This is the second post in our “5 Teams Changing Diabetes Management” series, featuring Q&A with the Alexa Diabetes Challenge Finalists. These concepts demonstrate the vast potential for voice-enabled solutions to improve life for those with type 2 diabetes.
Our second post features a Q&A with Aashima Pathak, Regional Director at HCL America, Inc. Her team developed My GluCoach, a holistic management solution that blends the roles of voice-based diabetes teacher, lifestyle coach, and personal assistant to serve the individual and specific needs of the patient.
What inspired you to create this voice-enabled solution?
HCL’s inspirational journey started with FDA and Pharma’s increased focused on Real World Evidence (RWE). RWE focuses on ensuring better patient outcome. At this point, the Pharma industry had realized the desire to focus in the best interest of the patient – patient centricity.
We realized that right from clinical trials to the commercialization of the drug, what matters is the patient experience, journey and therapy outcome. HCL’s Life Science’s digital propositions were based on design thinking approach with huge emphasis on “patient empathy” to solve the industry problem. By creating patient journey maps we realized we could understand the patient and the eco-system better and provide value added services that would improve overall patient experience on therapy.
Pharma’s digital revolution along with HCL’s Digital Design thinking persona based approach inspired us to think and adopt new digital channels (omni/multi-channel) to enhance the patient experience for better outcomes.
Describe your first experience with voice technology. What aspect of it did you find most compelling?
HCL’s first experience in voice technology was a result of creating solutions to drive digital innovation in disease management area. HCL took a design thinking human centric approach to provide a solution. We identified the potential of voice to improve patient experience and outcomes.
Initially, we had explored voice as another channel for communication but as we explored further use cases, we realized that combining voice with strong AI/cognitive technology will revolutionize the industry by addressing a big gap in drug adherence and patient engagement. HCL is particularly thrilled to explore this further as AI/cognitive technology is an area of focus and expertise in HCL and we have existing capability in this space.
We found voice a fascinating channel that helped focus on patient centricity and took it to a new level. Combined with AI, cognitive technology, IoT and advanced analytics, this powerful channel will be simple to adopt and highly engaging.
How will your concept help people living with type 2 diabetes?
Our concept is based on our research in Type 2 diabetes focusing on 3 key areas for patient experience and outcomes:
- Newly diagnosed patient, is overwhelmed the information and the change the disease brings (bringing fear and uncertainty). Our DIABETES TEACHER is the personal assistant providing answers to imminent questions through voice enabled services.
- Once on treatment, the patient finds it difficult to understand and adhere to the lifestyle change (food intake and physical activity. Our LIFESTYLE COACH connects the recommended treatment plan with small steps in daily life, measures the impact, and helps patient to adhere to positive lifestyle changes for better outcomes.
- The PERSONAL ASSISTANT is ultimately supporting the patient to stick to the chosen track by easing daily tasks of a T2D patient, like medication reminders, physician appointments or cab service.