First Pregnancy App for Inclusive Care™ Provides Healthcare Systems Unprecedented Access to Clinical and Social Data to Improve Outcomes and Address Healthcare Inequities
BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / September 29, 2022 / Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new report citing that preventable cases of maternal mortality increased from 3-in-5 to 4-in-5, making over 80% of deaths avoidable. The report further supports previous findings that these deaths are directly correlated with race and ethnicity, putting women of color and native populations most at risk. Modelo Health™, the world's first pregnancy app for Inclusive Care™, is a ground-breaking solution to this escalating maternal health crisis. The company is uniquely positioned to help healthcare systems and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) across the country improve outcomes by elevating patient health literacy and agency, and by guiding risk-appropriate, linguistically sensitive and culturally-concordant care across clinical, emotional, and social factors. Intentionally designed to address healthcare inequities, Modelo Health's patent-pending technology utilizes predictive algorithms to synthesizes exclusive blend of evidence-based,scientific data from the most trusted sources (CMS, March of Dimes, CDC, EPA, Census Bureau, Harvard Medical School) to provide awareness, improved risk mitigation and ultimately, help lower maternal mortality and morbidity rates. The company is rolling out to healthcare systems and reaching pregnant mothers across the country.
"The already alarming maternal health crisis has further escalated during the recent pandemic," said Natalie Adsuar, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Women's Health Institute. "Our disenfranchised patients and mothers of color need us to be intentional and proactive with our efforts. I believe Modelo Health is poised to be a pivotal tool in our mission and commitment to address healthcare disparities."
https://bit.ly/CDCMaternalCrisis
Inclusive Care
Modelo Health's Inclusive Care™ platform incorporates data on the 5 most critical determinants that impact health (clinical, hereditary, environmental, socioeconomic, and behavioral), moving beyond the standard of care that singularly focuses on clinical determinants. It creates an evidence-based, holistic assessment of the mother that exposes actionable factors that can predict up to 60% of outcomes. The Boston-based brand is currently working with Mass General Brigham to launch pilots across several hospitals including Massachusetts General, Brigham & Women's and Newton-Wellesley. Initial reports show that Modelo Health increases patient confidence and health literacy rates by 2x in 90% of users (for both English and native Spanish speakers.) In addition, it offers clinicians peace-of-mind by automating risk stratification comprehensively across all health determinants. Modelo Health is a dynamically learning system that hyper-personalizes the mother's experience to her unique needs as it learns more about her wishes and condition.
While the traditional standard of care typically affords clinicians purview into a singular health determinant (clinical), Modelo Health, via its mobile app, is the only healthtech solution based on the principles of precision medicine that embraces Inclusive Care™. This approach creates a holistic 360° view of a mother's risk factors across the five most important health determinants throughout her gestation and beyond. With a more comprehensive understanding of all the factors that impact outcomes, both in-clinic and at-home, clinicians and moms gain a level of personalized and preventative care that has never before been achievable. The result is a more dynamic, better informed and collaborative doctor/patient relationship that allows mothers and their care teams to look broadly for signs of risk and to apply interventions early before they cause harm.
Healthcare Inequities
Pregnant women today are more than 2 times as likely to die during pregnancy as their mothers were 30 years ago, and women of color are 2 to 3 times more at risk (CDC). The U.S. has the highest morbidity rates of all developed countries. In a recent article in The Hill titled, "America is the most dangerous place to give birth in the developed world - it's only getting worse", Ognjen Miljanić, a professor at the University of Houston that focuses on sustainability, including sustainable development metrics like maternal health, wrote:
"For a Black woman in Louisiana, chances of dying of pregnancy-related causes are the same as in Libya. But it will get even worse: 13 states banned essentially all forms of abortion and 10 more are considering similar moves. Many of these states are already having the highest MMRs in the U.S., and they will get higher still."
After losing his wife, Kira, during a routine C-section at Cedar Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, California, Charles Johnson founded 4Kira4Moms to be a voice for other mothers and families facing unnecessary maternal loss. Johnson has dedicated his life to putting an end to the maternal mortality health crisis and worked relentlessly with congress to pass the Preventing Maternal Death Act (H.R.1318). This milestone legislation is the first ever to combat the maternal death crisis in the United States. The bill was signed into law December 21, 2018 and dedicated to his wife's memory. Modelo Health is partnering with Johnson to further support his efforts.
"Finding ways to give patients a voice, to elevate their understanding, and to allow them to be fully seen is the first part in addressing some of the societal challenges facing minorities in our healthcare system," said Charles Johnson, Founder 4Kira4Moms. "It's both incredible and promising to see the work the Modelo Health team is producing by leveraging data and technology to directly tackle some of these historic societal inequities."
The Modelo Health Solution
Studies show that social factors can account for up to 55% of health outcomes, and a zip code can often be a better predictor of health than an individual's genetic code. Health disparities lead to harm and cost the health system over $93 billion in excess medical cost.
"For years we've been honing our solution to the U.S. maternal health crisis as all current data indicates that without strategic, aggressive measures the problem will continue to escalate," said Nic Encina, Co-founder, Modelo Health. "At the heart of what we do is to look at the mother holistically and scientifically, accounting for hidden risks that are often overlooked until it's too late. This exposes the core problem and provides an evidence-based way of eliminating preventable harm."
The Modelo Health app (1) empowers moms through their pregnancy journey via access to personalized information about their health journey, (2) identifies risk factors by looking at all of the five determinants of health and proactively shares ways to address them, (3) educates moms via access to content from some of the world's top doctors and (4) helps to close the communication gap between patient and healthcare providers by working in real time to constantly update with the newest available health data. For details on Modelo Health app's key features and more please refer to the company's launch press release.
Modelo Health App Availability
Available now in both English and Spanish in the Apple app store. Android coming soon.
Modelo Health stands by the belief that an informed pregnancy is a safer pregnancy. Every mother deserves access to healthcare and resources. Moms in need can use the code HEALTHYMOMS to receive access to the Modelo Health app for free.
Media Contact:
Karyn Martin
617.462.0108
[email protected]
About Modelo Health™
Modelo Health™is a healthtech company that provides the world's only mobile app based on Inclusive Care™.The platform monitors across all health determinants and applies evidence-based risk stratification algorithms to deliver a holistic view of the mother. Serving both expectant moms and clinicians, Modelo Health's mission is to eliminate health inequities by empowering pregnant women and their care teams through education and access. Modelo Health Co-Founder Nic Encina hails from the genomics and precision medicine world, having started in the Human Genome Project. He helped start multiple biotechnology companies, and most recently founded a Precision Population Health research program at Ariadne Labs and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Co-Founder Trish Encina has a background in science, psychology and interpersonal relations. The minority-led company was established in 2020 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. https://www.modelohealth.com
SOURCE: Modelo Health Inc.