Culina Health, a pioneering health tech company founded by Vanessa Rissetto in 2020 alongside co-founder Tamar Samuels, has recently secured over $7.9 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to more than $20 million. The platform offers holistic, evidence-based nutrition care through registered dietitians, matching patients with a dietitian within 10 minutes for their first 60-minute session. Follow-up 45-minute sessions help patients establish healthier habits and track their progress.
Key Features of Culina Health
- Over 90 registered dietitians on board
- Served more than 10,000 patients across all 50 states
- Tracks patient data, reporting significant cost savings for patients
- Emphasizes frequent check-ins with primary care physicians for streamlined care
Rissetto highlighted the platform’s ability to save patients thousands of dollars, citing an average saving of $7,000 per patient. This translates to substantial healthcare cost reduction when extrapolated across their patient base. The company’s approach not only benefits patients but also helps reduce the burden on physicians’ offices by managing less acute cases through their nutrition care services.
The Role of AI in Healthcare
Rissetto also discussed the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in the healthcare sector during the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast. While acknowledging AI’s potential benefits, such as early detection of breast cancer and automating routine tasks, she emphasized the importance of maintaining the human connection in healthcare. Rissetto cautioned against removing the human element entirely, pointing out that current AI models are trained on data sets that may not reflect the general population, potentially leading to gaps in care.
“I think the thought that you’re just going to cut the human element out of health care is incorrect,” Rissetto stated. “Also, the data sets that we have at this moment are not reflective of [the] general population, which is a historic thing. So I think that’s a gap there as well. How are we training these models?”
Future Prospects
With its innovative approach to nutrition care and emphasis on human connection in healthcare, Culina Health is poised to make a significant impact in the health tech space. The company’s commitment to tracking data and improving patient outcomes positions it as a leader in virtual nutrition care services.
