100Plus, a California medical technology company, created a set of remote patient control technologies. These include a digital weight scale, a blood pressure fist, a thermometer, and a blood glucose monitor. The company has recently launched Ava, an AI-powered healthcare provider that is specifically designed for older patients who may not be tech experts or open to new technologies.
The system aims to personify the staff of the patient’s local medical practice, which helps to build trust and relationship, with the aim of attracting patients to their home. The ultimate goal is to increase patient compliance with follow-up and treatment to improve health outcomes.
The technology uses AI to customize the interaction with each patient and bases their commitments on several factors, including the patient’s medical history, treatment plan, medication compliance, and incoming health data. The company reports that Ava has already provided 660,000 health alerts and three million device readings.
Medgadget He had the opportunity to speak with Ryan Howard, CEO of 100Plus, about this technology.
Conn Hastings, Medgadget: Give us an overview of the patient remote control solution offered by 100Plus.
Ryan Howard, 100Plus: 100Plus offers a complete Remote Patient Control (RPM) solution for physicians and their patients living with chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Our free concierge identifies patients eligible for an RPM program and shares the practice for review and approval, conducts patient consent and training, and sends devices directly to patients ready to use. The devices we offer include blood pressure cuffs, blood glucose monitors, digital scales, emergency clocks, digital thermometers and pulse oximeters. Physicians can review data transmitted from devices to help inform clinical decisions and proactively involve patients to avoid episodic care.
Our solution does not involve any initial expense for physicians, and since Medicare and Medicaid Service Centers (CMSs) and many private insurers reimburse RPM services, physicians can add revenue to their practice while introducing a new one. technology that will benefit patient care and reduce costs. Doctors can earn approximately $ 720 per patient per year with RPM services. For the primary care physician with 800 Medicare patients, this represents approximately hundreds of thousands of additional annual admissions, which is critical for independent small physicians who have cash restrictions.
Medgadget: How and why was Ava conceived?
Ryan Howard: Part of the challenge with RPM is to proactively involve patients to ensure compliance without creating additional work for physicians and their staff. Ava was developed to address this through artificial intelligence and machine learning to act as a virtual medical assistant, reminding patients to use their RPM devices and encouraging positive patient behaviors.
Medgadget: Please give us an overview of the system and how it works.
Ryan Howard: Following the consent of a physician, Ava conducts outreach actions on behalf of the practice to facilitate enrollment in an RPM program for eligible patients. After enrollment and training, Ava hires patients to conduct specific health behaviors based on their personalized health data, including medical history, demographics, medication adherence, and treatment plans.
Ava also coordinates medical consultations and scheduling and reminders of patient appointments, helping to further reduce the workload of medical staff. Our initial data has shown that technology increases patient adherence, reduces patient wear, and creates significant administrative time savings for physicians and their staff. We have also seen that chronic and unadministered patients were becoming healthier on the platform thanks to reduced blood pressure for hypertensive patients, for example. We will publish this data publicly soon.
Medgadget: How does Ava optimize interactions with seniors who may not be tech savvy or comfortable with new technologies?
Ryan Howard: When we developed Ava, we considered the fact that older people are not only less tech savvy, but less confident in new technologies. Ava is notable for taking advantage of machine learning to personify the staff of a medical consultation, providing a truly personal point of contact. This is important because we know that these patients respond better to direct medical advice and technology appears as a member of the consultation. Ava also works via SMS and does not need any application or internet service.
Medgadget: How is Ava leveraged for machine learning to customize interactions and monitor patients?
Ryan Howard: Ava reviews the patient’s demographics, medical history, and biotelemetry to customize how each person is communicated. Combined with previous and anticipated health alerts, it can involve a patient in driving specific behaviors using this personalized health data. Ava machine learning allows patients to interact, ask questions and receive tailor-made answers, while following strict security and compliance with patient privacy regulations.
Medgadget: How do you think remote patient tracking will evolve in the future?
Ryan Howard: Currently, most RPM solutions present some hurdle for patients. For example, patients need to put a fist on their blood pressure, fist with their fingers to get A1C levels, or step on a scale. All of these barriers to compliance carry the risk of decreasing the potential for RPM to improve outcomes and reduce costs.
We see that RPM evolves with the introduction of more passive and less invasive control devices. In fact, we anticipate more of this type of device to get FDA approval next year. An example is a watch that can measure blood pressure. These new technologies will have significant potential to help increase patient compliance and provide a better overall experience.
Link: 100Plus Home Page …
