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An Innovative Approach to a Centralized Portal for Children, Caregivers, and Parents; Providing Immediate and Accurate Healthcare

What if every parent carry the most valuable asset of their child's life (health) at all times, regardless of an emergent event?

Photo of Meredith Strehle
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Founding Story: Share a story about a key experience or spark that helps the network understand why this project got started or a story about how you became inspired about the potential for this project to succeed.

As a child with a heart condition, I grew up watching my mother carry a massive file of health information from one provider to the next. When I became a mother myself, I realized that the most valuable aspect of a child's life is their health, and it is a constant battle to protect it everyday against the world. Blogging about their lives was a passion, and I wanted to combine healthcare and their life story in one central location; ultimately, always having access to their health status.

Which categories describe you? (the answer will not be public)

  • White (for example: German, Irish, English, Italian, Polish, French, Caucasian)

If you chose to self-identify your race, ethnicity, or origin, please share here: (the answer will not be public)

N/A

Website

N/A

Location: Where is your organization headquartered? [State]

  • South Carolina

Location: Where is your organization headquartered? [City]

Charleston

Location: Where is your project primarily creating impact? [State]

  • South Carolina

Location: Where is your project primarily creating impact? [City]

Charleston

Problem: What problem is this project trying to address?

The healthcare system is a fragmented compilation of data inconsistent with the most up to date medical information, especially for children. It can be difficult in an emergent or social situation to keep parents calm in order to provide the most up to date info. The opportunity for a compromised system which communicates, exchanging health information and keeping parents/caregivers at the forefront of their child's healthcare, is gravitational.

Medical information is presented to patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals in different formats in fragmented condition. James Lieberman, author of "Killer Care", states, "The 2009 stimulus package included $36.5 billion to link electronic health records. Yet only 14% of clinicians share data with doctors beyond their own care organizations impeding diagnosis and jeopardizing treatment. Congress passed legislation last year directing interoperability within four years" [1]. At the same time, consumers have embraced the use of so-called “smart phones” to communicate, make purchases at retail locations and for a myriad of novel uses [2].  The chassante company proposes to develop a hands-on, centralized portal for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals that allow immediate, accurate, and accessible health information storage.

Healthcare is restructuring into a world that is grounded on population health and continuity of care, which requires collaboration from all medical professionals before, during, and after a medical intervention [3]. The business of chassante will be to develop an innovative approach through technological advances that fosters an application program interface (API) of insurance providers and patients or caregivers. This advancement offers the community in which it operates the opportunity to take a more active role in the healthcare of their children. Essentially, this platform will be a living record on a patient for a more holistic attempt of care, preventing the typical non-compliant patient [4].

The foundation of research to support the goals of chassante will aim to understand the value of inputting protected health information, such as date of birth, age, allergies, and insurance information. Additionally, redecoration of immunization history, information pertaining to those immunizations, and push notifications for upcoming vaccination dates will populate to end-users creating an added benefit. Another functionality will be for users to enter measurements (height, weight, BMI, etc.) to calculate percentage rankings and developmental milestones. The key to this platform is the sharing function between users, which will allow consumers to automate data between devices, ensuring a record of the most up-to-date information. With previous experience in technology development, chassante will enhance the construction of a minimal viable product (MVP), as we are knowledgeable on the process and team necessary to bring our innovative thinking to life. A successful outcome of this proposal will be the development of chassante’s initial product that interfaces with physicians, patients and their caregivers, and insurance companies to populate coverage availability. Following our development will be testing phase that includes focus groups to compare physician involvement vs. non-involvement, and patient satisfaction of accessibility and quality of care in various academic medical centers.

            The company, chassante, was founded in Charleston, SC in 2016 with a focus on educational and innovative approaches to develop, market, and distribute in order to benefit the population on the need to simultaneously and holistically track health status. The company’s founder is a woman and operates over half of its staff with female professionals. The purpose of this demographic composition is to recognize that women are responsible for over 90% of healthcare related decisions within the family [5]. With immediate experience in the possibilities that a living record can benefit in these decisions, the need is imperative to the future of the healthcare industry.

