About our project
WellTexts™: A Program to Reduce Stent Patient’s Hospitalizations and Deaths Caused by Medication Non-Adherence
• Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is the single largest cause of death and also the greatest cause of premature and permanent disability in the labor force.
• Nearly 18 million adults age 20 or older in the U.S. suffer from CHD, which causes 1 out of every 6 deaths in the US.
• These factors continue to drive demand for angioplasty and coronary stenting. More then 1,000,000 stenting procedures are performed in the US each year.
• Pharmacologic treatment (taking medications as prescribed) post stenting is critical to prevent complications that in 1% of cases (over 10,000 patients per year) can lead to death.
The Problem
• It is estimated that up to a 33% of patients do not fill their prescription and up to 75% stop taking their medication within year one.
• One in five (20%) Medicare patients do not fill their prescriptions by seven (7) days after their stenting procedure and one in seven (14%) fail to do so by three (3) months.
• Premature discontinuation of antiplatelet medications has been associated with a TWO-FOLD INCREASE IN RE-HOSPITALIZATION and a NINE-FOLD INCREASE IN ANNUAL MORTALITY.
WellTexts™ Will Increase Stent Treatment Success Rate
WellTexts™ help patients adhere to their medication therapy and necessary life style changes using our two-way text messaging by:
- Sending patients alerts about when to take their medication and educating them about necessary life style changes,
- Involving their caregiver family and friends via escalation text message alerts, and
- Keeping the patient’s health care team informed in real-time via an on-line triage dashboard, and time sensitive e-mail notifications system.
At hospital discharge patients will sign up for the mobile Health manager (mHm) WellTexts™ program by simply texting the word STENT to the WellTexts number. Patient is automatically signed up for the pre-set interventions:
• First RxFILL: Patient gets daily text with educational content about their condition and is asked to confirm if they filled their prescription. If patient doesn’t confirm that they have filled prescription within 48 hours of discharge, a designated health worker (e.g. nurse) is e-mailed to follow up with patient and a text message is sent to caregiver family or friend alerting them of the same. Watch a video
• Medication and Refill Reminders: Patients will receive daily morning alert to take their antiplatelet medication. Patient is asked to text back a code to confirm that they have taken the medication. (Optional): Patient’s caregiver is notified via an escalation text message if patient doesn’t confirm intake within 15 or 30 minutes of scheduled time. Watch a Med Alert Video and a Caregiver Alert
• Educational Messages and Tips: Patients receive an educational message three times per week in the early afternoon. The campaign consist of a library of messages designed by a cardiology nurse and clinical nutritionist to help patients improve their dietary habits, increase their physical activity, and more. Watch a video
• Doctor Appointment Reminders: Patients (and optionally Caregivers) receive a text reminder two days after hospital discharge to make an appointment with the cardiologist.
Additionally the health care team can use the mHm platform to:
• Schedule and track appointments Watch a video
• Conduct patient surveys
• Help manage and track patients’ side effects
• Track key vitals (e.g. blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, pulse, etc.) Watch a video
• Communicate directly with patient via two-way text using the on-line interface
WellTexts™ Increased Medication Adherence by Over 19%
Over 19% increase in antiplatelet medication adherence was demonstrated in a pilot study conducted with patients at the San Francisco VA in 2012/13. The results were presented at the November 2013 AHA annual meeting in Dallas, TX., and published in the “Patient Education and Counseling” journal November 2013 issue
CareSpeak’s mHm platform is or has been used by:
• Breast cancer study at Columbia University Medical Center across over 80 ASCO locations and funded ASCO-Koman grant. (2012-2016)
• Adolescent HIV study at NYU Langone Medical Center. (2012-13)
• Juvenile Diabetes study at Joslin Diabetes Center and Texas Children’s Hospital funded by the National Institute of Health. (2013-2016)
• Pediatric Asthma study at Wayne State University in Michigan funded by the National Institute of Health. (2012-2014)
• Pediatric liver transplant study at Mt. Sinai MC where we were able to reduce high-risk patient organ rejections by 83%. (2007-2009) Study results were published in the November 2009 issue of Pediatrics
WellTexts™ Will Positively Impact Patients and Help All Involved in the Care Process
CareSpeak’s solution has demonstrated an over 19% increase in adherence to blood thinner medications. Improved adherence will improve patient outcomes by reducing post-stenting adverse clinical events in the first 30 days post discharge, and improving ongoing chronic disease management. Improved patient outcomes will provide:
- Better quality of life for patient and family,
- Improved healthcare teams’ clinical results,
- Reduce post 30-day readmissions saving money for the hospital,
- Reduce hospitalization costs for the payers, and
- Increase revenues to all parties involved in sales and distribution of the medication (manufacturer, PBM and pharmacy chain).
WellTexts™ Improve Patient’s Health Outcomes and Their Quality of Life
Taking medications on time and as prescribed, and making appropriate life style changes is crucial in order for CHD patients to improve their health and overall well-bing. Having the appropriate support from caregiver family and friends is also an important contributor to helping patients follow their treatment regimen. CareSpeak’s solution helps patients and their caregivers accomplish all of this with the simplicity of text messaging and their mobile phone. Functionally, it helps patients take medications on time and as prescribed, follow dietary and physical activity guidelines. Emotionally it provides patients, and especially caregivers, the benefit of peace of mind.
How Will We Use the Funding
We Will Improve the WellText™ Feature Set and Quality and Commercialize it. Our primary goal with this intervention is to (a) improve the implementation process and (b) quality and relevance of the content geared towards education and behavioral change. The improved version would be used towards a larger scale pilot that will demonstrate improved clinical outcomes through measurable data (e.g. reduction in 30-day readmissions, lower cholesterol levels, etc.). In parallel we would like to start implementing the solution commercially.
We Are an Experienced Team
Serge Loncar, CEO & FOUNDER
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Serge started CareSpeak in 2006 guided with the belief that the mobile phone, the most personal accessory, will play an increasingly important role in managing one’s health. Prior to starting CareSpeak, Serge was the President of Songbird Hearing, the manufacturer and marketer of the first disposable over-the-counter hearing aid. Before that he headed up strategic business development at cdnow.com which was acquired by Bertelsmann AG. Before that Serge held numerous domestic and international brand marketing and sales positions atJohnson & Johnson health care and medical device divisions, and Pepsi Cola International. Serge received his MBA from New York University’s Stern Business School and his undergraduate degree in Economics form the University of Belgrade, in the former Yugoslavia.
Kreso Nesek, CTO & CO-FOUNDER
Kreso is responsible for all of CareSpeak’s software architecture, development and technology management. He is an instrumental part of CareSpeak’s technology evolution from the early days to today. Prior to joining CareSpeak full time Kreso spent his career as a software developer and computer security engineer with Diverto and Croatian Academic and Research Network (CARNet). Kreso graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing at University of Zagreb, Croatia with a BA in Computer Science.
Contact Us
Website: www.carespeak.com
Twitter @carespeak
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