Pyx Health, a social health platform, launched a condition management program on Monday that supports conditions including diabetes, hypertension, pregnancy and more.
Tucson, Arizona-based Pyx Health works with health plans to support members struggling with loneliness. Members receive unlimited phone calls for companionship, as well as assistance with resources for physical, social and mental health needs. They also gain access to a mobile app that has an empathetic chatbot, self-guided wellness activities, interactive activities and reminders for medication.
The new condition management program builds on Pyx Health’s existing offerings. Members struggling with long-term or life-changing conditions like diabetes will receive additional screenings, and Pyx Health’s mentors and health coaches will work with the members to gain their trust and understand patients’ barriers to managing their condition. This may include social determinants of health needs like housing, food or healthcare access.
“Health plans look at hemoglobin A1c as a marker of a three-month average of someone’s blood glucose,” said Ashwin Patel, chief medical officer at Pyx Health, in an interview. “That only tells you that there is a problem. It does not tell you what the problem is. The problem can be anything from not taking the medication because you forget or because you can’t afford it. … It could be because you have other challenges, like housing, you’re about to get evicted, and so diabetes is the furthest thing on your mind.”
Once the company gains an understanding of the challenges the patient is experiencing, it is able to connect the patient to the necessary resources. In addition, it can provide health plans with data on where there are gaps and where more improvement is needed.
Pyx Health’s approach is backed by a recently published peer-reviewed study that involved 300 Medicaid patients with uncontrolled diabetes who participated in a six-month intervention with Pyx Health. The results showed that, on average, participants in Pyx Health’s program experienced an improvement of more than 1 point in their HbA1c levels compared to those who were not enrolled in the program.
In launching the condition management program, Pyx Health’s goals are the same as always, according to Cindy Jordan, CEO and co-founder of the company.
“It’s to treat our members like a whole person, not a disease state or diagnosis, not a star rating, not a HEDIS measurement,” Jordan said in an interview. “But really get in there, earn the trust of the members, and then not only do what’s good for them, but frankly, what’s good for the industry.”
Pyx Health is not the only company addressing loneliness. Others include Fello, which connects people to peers with lived experience, and Peppermint, which is an online clubhouse community for adults aged 55 and older.
Photo: undefined undefined, Getty Images
