HEALTH TECH
SHIV GAGLANI
Quantifying Care
An Interview with Michael Batista
There are hundreds of companies vying to improve patient engagement and collaborative care given the evolving needs of today ’ s health care system . Quantified Care ( QC ) is a company that spun off from the “ Smartphone Physical ,” which this author helped create for TEDMED 2013 . I had the opportunity to catch up with bioengineer and CEO of Quantified Care , Michael Batista , and learn more about how they ’ re aiming to make their mark .
Please describe the problem you ’ re trying to solve . Out of all the time patients spend on their health , on average , about 80 % of it takes place alone , outside the clinical system , without any direct support during what we call gaps in patient care . These gaps in care are particularly concerning for patients with chronic diseases . For patients with conditions such as congestive heart failure ( CHF ), COPD , and diabetes , missed warning signs can lead to significant , expensive medical repercussions . This challenge is only compounded by the growing undersupply of providers needed to manage an expanding patient population . The result is a need to both improve patient care and support outside the four walls of the traditional clinic while doing so in a way which efficiently leverages existing as well as previously underutilized clinical resources .
How does Quantified Care address the problem ? Our solution is an audio , text , mobile , email , and web-enabled software platform for remote patient monitoring , management , and engagement . Through tools like QC ’ s mobile app , patients complete daily check-ins where we ask questions about their symptoms , medications , and vitals based on a holistic view of how the patient has been doing over time . Leveraging the “ Internet of Things ” to reduce the burden on patients , our platform has the ability to integrate with any and all connected technologies and wearables . For example , a patient with CHF tracking his weight with a digital scale can simply sync his device with QC ’ s platform rather than manually entering his value each day . Based on the information collected , patients receive real-time updates , feedback , and content , such as videos , to help them stay on track and suggest new ways to manage their health .
On the clinical side of the platform , typically used by a nursing team within our client ’ s or a nurse panel provided by QC , all the data is organized and analyzed to stratify patients into high , medium , and low-risk
categories based on standards of care . Alerts trigger the nursing team to reach out and support those patients who need care most , when they need it . Nurses can also proactively reach out to large groups of patients simultaneously to help course correct as needed . Between users , a secure communication layer ensures that patients achieve peace of mind in knowing that their clinical support team is only a click away .
While gaps in patient care are challenges , at QC we see them as opportunities to leverage the new , expanding world of digital health . Patients do not have to feel alone in managing their health . Through a combination of easy , non-intrusive touch points for patient engagement and proactive support from clinical teams using the patient ’ s preferred form of communication , we ’ re helping to change the paradigm of health care while improving the efficiency and efficacy of health care organizations in a data-driven way .
Who are some of your current clients and how are you helping them ? We currently work with both health care insurance payers and hospital systems . If anyone has been in health care long enough , they learn that nothing is a straightforward as it seems to be , whether it ’ s treating a common condition or aligning incentives . However , the Affordable Care Act ( ACA ) has done its best to put payers and providers on the same side . Both are incentivized to focus on value and looking for solutions to meet those needs . This is where QC can play a role . Our solution enables underutilized clinical resources , like nurse case managers , home health workers or disease management to efficiently monitor patients remotely . We offer the opportunity to deploy solutions to a larger portion of your population for a longer time period , unlike current legacy solutions that focus on a discrete number of conditions over short time period .
One of our biggest efforts today is alongside Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts ( BCBSMA ), where we are working to implement our solution to tackle both congestive heart failure and hypertension . Planned as a solution to extend the capabilities of BCBSMA ’ s internal nursing teams while driving enhanced member engagement , our objectives include improvement in both patient health and cost of care . For CHF members , emergency department visits can be life-threatening , expensive medical scenarios . As a result of the ACA , penalties now exist around 30-day CHF readmissions , making it a clear opportunity for short-term cost savings . The hypertension opportunity , on the other hand , is around long-term cost avoidance since this medical condition can lead to more serious medical issues later in life if not controlled . Outside of BCBSMA , we are working with some new clients in our pipeline to tackle asthma , COPD , and myocardial infarction .
What trends in patient engagement and patientgenerated health data do you see ? It ’ s a sea of change . We are looking at the first time that much of this kind of data has been collected let alone analyzed . Not only does this mean that payers and providers can receive patient data in real-time , but there is finally the possibility of personalized medicine . Combining data sources together such as patient-generated data , genetic data , electronic health record data , and consumer data can truly lead to personalized treatments never before thought possible . However , while we ’ re not trying to burst anyone ’ s bubble , this is only possible if patients are engaged in their own health . It ’ s a big bet and remains to be sufficiently validated , but building upon behavior modification techniques and human-centered design practices is a step in the right direction . Companies willing to take early bets on these technologies will at a minimum “ learn towards the future ” with a potential to see transformational change in their business .
What is the management team ’ s background in medical technology and innovation ? I earned my undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering ( BME ) from MIT and then matriculated in the BME PhD program at Johns Hopkins . It was at Johns Hopkins , through the Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design , that I became involved in translating a number of early stage medical technologies from concept to market . I am also an editor for Medgadget , an online medical-tech blog . My colleague and COO , Thomas Anthony , previously worked at 3 tech startups , including the digital health company WellDoc . One of those startups went public and the most recent has raised more than $ 50 million . ■
Author Disclosure : Shiv Gaglani was a co-founder of Quantified Care and still has an equity position in the company .
Shiv Gaglani is an MD / MBA candidate at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Harvard Business School . He writes about trends in medicine and technology and has had his work published in Medgadget , The Atlantic , and Emergency Physicians Monthly .
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