Maintaining adherence is key to improving the health of patients living with chronic or serious disease. For some, it’s a matter of life and death. Yet, as we know, the data of how many patients actually take their medications as prescribed paints a bleak picture. According to the CDC, of the 3.8 billion prescriptions written each year in the U.S., one in five are never filled. Among the prescriptions that are filled, approximately half are taken incorrectly, while some long-term therapies for chronic disease are abandoned completely by the patient. Nonadherence is harmful to patients, accounting for 33 to 69% of all hospital admissions, and very expensive. The CDC estimates that health care costs related to poor adherence have grown … Continue reading Overcoming One of Health Care’s Greatest Hurdles: Patient Nonadherence
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Managing complex and chronic disease is complicated, and for some patients, there are numerous factors which can make the task especially difficult and therefore, seemingly impossible. The health care industry has relied for far too long on the episodic approach to care, i.e. a patient walks into a provider’s office, receives a diagnosis of chronic disease, is given medication and instructions, and is then assumed to have the tools they need to manage their new disease (and its impact on their life) successfully for at least the next three months when they see their provider again (again, assuming they will see this same provider in the advised time frame). Episodic care is an unrealistic and ineffective approach for educating patients … Continue reading Meeting Complex Health Needs Across Patient Populations
Employee wellness programs have greatly evolved with our understanding of what constitutes total wellness for an individual. To be in “good health” no longer assumes only physical health, but the holistic portrait of an individual, including mental and behavioral health. Coinciding with this newer, more inclusive understanding of individual health, is a surge in companies adopting wellness programs for their employees. The industry grew from $1B in 2011 to $6.8B only five years later, and in 2017 almost a quarter of employers increased their wellness offerings, wrote the Los Angeles Times. Many of these programs are shifting their scope to better support employee across the wider spectrum of health, whether that’s support for a person at risk for diabetes or … Continue reading The Promise of Workplace Wellness Programs
Every day we see the potential technology provides to create better pathways of care—for the people delivering care and the patients they treat who are managing their own chronic disease(s). Rock Health just reported that after seven years, $23B has been invested in thousands of digital health companies. Yet, historically, innovative solutions for kidney disease have been static at best and from a funding perspective, largely very quiet. However, a slew of innovation and new initiatives created to encourage advancements in kidney disease management are aiming to change this cycle of inactivity, offering the potential of new solutions for patients where currently there are very few. In recognition of National Kidney Month, we’ll take a closer look at some of … Continue reading Advancing Solutions for Kidney Disease
Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition that affects 3.4 million people in the U.S. and 65 million worldwide. Despite the number of people with the disorder, “one-third live with uncontrollable seizures because no available treatment works for them.” Stigma, which has surrounded those living with epilepsy for years, also presents significant barriers to treatment. Adults and children are often unfairly ostracized socially or judged due to a public who is largely misinformed about the condition. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, “Public perception and treatment of people with epilepsy are often bigger problems than actual seizures.” And the CDC notes that “Public misunderstanding and stigma can limit life opportunities for people with epilepsy.” Epilepsy can be difficult to manage, especially without … Continue reading New Solutions for Managing Epilepsy Show Promise
At Welkin, we take pride in describing ourselves as “mission-driven.” We were founded in 2013 to 1) build software and 2) create a solution which helps solve a social problem. That solution has evolved into patient relationship management software and services, which empower health professionals with the tools they need to reach patients efficiently and effectively. We are passionate about patient care, and appreciate every opportunity to create outstanding programs with our partners so they can do the important work of helping patients live healthier, happier lives. A couple months ago, we began exploring how to best convey this. We determined that it should start with our mission statement. Our current mission statement was: Welkin believes that human connection paired … Continue reading We’re on a Mission
The scope of the opioid addiction crisis in the U.S. has forced our health care industry to take a much closer look at how we manage the disease of addiction. In 2016, drug overdoses killed roughly 64,000 people in the U.S. with overdose deaths from fentanyl increasing 88% every year between 2013 and 2016. The reach of the opioid epidemic has been far and wide, and undiscriminating. With such large communities being impacted, digital health has shown great promise as a tool to effectively manage the disease of addiction, especially for at-risk populations with unique needs. A lack of support for those most at-risk A story in the Boston Globe reported that in Massachusetts, “nearly four in 10 deaths among women … Continue reading Supporting New Mothers Managing Addiction
On Tuesday, January 9th, we hosted our first ever event in which we invited industry leaders to discuss their triumphs and pitfalls with patient engagement programs. Coordinated alongside the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, “The Practical Guide to Creating Successful Patient Engagement Programs” was a discussion in which stakeholders spoke about their personal experiences, learned from each other, and made connections with other attendees. Welkin CEO and Co-founder, Chase Hensel, kicked-off the session with a case study presentation emphasizing the need for patient services to add value to existing and emerging therapies. Afterwards, groups of attendees huddled together to share their personal anecdotes on what did or did not work for them when designing services for patients. One table discussed the … Continue reading The Practical Guide to Creating Successful Patient Engagement Programs: Welkin’s First Hosted Event
The Biotech Showcase™ takes place the week of J.P. Morgan Annual Healthcare Conference in San Francisco San Francisco, CA -- January 4, 2018 -- Welkin Health, a San Francisco-based digital health company that streamlines the complexities of patient management, today announced it will present at the Digital Medicine and Medtech Showcase taking place January 8-10 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square. Welkin CEO and co-founder, Chase Hensel, will present an overview of the company, discuss recent highlights, and offer a look at what’s in the pipeline for Welkin in 2018. Presentation details follow: Date: Wednesday, January 10 Time: 3:00 PM Location: B-Cyril Magnin III (4th Floor) Welkin’s configurable case management software enables digital health, medical device, and life science … Continue reading Press Release: Welkin Health to Present at Digital Medicine and Medtech Showcase 2018
2017 kept health care on its toes. For much of the year, we watched as the legislative branch considered the many ways they could slice, dice, or kill the ACA, and saw Obama-era mandates repealed. We heard the demands for accountability from patient advocates for rising drug prices, and drug-makers were taken to task for irresponsible marketing. We witnessed landmark therapies and marketing approvals passed by the FDA- like Kymriah to combat leukemia, permitting direct-to-consumer tests for genetic assessments, and the first medication embedded with a sensor for adherence monitoring- all of which not only open up future possibilities for treatments, but potentially change the way in which care is delivered. Stakeholders made bold promises to fuel innovation, to better … Continue reading 2017: Welkin’s Most Transformative Year
