Glooko CEO Russ Johannesson believes that the company’s acquisition announced yesterday — it bought Berlin-based predictive analytics company xbird for an undisclosed price — is a boon not only for its diabetes patient population but also for its care teams.
According to the company’s announcement, xbird’s JITAI technology (Just-in-Time Adaptive Intervention) is capable of analyzing behavioral and medical data to generate patient-specific recommendations and behavioral recommendations. It gathers information through wearable sensors and smartphones, using sensors to monitor patient movements. The technology’s machine learning algorithms then interpret the data and use it to generate personalized behavioral profiles.
“…our vision for JITAI Gloco Not only the identification of patients, referrals, etc., but also the care team (eg, an endocrinologist who runs a clinic with 3,000 PWDs) [people with diabetes] They need ongoing population health analysis to best serve his/her patients) and even payers, whether they are private or public. “JITAI and other analytical approaches can serve well the entire concept of population health management and address a critical gap in global healthcare systems, the lack of chronic disease specialists.” “
Given that patients rarely interact face-to-face with experts, the ability to remotely monitor patients managing complex chronic diseases such as diabetes is important.
“That is, a typical PWD sees an endocrinologist 3, maybe 4 times a year…that is, if they even have an endocrinologist (many are treated by PCPs and other care teams). That’s at twelve 3 15-20 minute visits over the course of a month. Given this standard of care, they are at full capacity. So what will the patient do for the rest of the year?” he asked rhetorically. “Regardless of the specific use case, Glooko includes and continues to invest in analytics every minute that helps patients and helps say PCPs improve their standard of care for chronically ill patients.”
The behavioral advice that Glooko’s app can provide is manifold.
“In diabetes, for example, one can imagine lightening behaviors associated with blood sugar monitoring, insulin or oral medication dosage, physical activity, dietary habits, or healthy coping strategies,” he explained. “The addition of xbird expands Glooko’s advanced analytics capabilities and tools, further broadening Glooko’s platform offerings.”
Perhaps understanding behavior change is a heavy burden for most people, especially those with chronic conditions who may have other stressors in their lives, he noted that JITAI’s recommendations are based on science.
“JITAI is not just about technology, it must also be based on the best available evidence in psychology, and at Glooko we are working hard to incorporate these principles into our approach,” he said. “For example, Glooko could push teens to take insulin, thereby reducing missed meal doses, or push adults with prediabetes to take more steps or eat more from a healthy food list throughout the day,” says Johanneson . “An important feature is that the system is able to understand what’s working and what’s not working for each individual so that it can adjust until it is successful.”
Glooko plays a role in the crowded space of digital health companies managing diabetes and other chronic diseases. Daejeon Health, Bailing Health, life and health, strength, and Liongo (Teladoc) are all working to make life easier for people with diabetes.
“Many of our competitors and business models have removed the connection between patient and clinician, and at Glooko, our model empowers healthcare providers with connection between patients
provide the best results and ensure comprehensive care coordination,” he declared.
What the integration ultimately means for users — Glooko’s solution has been used by more than 3 million users to date — and when it will roll out is unclear.
“We are currently assessing the scope of the integration between the two
platform, and once the evaluation is complete, we will inform our customers and partners when to expect the product launch through a comprehensive marketing push,” Johannesson said.
Photo: Glooko, Inc.
