Summary
Some of the most sensitive information in existence is one’s medical records. Yet, health tech has lagged behind in improving the security of patient data. Transferring medical files from one healthcare provider to another is often not as secure a process as a patient might wish.
Apotheka is changing that. The company used Blockchain and AI to create a secure SaaS platform for electronic medical health records. We talked to founder Dennis Maliani about how better health tech security elevates the patient experience and his vision for the industry.
Note: This interview was conducted over email. It has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Olivia Strobl
Can you give us a brief elevator pitch for your company?
Dennis Maliani
Apotheka is a SaaS company that’s leveraging Blockchain and AI technologies to build next gen digital health solutions. Our SaaS solution integrates with clinical systems in a healthcare setting and transforms them into secure Blockchain systems to address security, data integrity and data interoperability while utilizing AI driven smart workflows.
Olivia Strobl
What inspired you to take the leap and build this company?
Dennis Maliani
I have been consulting in the healthcare space for more than 13 years and challenges around security, bad patient data and interoperability are still plaguing healthcare systems regardless of technology solutions currently on the market. We decided to create a company that can focus on root cause problems, and the Apotheka SaaS solution was created.
Wall Street has Morningstar, S&P, and Bloomberg
The equity crowdfunding market has KingsCrowd.
Olivia Strobl
What past experiences prepared you to start, build, and lead your company?
Dennis Maliani
My background is in technology, however I was fortunate at the onset of my career to work side by side with leading doctors at Cedars Sinai, MemorialCare, Keck USC and others implementing clinical solutions, workflow process redesign and implementing policies and procedures etc. That knowledge transfer rubbed off, and it gave me a strong background in health-tech.
Olivia Strobl
What is your vision for the future of the industry you are operating in?
Dennis Maliani
I see healthcare transforming to be more consumer/patient driven. Patients are now more empowered especially with new laws allowing them to own and control who has access to their data and being able shop around for best pricing due to new pricing transparency laws. Such changes will force providers to elevate their patient care experience which happens to be our company mission.
Olivia Strobl
Who is on your team and how did you come together?
Dennis Maliani
Management team myself – CEO founder; Luis Lopez – COO; Victor Pisacane – CTO; Dan Edelstein – CSO. In addition to our team, [we have] other eight members [who are] a mix of operations and developers. We all met at various times in some of the healthcare companies we have worked at in the past, and in September 2018 we decided to launch Apotheka Systems Inc.
Wall Street has Morningstar, S&P, and Bloomberg
The equity crowdfunding market has KingsCrowd.
Olivia Strobl
Do you have any competition, if so, how do you differentiate?
Dennis Maliani
We have competitors like Emblema and SimplyVital, however Apotheka’s solution has a competitive advantage in that we are the first one to file a patent that validates patient profiles on the Blockchain. Our solution is plug and play with any clinical solution module, and we have layered security that protects patient data.
Olivia Strobl
What does your business model look like?
Dennis Maliani
Our model is subscription based, licensing per user on a monthly basis and yearly hosting for the Blockchain network.
Olivia Strobl
What brought you to equity crowdfunding and how do you intend to use the money you raise this round to scale the business?
Dennis Maliani
We are raising funds to finish up our phase two solution, the “Digital health passport” that will host personal medical data and can be shared securely. Secondly, [funds will go to] support scaling activities like marketing and onboarding new team members. In addition, we wanted to involve the community in building out our superior solution.
Wall Street has Morningstar, S&P, and Bloomberg
The equity crowdfunding market has KingsCrowd.
Olivia Strobl
What do you want potential investors to know about you and/or your company?
Dennis Maliani
We are a cutting edge company that’s leading the transformation for how people consume and interact with healthcare. We are all about elevating the patient care experience by making their experience user friendly, safe and secure during their patient journey.
Olivia Strobl
As you think about the business 5-10 years down the road, what do you see exit opportunities looking like? Have you set any future goals for the company?
Dennis Maliani
The possibilities are endless. We [can] see ourselves expanding beyond the USA market, doing an IPO or getting acquired by another innovative health digital company.
We at KingsCrowd are excited to see where Dennis and his team take the company. Apotheka is currently raising on Wefunder.
About: Olivia Strobl
Olivia comes to KingsCrowd with a background in venture capital and technology. She spent time at Glasswing Ventures, an AI-focused venture fund in Boston, before joining the KingsCrowd team. There she helped develop machine learning algorithms for the opportunity qualification of preseed and seed-stage startup companies. Prior to her time at Glasswing, Olivia worked in a lab studying the neural correlates of attention. She holds a degree in Neuroscience from Wellesley College.