Singapore-based IoT solutions company KaHa has partnered with medical solutions provider EasyCare through the latter’s iDOC Clinic to implement healthcare technologies in the primary care setting.
Both companies have collaborated to deliver the iDOCWATCH wearable with its corresponding mobile app IDOC Easy Track, which will be made available as part of EasyCare services – specifically in between the annual and annual chronic disease screening for corporate clients. The device will first be released for non-clinical use for example health promotion, fitness tracking and health coaching.
The iDOCWATCH will be available from May 2020 at the online retail platform iDOC ePharmacy iDOC Clinics in Hougang and Jurong West. The iDOC Remote Monitoring Dashboard will be rolled out in phases starting with non-clinical uses such as with gyms, health coaches and fitness instructors before deployment for research and clinical use.
The wearable is designed for continuous monitoring of the user’s health by collecting and analysing essential health data that are sent to the iDOC Remote Monitoring Dashboard. The app provides a comprehensive visualisation of the individual's health markers and other critical data, empowering users to stay on top of their own health from practically anywhere.
As part of its services, EasyCare conducts annual or biannual chronic disease screening for corporate clients. In between screenings, the iDOCWATCH together with mobile app iDOC Easy Track, will be made available to individuals to enable continuous monitoring of their health by collecting and analysing essential health data from the user to be sent to the iDOC Remote Monitoring Dashboard, which aims to improve health and fitness amongst users. The app also provides a comprehensive visualisation of the individual's health markers and other critical data, empowering users to stay on top of their own health from practically anywhere
"Our partnership with KaHa is an important first step to lead our fitness and healthcare ecosystem venturing into remote monitoring technologies. This remote monitoring solution leverages a natural synergy between our services and wearable technology,” said Dr. Poh Pei Ghim, chief operating O0fficer of EasyCare. “iDOC will be able to upgrade its AI and data analytics capabilities with the additional input from wearables. I would be keen to share our current anonymised data to interested medical professionals, assist in reproducing the data, and advance the uptake and implementation of medical wearables in the healthcare setting locally."
Powered by KaHa’s IoT platform
The iDOC Remote Monitoring Solution consists of the iDOCWATCH, iDOC Easy Track and the iDOC Remote Monitoring Dashboard, and is powered by COVE, KaHa's proprietary IoT platform. The solution encourages health awareness, enabling individuals to take greater control of their health choices in a way suitable for them. For iDOC and its partners, this solution gives health and fitness advisors the ability to make informed choices when formulating treatment plans and early intervention.
With the iDOC Remote Monitoring Dashboard, a health or fitness advisor will at a glance, have the requisite information about the user's health, including activity level, sleep quality, blood pressure, heart rate and more. Specific health parameters and thresholds can be set for individual users, and the health or fitness advisor will receive alerts and notifications when a user exceeds a prescribed threshold, such as a custom-set blood pressure level individualised to the selected user.
“Extending our platform to the healthcare space was a natural evolution for KaHa, and telemedicine is an emerging space that is hugely exciting, as it brings unparalleled levels of convenience and solutions to both patients and doctors. Using AI and data-driven decision making, wearable tech stands to play a pivotal role in healthcare management. Wearable tech in healthcare can also support and protect healthcare workers in the ongoing battle against COVID-19,” said Pawan Gandhi, founder and CEO of KaHa.
Embracing technology in healthcare will benefit patients and healthcare workers. The iDOC Remote Monitoring Solution can bring a bevy of benefits including efficiency and safety by reducing contact in times of an infectious disease outbreak. It can potentially serve as a first line of screening for the public, help reduce the risk to healthcare providers and enable doctors and nurses to prioritise patients requiring critical care.
Not only is it expected to radically improve preventive healthcare management, the iDOC Remote Monitoring Solution will in the future, allow doctors to access information that may otherwise be unavailable, such as blood pressure and heart rate trending and variability. Health information can provide more useful insights into a patient's state of health, as compared to data collected in a controlled and clinical setting. It may also eliminate the incidence of 'white coat syndrome', a phenomenon observed in clinical settings where patients exhibit blood pressure readings that are higher than normal due to anxiety.
As an end-to-end IoT platform company with a multitude of smart wearable devices filling an array of use cases, KaHa will in the near future integrate more of their devices into the iDOC Remote Monitoring Solution, including a smart fitness t-shirt, an electrocardiogram (ECG) fitness tracker and a body temperature monitoring fitness tracker.
