Baltimore, Maryland-based WellDoc has a clear vision:
The current systems for managing diabetes are failing in the United States and worldwide. Patient health outcomes are getting worse and the costs of treating diabetes are escalating drastically. There's an alarming chasm between the shrinking number of diabetologists and the increasing number of diabetes patients. Quality of care gaps are widening. Traditional innovations designed to address the care gaps (predominantly pharmaceutical and medical device innovations) have fallen short. A new system is needed; one that uses technology, information sharing, analytics, and collaboration, in conjunction with traditional innovation, to break down the barriers to compliant management. WellDoc is developing that system.
Here we interview WellDoc CEO Ryan Sysko:1. What was the impetus to start WellDoc?
ANSWER: WellDoc was founded by Dr. Suzanne Clough, a board-certified Endocrinologist practicing at the
WellDoc’s founding objective, therefore, was to simplify diabetes management for patients and physicians, thereby improving patient outcomes while reducing patient management costs. Diabetes patients face multiple challenges in managing their diabetes, including trying to manage their: blood sugar, medications, carbohydrate intake, stress levels, activity levels, and a plethora of other important metabolic parameters such as blood pressure and lipids. The disease can impact patients on a minute-by-minute basis; it can be a tremendous burden. Our healthcare system is not organized to handle the chronic and complex nature of diabetes, and therefore, patients generally do not receive the support they need. Physicians also face multiple challenges in helping to manage their patients’ diabetes. First, physicians typically do not have access to the information they need (blood glucose, medication, nutrition, etc.) to effectively manage a patient’s disease. However, even when they do have patient data, physicians typically only have a few short minutes to decipher months’ worth of data and make therapy recommendations.
WellDoc’s goal has evolved to empower and enable all stakeholders in the diabetes ecosystem. We want to improve disease management outcomes and reduce systematic healthcare costs.
2) How is WellDoc funded?
ANSWER: WellDoc is currently funded by private investments.
3) Can you explain your value prop to patients, and also to doctors?
ANSWER: The value proposition for patients is to live a healthier life by managing their disease in a manner that fits with the unique complexities of their lifestyle. This value proposition is enabled by real-time support for diabetes and other disease self-management parameters. This support empowers patients and allows them to take greater control of their disease, which leads to improved diabetes control. For physicians, the value proposition is three-fold: i) improved patient outcomes through expert diabetes consulting, ii) increased efficiency through time saving tools, and iii) new and future potential reimbursement and pay-for-performance models which incent better care for patients.
4) Tell us about your CareFirst relationship?
ANSWER: CareFirst is collaborating with WellDoc on its randomized clinical trial.
5) How will you generate revenue-- especially interested in understanding your pricing model, if you're open to sharing it.
ANSWER: At this point in time, these data are confidential to WellDoc.
6) What firms do you consider your key competitors?
ANSWER: To date, much of our competition has put emphasis on using technology to capture data – remote monitoring. We expand on this, but focus more on the information and knowledge that is derived from multi-variate data capture which in turn, enables real-time, value-added intervention. Thus far, we have not found any companies that have achieved the statistically significant, clinical outcomes we have achieved. These outcomes include a 2-point drop in HbA1c, on average, within 90 days, for patients using the system and a 5 fold increase in physician prescribing behavior for doctors who receive WellDoc’s data and analysis. The results of our initial pilot study have been accepted by the peer reviewed journal Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics.
7) What is your sales (distribution) model-- direct-to-consumer, via partners or both?
ANSWER: At this time, WellDoc is exploring multiple distribution models including both of the aforementioned.
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