BALTIMORE--()--WellDoc®, a healthcare technology company that enables positive behavior change and supports clinical decision making to improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs, today announced the acquisition of Oncology Care Home Health Specialists Inc., the nation’s only home health consulting company dedicated to, and focused solely on, oncology. The acquisition is accelerating the development and quality of the WellDoc mHealth oncology solution, one of several disease suites in development, and will complement WellDoc’s FDA cleared DiabetesManager®.
“Oncology Care Home Health’s passionate clinicians, strong management team, and intellectual property bring a wealth of knowledge and value relevant to the oncology field. Combining this expertise with our cutting-edge technology will allow us to raise the bar for the care of cancer patients in the home and clinical setting.”
This new subsidiary of WellDoc, now renamed Oncology Care Home Health, LLC, is a comprehensive education and consulting company dedicated to helping home health providers implement specialized oncology programs. Post acquisition, the company has continued to serve and expand its home health customer base. Additionally, by integrating Oncology Care’s proprietary intellectual property and care algorithms into the WellDoc Automated Expert Analytics System™, WellDoc is now better positioned to deploy real-time coaching and clinical support to cancer patients and their providers over the Internet and mobile phones.
Cancer patients struggle with the daily management of their disease, particularly when it comes to symptom control and medication adherence. Additionally, the need for self-management of the disease is increasing each year as 1.4 million people are newly diagnosed, and more and more chemotherapy is delivered in the form of a pill taken at home.
A new study released in January by the National Cancer Institute estimates direct medical expenditures alone for cancer will reach $158 billion dollars by 2020 and 18 million Americans will have been diagnosed with cancer. Furthermore, the American Society of Clinical Oncology states there are only 12,500 oncologists projected to be available to provide care, an alarming 4,080 short of the number needed. “The only way to close this gap in care is through the use of technologies such as those from WellDoc. We need solutions that support evidence based clinical decisions and also virtually extend the clinicians’ care plan to the patients’ mobile phone,” said Georgia M. Decker, APRN, ANP-BC, AOCN®, past president, Oncology Nursing Society.
“Between physician office visits, cancer patients are often left to manage complicated and crucial drug regimens and need to report associated side effects appropriately. They want to properly adhere, but face barriers ranging from fear of side effects to lack of health literacy needed to best manage their medication regimes and disease,” said Meg Maley RN, BSN, senior vice president of WellDoc and founder of Oncology Care Home Health. “This lack of adherence can have especially negative consequences given the serious nature of cancer, the significant expense of most therapies, and the potential risk for emergency care and hospitalization. The WellDoc mHealth technology-based patient coaching solution has demonstrated significant results in the management of diabetes, and we are confident that it will benefit cancer patients and their physicians and help improve the current standard of care.”
“We are excited to expand our product portfolio and help improve the lives of people living with cancer,” said Ryan Sysko, founder and CEO of WellDoc. “Oncology Care Home Health’s passionate clinicians, strong management team, and intellectual property bring a wealth of knowledge and value relevant to the oncology field. Combining this expertise with our cutting-edge technology will allow us to raise the bar for the care of cancer patients in the home and clinical setting.”
The WellDoc oncology solutions in development will be made available to Disease Management organizations through WellDoc’s commercial relationship with AT&T®, as well as through other provider and pharmaceutical channels.
About WellDoc
WellDoc®, a healthcare company that develops technology solutions to improve chronic disease management outcomes and reduce healthcare costs, is focused on simplifying the way chronic diseases are managed through a collaborative, life-changing approach that breaks down the barriers of engagement and adherence by providing patients and their healthcare providers with real-time, actionable information. WellDoc has developed an industry-leading, technology-based solution that helps people with chronic diseases better manage their conditions.
WellDoc’s flagship mHealth solution, the FDA-cleared DiabetesManager® System, provides automated, real-time clinical and behavioral coaching based on patient data. The software-based system supports adult type 2 patients and enables healthcare providers to configure specific parameters and extend their care beyond traditional office visits using mobile phones and the Internet.
For more information, visit www.welldoc.com.
About Oncology Care Home Health
Oncology Care Home Health, LLC, a subsidiary of WellDoc, Inc., is a comprehensive education and consulting company dedicated to helping home health providers implement specialized oncology home care programs. The company’s mission is to assist providers in delivering the same level of specialty care to oncology patients at home as they receive in health care settings. Through quality relationships with select clients around the world, Oncology Care Home Health is dedicated to influencing improvement in the quality of home health care for hundreds of thousands of cancer patients.
For more information, visit www.ochomehealth.com
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