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Moving Analytics
This week I spoke with the co-founder, Harsh Vathsangam, of a technology company, Moving Analytics, that is working to significantly increase participation rates in cardiac rehabilitation. Over 900,000 Americans experience heart attacks each year. Still more will experience heart failure, valvular disease, and other cardiovascular problems that create a diminished tolerance of activity.
We know very well that regular activity and selective behavior choices around such things as diet, alcohol consumption, and smoking, among others, play a large role in stopping or even reversing effects of these conditions. Currently, roughly a third or less of these patients are engaging in a supervised cardiac rehab program. Clearly, there is much room for improvement in this regard.
As a computer scientist, Harsh has long-known the power of computing and analytics data for creating efficiencies and making well-educated strategic decisions. He and some colleagues began to look for opportunities to leverage this power in the healthcare arena, one which we know is actively seeking to reduce cost while at the same time improve patient outcomes.
The Moving Analytics app allows patients to receive frequent feedback regarding their prescribed activities and behavioral choices. Additionally, it provides data regarding the patient’s compliance with their regimen along with some basic health data to the health professional overseeing their cardiac rehab progress. In this way, the patient is able to engage in healthful activities that will improve their condition in the convenience of their home. Additionally it will allow the cardiac rehab professionals to scale their services to a wider patient population, reducing cost of providing care (based on a per-provider cost).
Moving Analytics is looking to partner with hospitals and health systems who are working to improve patient engagement with these important cardiac rehab programs for the post-cardiovascular event patients.
Special Guest:
Harsh Vathsangam, Co-founder, Moving Analytics
- PhD, Computer Science, University of Southern California
- MS, Computer Science, University of Southern California
- Recipient, PhD Award, University of Southern California
- Awarded USC Annenberg Fellowship 2008-2012