Ada Health, a global digital health company focused on improving human health at scale, announced the launch of its first digital condition-based care journey, designed to help people understand if they meet current criteria for progression to severe Covid-19 and connect with a healthcare provider for evaluation of their Covid-19 symptoms and treatment options.
Key highlights:
- Ada Health and Pfizer collaborate to launch a nationwide online Covid-19 Care Journey - operated by Ada - to help connect patients with timely treatment.
- The Care Journey app will help individuals learn if they are at high risk of progression to severe Covid-19, and offer connectivity to an independent telehealth provider for evaluation and potential treatment.
- Ada Health is working to reduce barriers for some patients that may be struggling to access Covid-19 care.
Almost 200 million Americans have one or more risk factors, such as being 50 or older, being pregnant, a smoker, overweight or having certain common medical conditions – such as diabetes or asthma that puts them at high risk of progression to severe Covid-19. However, many people are not aware of their increased risk. Covid-19 remains the third leading cause of death in the US, currently causing an average of over 400 deaths a day.
“Tackling conditions such as Covid-19 swiftly and effectively is imperative to improving people's wellbeing and livelihoods, as well as alleviating the immense pressure it puts on global health systems and economies” said Daniel Nathrath, CEO and co-founder of Ada. “The Ada Covid-19 Care Journey aims to significantly reduce the time from testing to treatment for users, and we firmly believe that it has the potential to improve health outcomes for millions.”
What is the Covid-19 Care Journey app?
The Covid-19 Care Journey is an online platform operated by Ada and developed in partnership with Pfizer. The platform hosts an independent telehealth and ePharmacy provider option. The care journey allows users to:
- learn whether they are at high risk of developing severe Covid-19 using a convenient, personalised self-assessment tool based on CDC, FDA and NIH guidelines
- assess their options for consulting a healthcare provider if they test positive
- connect to a health care provider through telehealth, to assess their symptoms and treatment eligibility within 2 hours, for a low cost
- if prescribed, obtain a prescription for an authorised oral treatment for Covid-19 for same-day pick up at a local pharmacy. There are plans to expand the platform to offer the option of home medication delivery.
Access to timely, affordable, and widely available consultation with a healthcare professional and treatment for Covid-19 remains unevenly distributed across the United States. While programs have emerged in some states and cities to support patient access to testing and treatment, few services are available nationwide that may overcome cost and availability barriers.
“Connected digital health initiatives are a key step in lower cost, faster, more equitable and more convenient access to healthcare. Our collaboration with Ada is designed to educate patients on high-risk factors for severe Covid-19 and introduce choices for people to access a provider and learn about treatment options.” said JoyL Silva, Global and U.S. antiviral franchise lead, Pfizer. “We are excited to be a part of this Covid-19 Care Journey and for its potential to help reach some of the most vulnerable patients across the United States”.
Users can access the Ada Covid-19 Care Journey via Ada’s Covid-19 Care Journey website, by conducting a self-screening in the Ada app, or following a symptom assessment in the Ada app which indicates Covid-19 as a possible condition.
To improve access to care for millions of Americans, Ada will continue to expand its end-to-end care journeys for a range of other diseases and conditions and add more functionality to its condition-based care journey offering.
This Covid-19 Care Journey will be available nationwide the week of February 6, and is already available in 36 states and Washington D.C.
Eligible individuals with a positive Covid-19 test will be able to access consultation with a healthcare provider within 2 hours.
Pfizer's partnership with Ada Health
The partnership with Pfizer facilitated the development of the Ada Covid-19 Care Journey, which is independently operated by Ada. The Ada Covid-19 Care Journey is the next step in Ada’s product offering and a natural evolution of Ada’s health assessment capabilities. The Ada Covid-19 Care Journey is a distinct product from the Ada Assess app, Ada Health’s AI powered symptom assessment tool.
Pfizer identified Ada as the partner of choice to help deliver this critical tool in the fight against Covid-19 and raise awareness among at-risk individuals. This long-term partnership with Pfizer to deliver Ada's first condition-based care journey marks a major step in Ada’s expansion in the US market.
Ada’s mission is to empower patients with the knowledge to improve their individual health journeys and, throughout the pandemic, its intention was always to help people by offering them trustworthy health information. Now, Ada is using its platform to give millions of Americans a straightforward, accessible care pathway to help them prepare for and treat against Covid-19. Longer term, it sees opportunities to collaborate with partners to expand its end-to-end care journeys for a range of other diseases and conditions.
Prior to this partnership, Ada has partnered with the likes of Bayer, Novartis, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Sutter Health to apply its AI symptom assessment to a wide range of digital health needs. Ada’s consumer app, through which individuals in the US can access the Ada Covid-19 Eligibility Questionnaire, already has over 12 million users worldwide.
How does this app compare to the current treatment journeys for Covid-19?
The Ada Covid-19 Care Journey is one of the few available nationwide, fully digital care journeys that guides users from self assessment and risk screening, through to consultation and delivery of their prescription. The entire process of discovering their eligibility and acquiring their prescription can be completed from the comfort and safety of the user’s own home. Initially, the user will have to collect their medication from a local pharmacy, but at home delivery will soon be available.
While programs have emerged in some states and cities to support patient access to testing and treatment, few services are available nationwide that may overcome cost and availability barriers. In addition, this care journey is one of the few available that is affordable, at a price point of $18 (with an additional charge for home delivery).
What is the difference between Ada Covid-19 Care Journey and Ada’s Symptom Assessment App?
Ada’s symptom assessment app (Ada Assess) and the Ada Covid-19 Care Journey are separate offerings.
The symptom assessment app does not provide users with a diagnosis. It reviews multiple pieces of data and provides a probabilistic assessment that suggests possible causes of symptoms, helping users to identify the best next steps and navigate to the appropriate care.
The Ada symptom assessment app is based on a custom-built reasoning engine and a comprehensive medical knowledge base, continuously developed and refined over ten years by a team of leading engineers, scientists and clinicians. Ada asks users dynamic questions, and considers reported symptoms, gender, age, and other medical risk factors to provide users a personalised health assessment.
The Ada Covid-19 Care Journey is a standalone offering. If Ada’s Antiviral Treatment Eligibility Questionnaire finds that a person is eligible for authorised oral antiviral treatment for Covid-19, it will provide guidance for possible next steps for clinical care. The Ada Antiviral Treatment Eligibility Questionnaire is part of the overall care journey, and allows individuals to assess if they meet the current risk of progression to severe Covid-19 and potential eligibility for authorised oral antiviral treatment for Covid-19. Completion of the Ada Antiviral Treatment Eligibility Questionnaire does not guarantee that an individual will receive a prescription, all clinical decisions will be made by an independent third party healthcare provider.