The ongoing COVID pandemic has already been deemed as the “great accelerator” for telehealth solutions, urging to life new innovation that aims to improve our healthcare offering while helping vigorously combat the impacts of the global crisis. However, through all this chaos, and the introduction of new remote technologies - has anyone stopped to check that patients are actually adhering to prescribed treatments and care?
"To live better lives"
Israeli startup Well-Beat has developed a comprehensive patient-engagement platform that combines machine learning algorithms with behavioral science. By combining these two, Well-Beat can use its Behavioral-AI engine to add a more “human” touch to healthcare, and especially to patient adherence.
Well-Beat looks to empower the holy trifecta of healthcare (doctor, patient, caregiver) with data-backed insight into a more ideal method of engagement that benefits all. The system generates a list of personalized recommendations from the patient’s first touch-point.
Ravit Ram Bar-Dea, Well-Beat’s Co-Founder and CEO said “Come January 1st, many of us promise to lose weight, take our medication, eat healthy, and exercise. By February we go back to our old habits. If so many chronic patients understand the seriousness of their condition, why don’t they follow the doctor’s instructions? Why don’t they respond to the messages sent?”
The system Well-Beat developed seamlessly integrates into existing systems and utilizes any available patient information, coming from EMR, IoT, Mobile, Bots, and others, or the system can start fresh with a short survey. Next, the collected data is fed into the AI recommendation engine, generating patient-focused insight to empower professional teams with clear guidelines, ‘Dos and Don’ts’, tailored scripts, and other tools to help better motivate and ensure patient adherence. Furthermore, the system allows caregivers and physicians to relay care and further interact with patients, via remote channels.
Essentially, Well-Beat enables patients to receive medical care in their words and adapted to their lifestyles. The platform continuously monitors patients, and their real-time reactions and adherence to recommended care. “Our solution revolutionizes the healthcare communication market. We empower the overworked providers and medical teams, helping them say the right thing, at the right time, on the right channel to each patient as if they were the only patient…no matter how busy things get. We empower our partners by integrating with any existing system. And, most importantly, we empower patients to live better lives,” said Ram Bar-Dea.
Israel Innovation Authority grants again
Recently, Well-Beat was awarded a $1.2 million grant from the Israel Innovation Authority, actually, it’s the company’s third grant, showing that the Israeli startup’s solution is highly relevant in a world that has turned dependent on telehealth solutions to fulfill a critical role in society.
According to Well-Beat, almost 70% of patients do not adhere to healthcare treatments, resulting in over $300B in wasted costs. This is especially apparent now during the COVID-19 pandemic and the isolation and social distancing that have come with it. A challenge that Ram Bar-Dea and Well-Beat combat head-on: “Imagine we could go beyond adding the client’s name to personalize communication. Imagine patients will be more inclined to open informative emails. Imagine making each patient feel like the only one that’s important – but at scale. This is what we do. Well-Beat is able to provide truly personalized engagement, that motivates patients, so they can stick to their health plan.”
Ram Bar-Dea adds: “We understand why people behave as they do - what their barriers, drivers, and motivational factors are. Using our unique technological combination of Machine Learning (ML) and Behavioral Science insights, Well-Beat enables greater & dynamic consumer engagement.” This in-turn not only benefits patient adherence but eases the workload for caregivers and physicians; and in times when elective treatments are being canceled and postponed, hospitals are able to upgrade their personalized care, resulting in a steadier revenue stream during uncertain times.
Speaking of hospitals, Well-Beat’s system was recently piloted in Sheba Medical Center’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Center. The platform proved to triple adherence to recommended care with adults (aged 30-90), helping motivate them to participate in the program.
Well-Beat was founded in 2015 by CEO Ravit Ram Bar-Dea, VP R&D David Voschina, and CSO Keren Aharon. According to Ram Bar-Dea, the company will reinvest the funds into R&D efforts, and to help create partnerships to scale operations in the U.S. market. The company has participated in some of Israel’s top accelerator programs, including 365x Scale-Up, IBM Alpha Zone, in addition to joining the Upward Labs Accelerator network in Hartford, Connecticut.
