Digital Companions: What are they and how will they improve healthcare?
On one level, most of us carry some form of digital buddy in our pocket or wear one on our wrist every day. They are often the first thing we consult each morning and the last thing we look at each night. It’s not news that smartphones, wearables and apps have changed the way we interact with and understand the world around us.
But here’s the wrinkle. As investor and futurist Balaji Srinivasan shared on a recent podcast,
‘we know better what is going on in Bangalore or Budapest than in our own bodies…..that’s actually kind of insane’
While technology’s influence on our daily life has accelerated at warp speed over the last ten years, the paradigm for health delivery — centralised resources, cure over prevention and static monitoring — has been much slower to shift. However, clinicians and technologists are now aligning our comfort with devices and appetite for insight (did someone say GoogleFit and Strava?) with huge advances in communication, AI and remote monitoring capabilities to improve patient and provider outcomes.
As telemedicine has become more widely available, centralised resources are now easier for health systems to distribute and for patients to access. So how else can we move the needle? Once you’ve seen your provider — IRL or via your screen — most patients are provided with broad guidance and left to manage their condition in isolation until the next appointment or intervention. This is where digital companion apps come in.
Digital companions help patients with the ongoing management of their condition by continuously tracking relevant markers and symptoms, reinforcing beneficial behaviours and adherence and providing holistic insights into periods of better or poorer health. On the other side of this feedback loop, physicians and care givers can use these data streams to track and engage patients between visits. The ability to regularly and pro-actively nuance care pathways and treatment plans increases engagement, delivers greater efficacy, lowers the likelihood of exacerbations and — most importantly — improves patients quality of life.
There are some great examples of this model in action with conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic pain.
Hyfe are proud to have partnered with Merck to launch CoughTracker, the world’s first digital companion for chronic coughers. We are really excited to see how our collaboration helps the 1 in 10 people that suffer with chronic cough better understand and manage their condition.
And that is just the start. We are already exploring similar application of our capabilities to support the treatment of asthma, COPD, spinal muscular atrophy and GERD.
The future of healthcare is coming to a smart device near you soon.
