Overview
Edward’s family knew something wasn’t right. After enduring months of chemotherapy and a new biologic treatment for his stage 3 throat cancer, Edward’s condition took a worrying turn. Stomach troubles became persistent, phone calls to the doctor went unanswered, and only after alarming symptoms like bloody stools did he finally receive the right diagnosis—an adverse reaction to the biologic drug. Unfortunately, the delay took a severe toll on his already frail body.
Edward’s story is a stark reminder that while adverse effects in cancer therapy aren’t uncommon, timely diagnosis and intervention can make all the difference. Could there have been a faster way to flag his symptoms? What if patients with similar diagnoses were connected to share experiences, essentially “crowdsourcing” their symptoms? Such a system could shorten the diagnostic timeline and even change outcomes.
BandHealth: Creating Community-Driven Insights
Enter companies like BandHealth, which aim to harness the power of patient connectivity and AI to bridge this gap. Drawing inspiration from online dating apps, BandHealth’s co-founders Zach Gotlib and Jared Firestone—who themselves navigated serious health challenges—developed a platform to match patients with shared diagnoses, age, geography, and experiences. This creates a safe environment for sharing stories and insights that can help fill information gaps and ease the sense of isolation many patients feel.
The demand for such a platform is vast. Today, 133 million people in the US live with chronic disease, and this number is projected to climb to 230 million by 2030. Social isolation not only contributes to repeat hospital admissions but also elevates the risk of heart disease and stroke. Recognizing this, BandHealth has already engaged with non-profits like Mended Hearts, SCAD Alliance, and Triage Health. Their next step? Collaborating with hospitals to ensure patients have access to supportive communities during their most vulnerable times.
Sanguina’s AnemoCheck: Empowering Anemia Patients
Similarly, Sanguina’s AnemoCheck platform is tackling another critical gap in care: anemia diagnosis and management. Anemia affects 1.6 billion people worldwide, yet the journey to diagnosis—doctor visits, lab tests, and waiting—can be exhausting, especially in rural areas. Erika Tyburski, Sanguina’s founder, created a home-use testing kit and smartphone app after her own struggle with iron-deficiency anemia. The result? Patients, even in healthcare deserts, can access quick, reliable data to advocate for earlier interventions.
InovCares: Addressing Maternal Care Inequities
Maternal care, too, is ripe for transformation. The US continues to see rising maternal morbidity and mortality rates, trailing behind many developing countries. InovCares, founded by Mohamed Kamara, addresses this with an ecosystem of virtual care, wearable data integration, doula access, and community connections. Kamara’s mission was born from personal tragedy—losing his sister and aunt to preventable pregnancy complications. Today, InovCares empowers patients like an 18-year-old Hispanic mother who, thanks to transportation help from the platform, could attend her prenatal appointments despite financial hurdles. Or a 25-year-old African American patient whose nausea was swiftly addressed via a telehealth consult arranged by her doula.
A New Paradigm: Empathy, Connectivity, and Technology
The common thread weaving through these stories is the power of patient-centric care—bridging gaps in access, technology, and social support. When patients are seen not just as cases but as people, and when they’re given the tools to connect, share, and advocate, the result is better health outcomes and a stronger, more resilient system.
Building on Empathy and Innovation
As we look ahead, the intersection of AI, real-time data, and community-driven healthcare offers hope for a more responsive and inclusive system. For founders and co-founders, the lesson here is clear: meaningful innovation starts with empathy and real-world experience.
How can your business integrate patient or customer voices more directly into its innovation and service delivery processes—just as these healthcare pioneers have?
