct rigorous clinical research, they are often less adept at translating it into consumer products. Of course, this does not mean the company will shift entirely to serving the general consumer.”

Canary Health will integrate bLife’s technology and design to foster interconnectivity and collaboration between their products. For instance, since Canary Health already provides services for patients with arthritis and diabetes, these offerings can be combined with bLife’s stress management solutions, as stress often coexists with chronic diseases.

Furthermore, all services currently provided by the bLife app will continue, but no further development will be undertaken.

Canary Health had previously developed mobile applications, but these served primarily as a complement to its traditional web-based platform. Following the acquisition of bLife, Canary Health will increase its investment in mobile solutions and gradually prioritize mobile platforms as its primary support channel.

Make products more user-friendly and bring health to everyday consumers.

Kaufman stated, “For us, the most important thing is to address all aspects of an individual and engage in deep communication and interaction with people, rather than merely asking about their blood glucose levels or pain intensity. We cannot focus only on the issues people encounter when they are ill; instead, we must consider what services we can provide to them as whole persons. This is exactly what we are doing, and the acquisition of bLife allows us to take a further step forward. Furthermore, bLife’s mobile technology capabilities will help Canary Health better address challenges encountered during product development.”

Earlier this year, at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference, Canary Health announced that it had secured funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to launch a digital arthritis management program.

Kaufman stated, “This program was designed at Stanford University, and we hold exclusive licensing rights. Over the past five years, Stanford University, the National Council on Aging, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Arthritis Foundation have collaborated to bring this arthritis management program directly to the general public. This year, Canary Health will join this consortium and integrate it into its own health management programs.”

Following the completion of the acquisition, BLife CEO Paul Campbell will join Canary Health as Chief Product Officer. Hamet Watt, another founder of bLife, will join the board of directors of Canary Health.