Maven Clinic Launches Research Institute to Advance Digital Health Evidence

The institute is built on what Maven describes as the largest public evidence base measuring the impact of virtual care on women’s and family health.

Maven Clinic has launched a Clinical Research Institute aimed at expanding research and collaboration in digital health, as adoption of virtual care continues to outpace evidence generation on quality and outcomes.

The institute is built on what Maven describes as the largest public evidence base measuring the impact of virtual care on women’s and family health.

According to the company, Maven has published more than 40 peer-reviewed studies to date. The Clinical Research Institute includes a dedicated research team, led in part by Maven’s chief medical officer, and will support collaborations with academic and industry partners.

Maven said the institute is designed to serve as a platform for partnerships while broadening the scope of women’s and family health research. Current and past research collaborators include Harvard Medical School, Brown University, Posterity, and Oura, with additional studies planned.

The launch comes as telehealth adoption remains widespread following the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, more than one-third of US adults and 87% of physicians reported using telehealth. Despite this growth, Maven executives said the industry has lagged in systematically evaluating what digital health interventions work well and which do not.

“Digital health went from being an abstraction to everywhere,” Neel Shah, chief medical officer at Maven, told Fierce Healthcare. Shah said while digital tools—from wearables to chatbots—have the potential to improve health outcomes at scale, they should be subject to the same level of rigor applied to drugs and medical devices.

The institute will also support research through Maven’s Visiting Scientist program. Under the initiative, visiting scientists work part-time with the company for up to one year, contributing to studies intended to inform care delivery and translate evidence into practice.

Shah noted that while health outcomes should be evaluated consistently across care settings, digital health introduces different operational realities. Unlike brick-and-mortar healthcare, where access and timeliness can be limiting factors, virtual care can offer faster access, requiring new benchmarks for quality and effectiveness. Research into which digital interventions deliver measurable value is critical for long-term scalability, he said.

Alongside the institute’s launch, Maven published its first Clinical Impact Report, which consolidates previously released outcomes data with a focus on health equity. The report includes findings related to maternal health, neonatal outcomes, and mental health among Maven members.

Maven operates a network of more than 600 providers across over 30 specialties and offers approximately 9,000 appointments per week. In 2024, the company was among nine non-health plans to receive health equity accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

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