Healthy Interactions, a population health company that offers both digital and in-person programs for chronic disease management and education, and Merck have launched a diabetes management and engagement platform designed to support in-person counseling programs.
The map4health platform — which was debuted today at the American Association of Diabetes Educators Annual Conference in Baltimore — includes a patient-facing app that consists of text and video messaging, goal tracking, and peer support forums. In addition to communicating with their patients, providers can view patient data trends and analytics using a dashboard included in the offering. The platform is designed for diabetes patients living in the US, and may be used as a standalone tool or integrated into a diabetes self-management education or support (DSMES) program.
Owned and developed by Healthy Interactions in collaboration with Merck, the digital offering is an extension of the two companies’ longstanding partnership on the Journey for Control DSMES program. Included in this program is a line of educational tools called the Conversation Map, some of which incorporated digital offerings such as e-learning modules, online sessions, and a patient app.
“With the launch of the map4health platform Healthy Interactions’ population health model now uniquely combines our proven high-touch Conversation Map programs with the complimentary map4health high-tech platform," Paul Lasiuk, cofounder and CEO at Healthy Interactions, told MobiHealthNews in an email statement. "Pure digital solutions have struggled to achieve target patient engagement and impact levels. Combining proven high touch with proven high tech delivers chronic patient behavior change with the promise of scale. We are humbled and thrilled to launch map4health today."
Healthy Interactions' programs are used broadly by groups like OptumCare and have been validated in more than 50 independent studies, which have shown that the program can reduce A1C by 1.71 on average, increase diabetes medication adherence by 77 percent, and increase statin compliance by 85 percent. In addition to a clinical decision support software offering to supplement their population health modules, the company recently announced that it has expanded its program portfolio to include offerings for cardiovascular disease and depression.
Speaking to MobiHealthNews in July, Lasiuk said that the company's trademark is a combination of high-touch and high-tech interventions, combined with a Socratic approach to teaching.
"Being able to introduce the digital platform to patients or members during an in-person session is a massive advantage," he said. "If you look at the demographics of people who have chronic conditions, they’re not as digitally inclined and if you can introduce and walk them through the digital tools, contextually during in-person sessions with their peers in an in-person environment, it has tremendous advantages versus asking somebody to download something and figure it out. So you see better compliance rates, usage rates. And the net is patients love the high-tech, high-touch experience; the net promoter scores are off the charts; biometrics are dramatically improved; care compliance dramatically improve; outcomes improve; which obviously helps the health systems; and the economics are improved as well."
