How One Company is Harnessing AI to Provide Greater Access to Life-Saving Innovative Healthcare

With just a swipe of your finger on your smartphone you can match with someone for a first date. You can have food delivered to your door in less than 20-minutes. Even purchase a birthday gift for your friend who lives across the world. Technology is innovating nearly every day to provide a more personalized experience for the consumer, and the healthcare industry is no different.

From telehealth appointments to wearable biotrackers, companies have embraced and utilized new and innovative technology, but one in particular is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to put the patient first and provide a tailor-made approach to healthcare.

Plan Heal, a wellness platform, helps people and employers access health information to increase detection and determine their personal risk, by providing real-time information that can be shared with their healthcare provider. 

​“Right now in America, more than 167 million [people] have a disease and do not know it, and some of the diseases are contagious,” said Tammy McMiller, co-founder and CEO of Plan Heal. “What this means is that people are navigating their health journeys while having a lower quality of health and, they are also, in some cases, navigating their journeys while exposing people close to them and the general public with infectious diseases.”

Plan Heal’s Origin Story

Founded not only out of a desire to help people navigate their own health journey, McMiller says the impetus to founding Plan Heal came from watching a family member be diagnosed with late-stage colon cancer, after having symptoms for more than two years. 

“The battle to better health for my loved one was long and hard,” she said. “No one should ever have to go through this type of unnecessary experience. Because of this experience, I was motivated to develop a capability to help increase patient and care team access to real-time patient reported health data that helps all parties involved make the right care decisions at the right time.”

And that’s exactly what McMiller and her team did.

They developed a digital health platform that houses a set of proprietary algorithms that are science-backed and informed by large data sets compiled by validated medical research and care workflows that are disseminated by the world’s leading health authorities, health societies, and health associations. These algorithms are then used by the patient via AI-infused health bots that can be accessed as a healthcare organization’s patient while using any mobile device, desktop, laptop, or healthcare organization’s website. 

These algorithms are developed to intake a patient’s medical history and current symptoms, digest those patient data points, and then deliver a predictive patient health status that can then be used by the patient’s care team and patient to make an informed and collaborative patient care plan.

In other words, a patient logs into Plan Heal, takes a health assessment, and the application provides real-time information on what ailment they might be experiencing, which can then be used by their healthcare provider to make an official diagnosis. 

“It’s up to the consumer to become a better patient, one that is informed and active in managing their holistic health in partnership with their doctor,” said McMiller. “Unfortunately, this is nearly impossible if the patient does not have access to the right tools and the right health information. We provide patients with the health status information they need to be more of an active and informed participant during their healthcare journey.”

Using AI to Provide Innovative Care for Marginalized Groups

After conducting their initial research to determine what disease categories to focus on, McMiller and her team discovered that although all racial demographics in United States are at risk for experiencing a health status where they have a disease that is either undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or late-detected, there are certain demographics that experience this scenario more often. 

They learned:

With this information and through the incorporation of AI into their platform, patients receive health-related services in a more individual, centered, and culturally appropriate way that best supports the patient’s needs. 

“The reality is that without the incorporation of AI into the care workflow, the likelihood of higher numbers of patients realizing their optimal health outcomes lessens due to human error,” said McMiller.

She notes that this is the result of overburdened healthcare teams, insurance providers not having a better handle of a more holistic view of their member patient’s health to help them better manage their health through programs, and pharmaceutical companies not having a view into those key patient reported health outcomes that are necessary for advancing medicine to better treat the patient’s and others like them.

“Plan Heal was founded for this sole purpose,” said McMiller. “Use AI to increase access to quality health information that’s both informative and actionable for the patient and their respective care teams.”

How Plan Heal Is Helping Women Take Charge of Their Health Care Journey

In addition to providing preventive care for all individuals, Plan Heal is helping women take charge of their healthcare needs by adding disease categories that specially affect them. In addition to heart disease, which is the leading cause of death for women, Plan Heal is also currently working on adding preventive care assessments for maternal mortality which includes preeclampsia and amniotic fluid embolism. 

Another area of focus is menopause. Through Plan Heal’s virtual Smart Health assessments, women entering or in menopause can assess their personal risk of developing diseases that can occur during this transition, and learn how to address symptoms in real time. 

They also focus on osteoporosis, which affects about one in five women over the age 50, cervical cancer, which is most frequently diagnosed in women between the ages of 35 and 44, and vaginal Infections and sexually transmitted infections.

“Today’s modern woman is staying connected to her sexual being and is continuing to engage partners,” said McMiller. “Because of this statistic, women are increasingly experiencing high numbers of STIs like bacterial vaginosis. We’re working on an engagement scenario that can help women navigate their sexual activities in a safer and more informed way.”

Looking Ahead

While Plan Heal currently is focused on the disease categories of: cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, infectious diseases, and reproductive care, they are hoping to expand their offerings as they look to the future. 

They are planning to enter the dental category, and are also advancing their technology by expanding their metabolic syndrome tracking capability which can help diagnose early onset heart disease.

They’re also working on a clinical trials capability that focuses on increasing women and BIPOC demographic engagement.

“We’re enthusiastic about this capability as women and BIPOC have very low representation in clinical trials for medications that they more than likely will need at some point in time during their healthcare journeys,” said McMiller.

And while technology will continue to evolve, Plan Heal is dedicated to using that technology while still holding steadfast to their core mission of providing personalized patient care for every individual. 

“Our innovative and strategic approach to population health management was a result of our team pushing ourselves to discover a way to cast a pretty wide net that provides equitable access to healthcare,” said McMiller.