[1] Lieber, James B. "How to Make Hospitals Less Deadly." WSJ. The Wall Street Journal, 17 May 2016. Web. 19 May 2016.

[2] Smith, A. (2015, April 01). U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2016, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015/

[3]  Hodach, Richard. “How Physician Practices Must Change to Effectively Manage Patient Populations.” American Medical Group Association, n.d. Web. 19 May 2016.

[4] Ofri, D. (2012, November 15). The New York Times. Retrieved May 19, 2016, from http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2012/11/15/when-the-patient-is-noncompliant/?referer=

[5] Women’s Health Care Chartbook: Key Findings From the Kaiser Women’s Health Survey. (2011, May 1). Retrieved May 19, 2016, from http://kff.org/womens-health-policy/report/womens-health-care-chartbook-key-findings-from/

Is your model focused on any of the following traditionally underserved communities?

  • Communities of color
  • Children who are differently abled
  • Low-income communities
  • Other

Does your model work within any of the following sectors?

  • Childcare
  • Child and Family Services
  • Education
  • Mental Health
  • Other

If you chose "other," please share the sector you work within here:

Foster Care Babysitting

Year Founded

2016

Project Stage

  • Idea (poised to launch)

Example: Walk the network through a specific example of what happens when a person or group engages with your solution.

Meredith, a busy mom of two kids, (Morgan, 7 and Ben, 5) is finally on her way to work with ten minutes to spare before her first Monday morning meeting. She thinks, "Perfect, just enough time to get a coffee." On her way to the coffee cart, her office phone rings and it is Morgan's school nurse. She came to the office with diarrhea. Meredith pulls out her cell phone and transfers Morgan's most recent vaccination and medication record to the school nurse. After reading the record, the nurse realizes this is simply a side effect and gives her an OTC medicine to soothe her stomach. Meredith, a mother now at ease that her child's health is not a concern, returns to her coffee run and makes her first meeting on time!

Impact: What was the impact of your work last year? Please also describe the projected future impact for the coming years.

As a newly founded company in 2016, our impact was non-existent in the previous year. However, we are excited about the innovative ways we plan to ignite the technology aspects of healthcare for children, ultimately making the parent/caregiver a more informed and interactive advocate for their child's well-being.

Organization Type

  • for-profit

Annual Budget

  • $250k - $500k

Financial Sustainability Plan: What is your solution’s plan to ensure financial sustainability?

The financial model for chassante initially relies on grant start-up money in order to develop our secure platform. Once our product is available for marketing, our revenue will be reflective of white label licensure adoption on a per physician, per year fee from an initial four academic medical centers children's hospitals. Beyond hospital adoption, we will rely on in-application advertisements for childcare, i.e. food coupons, ibuprofen, etc.

Unique Value Proposition: How else is this problem being addressed? Are there other organizations working in the same field, and how does your project differ from these other approaches?

There are multiple platforms and applications that integrate healthcare and milestone records of children. Some of these functions align similarly with our platform, however there are many differences. For example, most of these applications are associated with a cost to the end user, and ours will be free to download, with the only cost to the hospitals (a model similar to that of MyChart). Also, no other platform design integrates the vaccination record process, as that is a paper-based and state controlled system design. We are prepared to take on the challenge of this integration.

Reflect on the Field and its Future: Stepping outside of your project, what do you see as the most important or promising shifts that can advance children’s wellbeing?

Medicine and education create an innovative path for future endeavors to understand the whole child, especially in the focus of mental and population health. Putting children in school systems that teach an all encompassing Personalized Social Emotional Learning (PSEL) help them better understand the affects of their actions and prevent them from being a target amongst their peers, building their resilience and making the foundation for a more confident society. This creates stronger partnerships between medicine and education as these practices will collaborate for the betterment of children.

