Last week, UPMC researchers published a study demonstrating the efficacy of Pip Care, a surgical app and healthcare coaching platform for perioperative care.
UPMC patients who used Pip Care reduced their hospital stay by nearly a day and cut in half their risk of readmission within a week of surgery compared to those who didn’t, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
Pip Care, founded in 2022, partners with health systems to “provide personalized and evidence-based care delivery” for their surgical patients, CEO Kathy Kaluhiokalani declared.
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“We accomplish this through our platform that combines digital technology and human health coaching to health systems and their patients. This allows health systems to optimize the surgical journey, both before and after surgery, and empower their patients to actively participate in their care,” she explained.
The Florida-based startup’s app breaks the surgical journey down into bite-size, manageable pieces, all the way from preparation to recovery, Kaluhiokalani said.
The app helps users adhere to their care plan by tracking their tasks and to-dos as they prepare and recover from their operation, she added. For example, a user may be reminded to prepare a first-floor sleeping space before their procedure, or they may be reminded to follow certain pre-surgery protocols such as stopping smoking, avoiding unhealthy meals and exercising daily. After surgery, users may be encouraged to perform a stretching exercise or care for their wound.
Additionally, each user is partnered with a health coach, who they can communicate with via scheduled video sessions and asynchronous messaging. Pip Care’s coaches are certified by the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching, Kaluhiokalani noted.
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The goal of UPMC’s study — which was conducted from November 2022 to March 2023 — was to determine the efficacy of Pip Care’s solution in practice. For the study, UPMC’s research team looked at 396 patients who were scheduled for elective abdominal, spine or total joint replacement surgery — 128 were enrolled in Pip Care, and 268 did not use the platform.
Those using Pip Care were enrolled about two to four weeks before their procedure and continued using it through four weeks post-operation. Pip Care users attended an average of 6.7 sessions with their digital health coach throughout their surgical care journey.
On average, patients using Pip Care stayed hospitalized after their surgery for 2.4 days, while patients who didn’t use the platform remained in the hospital for 3.1 days. Patients in the Pip Care group also had a 49% lower risk of being readmitted to the hospital within a week of discharge compared to the non-Pip group.
In addition to enrolling its patients in Pip Care’s platform, UPMC also provides funding to the startup through UPMC Enterprises, its innovation and venture capital arm. UChicago Medicine is a Pip Care customer as well.
One of the reasons health systems like Pip Care is because the startup allows them to customize the digital platform, Kaluhiokalani pointed out.
“We have found this allows them to address needs that may be specific to their patient population,” she said.
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