Ms. Tilenius is a former Google and eBay executive. She founded PlanetRx and is an executive-in-residence at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. Dr. Chen is a primary care physician who has been a network manager at HealthTap, and innovation specialist at Kaiser Permanente and medical director of StartX, Stanford University’s startup fund.
Vida, currently available only on iPhone, is free for download and costs $15 per week for health coaching and checkups, which is about 10 percent as much as a weekly appointment with a physician or therapist might cost, according to Dr. Chen.
Users connect with Vida’s “health coaches” after answering questions about health goals and the type of coaching they’re looking for. Then, the user and healthcare provider are able to exchange HIPAA-compliant texts and hold video calls.
While the app can work for weight loss or fitness goals like marathon training, it is also intended for health coaching for those recovering from serious conditions, such as cancer or heart attacks. Clinical studies to assess the effectiveness of the app will begin soon at MD Anderson Cancer Center and Duke University Hospital, according to the report.
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