Solving the Country’s Chronic Disease Problem Starts with Breaking Systemic Inequities
Author: Prashant Samant, Akido Labs
We have a chronic disease problem here in the U.S. About half of all American adults have at least one chronic condition, and each year, more than 80% of the $4.1 trillion spent on healthcare goes towards managing chronic disease. Chronic illnesses are responsible for seven out of every 10 deaths in the U.S., and these rates are even higher in those living in poverty who do not necessarily have access to high quality healthcare. Chronic diseases kill more than 1.7 million Americans every year, and yet many of these conditions are preventable when caught early.
The CDC estimates that eliminating just three risk factors — poor diet, inactivity, and smoking — can prevent 80% of heart disease and stroke, 80% of type 2 diabetes, and 40% of cancer. By funding and successfully scaling prevention programs, both clinical and non-clinical, we can reduce deaths, improve the quality of life and reduce the total cost of healthcare allowing everyone to live healthier, fuller lives.
We know disease prevention programs work and have benefits that go far beyond our health. Numerous studies have shown prevention programs make a difference in areas like student performance in school, crime reduction and adult workforce participation. For example, students who receive mental health services at school-based health centers have 50% fewer school absences, and improving access to Medicaid has been shown to reduce violent crime by 5.8%. So, why don’t we see preventive programs on a national level? There are two inherent challenges: 1) accurately identifying the right people who will benefit the most as well as the right moment to intervene, and 2) funding and scaling these programs to reach a national audience.
That’s where Akido comes in. Our proprietary predictive technology unlocks the ability to both effectively identify opportunities for early intervention and build scalable prevention models designed to address social determinants of health (SDoH). Meaningful prediction in healthcare has been hindered by a lack of data from all domains that influence outcomes, given that the majority of information available for analysis is based on clinical encounters during patient visits. Akido has spent years building a data set that integrates both social information and clinical information, unlocking our predictive capabilities and the creation of our Wellbeing Graph. Our Wellbeing Graph allows us to identify key markers during a patient’s life, predict possible chronic conditions and intervene far earlier than traditional care models allow.
Since our founding in 2015, we’ve used our platform to power solutions for organizations, nonprofits and local governments across the country, with the goal of ushering in a new era of preventive public health designed to break systemic barriers. We’ve seen impactful but targeted progress over the past seven years, and it became apparent to our founding team that, in order to see a philosophical shift on a national scale, we would need to become that force of change.
Now, we are taking matters into our own hands with the launch of our full stack medical network focused on managing and preventing chronic disease. Our own technology will power our own healthcare services, which will allow us to take financial responsibility for population management in regions across the country and invest in the most impactful clinical and SDoH-focused programs, transforming the healthcare experience from the ground up.
This is an immense undertaking but a necessary one and we take this responsibility very seriously. I had the chance to speak with the Wall Street Journal about our new medical network, our unique predictive capabilities and how we are reimagining healthcare to focus on ‘upstream’ chronic disease prevention programs.
Introducing the new Akido Medical Network
I’m thrilled to share the news of our partnership with Chaparral Medical Group in California’s Inland Empire. Chaparral has a long and storied history in the region for providing exceptional multi-specialty care, with a focus on chronic illness. As we come together as one medical network, our focus is twofold: to leverage our technology to offer the very best human-centered preventive care for patients, and introduce a frictionless experience for our care teams. By developing programs and tools that lift the administrative burden from our doctors and clinical staff, we can avoid burnout, which is rampant in the medical community. Our technology will free up our care teams, allowing them to spend more time with patients and provide life-saving care.
With Chaparral, we are building our Akido medical network “Camelot” — a shining model of exceptional preventive care for all patients. We will continue to scale this model nationwide and I can’t wait to introduce our SDoH-based, preventive care philosophy to communities throughout the country.
I believe that everyone deserves access to exceptional medical care, and our Akido medical network will offer a transformed experience for all. By refocusing care upstream, we can attack the systemic barriers that prevent our patients from living healthier, fuller lives.
Prashant Samant is the co-founder and CEO of Akido Labs. Prior to founding Akido, Samant co-founded the USC D-Health Lab, developing innovative tech solutions for some of Los Angeles’ most pressing issues in public health and laying the foundation for his strategic vision for Akido Labs. Through past entrepreneurial ventures, Samant has provided technology to some of the most notable private, public, and non-profit organizations in the world, including Peugeot, Orange S.A., Stanford University, Architecture for Humanity, Roshan Telecom, Liquidnet, and Doctors without Borders.