Source: How did you hear about the Children’s Wellbeing Challenge? (the answer will not be public)

  • Email
  • Word of mouth
  • Other

Referral: If you discovered the Challenge thanks to an organization or person other than Ashoka, who was it? (the answer will not be public)

William Scott Russel, MD provided the recommendation for our company and innovation to submit a proposal to the changemakers Challenge.

Evaluation results

4 evaluations so far

1. Relevance: Does this project seem to help children (ages 0 to 12 years) develop a strong sense of self, belonging, and purpose?

5 - Yes, this is great! The project lays out a strong, compelling case for how its model nurtures children’s wellbeing. - 0%

4 - It seems like a good fit, and the model talks explicitly about children’s wellbeing. - 25%

3 - I think so. The project seems related to children’s wellbeing, but the logic is vague. - 25%

2 - Not sure. The project doesn’t have much to do with wellbeing, or it doesn’t give enough information. - 50%

1 - Nope, this project definitely doesn’t fit the challenge brief (e.g., It doesn’t help kids younger than 12, isn’t in the U.S., etc.) - 0%

2. Innovation: Does this project tackle children’s wellbeing from a new angle?

5 - I loved this! The project describes a novel model that addresses important cultural or systemic barriers. - 25%

4 - This is pretty cool. The project is addressing an important problem in a new or compelling way. - 0%

3 - I feel like there’s something there, but I want more details about what makes it distinctive. - 50%

2 - It’s a good project, but I’ve seen others like it before. - 0%

1 - It was confusing or hard to tell what it made it different. - 25%

3. Social Impact: What is this project’s potential for creating positive social impact?

5 - Lots of potential. This project is achieving impressive results, and it’s growing quickly. It could absolutely inspire changes in the ways we approach caring for kids nationally, across sectors (e.g. childcare, healthcare, education). - 0%

4 - Pretty good potential. This project demonstrates significant positive impact so far, and it could scale regionally or nationally one day and fundamentally change how a system operates (e.g. childcare, healthcare, education). - 25%

3 - Budding potential. This project is creating local impact, but it would take a few adjustments before it could scale. - 0%

2 - Some potential. This project demonstrates some initial positive impact, but it would require major changes before it could scale. - 50%

1 - Limited potential. This project has great intentions, but it looks like it does not include key drivers of a shift towards children’s wellbeing. - 25%

4. Overall, how do you feel about this idea?

5 - This idea rocked my world. It’s awesome! - 0%

4 - This idea seems really exciting. With a little more polishing, it’d be among my favorites. - 25%

3 - I think the idea is great, but it needs some work before it moves onto the next round. - 0%

2 - I liked it fine but preferred others. - 25%

1 - It didn’t make my heart beat faster. Needs significant revisions. - 50%

5. Offer some feedback. Where should this participant spend some time revising?

DEFINING THE PROBLEM. Make sure to articulate the root causes or main barriers of the social issue your project addresses. (Founding Story, Problem, Solution). - 33.3%

CLARITY OF MODEL. Make sure to mention (a.) the beneficiary, b) the main activities, and c) how those activities drive social impact. Keep it streamlined! - 66.7%

MARKETPLACE. Make sure to research other players in this space and articulate how this project is different. I didn’t get a complete sense of how this project compares to others. - 33.3%

IMPACT POTENTIAL. Make sure to use specific numbers to describe what your project has achieved so far! And consider how you might scale the model or its insights, through partnerships, trainings, or franchising. - 100%

WRITING STYLE. Try to stay concise and make it vivid. Avoid jargon. - 66.7%

Nothing stands out! I thought it was great. - 0%

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Photo of Nicole Forsyth
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Physical health is definitely a necessary foundation to wellbeing, and as I parent I definitely can relate to how complex this can be and how something like this could ease my state of mind. Thanks for working to solve this problem! I wasn't sure how this project related to the broader, more holistic view of children's wellbeing? Is there a way to use this platform to get children more active (agents) in their own healthcare; help lay a foundation for them to be more connected/involved/problem-solve, etc.? And if you are doing this, maybe you can make this more clear?

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