As the patient journey becomes more and more complex and multi-faceted, one startup is approaching the space with the aim of making care more holistic in nature.
That company, Izzy Care, was founded about a year and a half ago by Joswell Valdez and Kenneth Colon. After a bit of beta testing, the New York City organization launched in May at the HLTH conference in Las Vegas, where it announced nationwide sign-ups for its memberships.
Simply put, the startup’s platform integrates primary care, nutrition, fitness and mental health.
In a phone interview, Colon, who serves as CEO, described how the process works. An individual enrolls in the program and inputs all requested information. The startup then matches the patient with his or her own care team, which consists of a family medicine physician, a psychotherapist and a nutrition and wellness coach, all of whom are employed by Izzy Care. Patients can then use the Izzy Care app to have unlimited video or messaging consultations with these providers. If necessary, the care team can also line up third-party services like specialist care or medications.
There’s also a larger technology aspect of the New York startup’s approach.
“On the tech side, we have our patient-facing chatbot named Izzy,” Colon said. It “helps the care team so they can focus on caring for the patient.”
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
As an AI assistant, Izzy can also help patients gain additional insight into their health.
Adults ages 18 and up can sign up for Izzy Care for $99 per month. That membership includes a free Fitbit Charge 2 or AltaHR, as well as free consultation for kids 12 and under. Those with an adult membership can also add dependents ages 13 to 17 to their account for $69 per month.
Patients can use the company’s services whether they have insurance or not. If they do have insurance, Colon noted that the care team will refer individuals to in-network specialty care.
A third part of Izzy Care’s approach relies on blockchain. Upon enrollment, patients can opt in to earn Izzy tokens, which are on the Ethereum blockchain, for meeting their own health goals, like achieving their daily step count (which is where the Fitbit comes in handy). They can then put these tokens toward the cost of their membership, trade them in for other digital currencies or donate them to certain initiatives.
Currently, the Izzy Care token is being offered in a private pre-sale.
Moving forward, Colon said his company plans to continue offering its direct-to-consumer model in the U.S., while also expanding on the work it has done in emerging markets. The startup has started working with governments in places like Africa and Latin America as a way to help make public health spending more efficient.
“The direction we want to head in is being able to provide the full scope of care at a drastically reduced rate,” Colon said.
Photo: TonisPan, Getty Images
