Strategy

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic conditions that can be controlled but not cured, like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, are the leading cause of death and disability in the United States, accounting for 70% of all deaths. Treating people with chronic conditions accounts for 86% of the costs in our nation’s healthcare system.

But while the macro numbers are staggering, the real-world challenges to an individual who lives with one or multiple chronic conditions are even more impactful.

From daily management of symptoms and medications to constant worry about how new situations and environments might trigger a crisis, if you are one of the 50% of US adults who live with a chronic condition, your quality of life is constantly under threat.

So we asked ourselves – if more than 90 million healthcare and fitness devices shipped in 2015 alone, if people themselves embrace managing their wellbeing through the 165,000 health apps available today, and if patients are willing to share their data to improve health outcomes for themselves and others, shouldn’t there be a way for people with chronic conditions to see and use the experiences of others to create more positive outcomes for their health?

This is the premise of Chronicle, our concept for a cloud-based platform and smartphone app that integrates real-time environmental, device, biometric, and self-reported data from people with shared health factors. Chronicle helps people quickly gain meaningful insights and make more effective decisions regarding their chronic conditions using real-time, shared data.

“Artefact demonstrates how [big data] might be useful in immediate, day-to-day interventions.”

“If gathering data from my suffering could save someone else from suffering, then for heaven’s sake, please do it.”

Support for multiple conditions

Unlike single-focus solutions, Chronicle allows patients to explore multiple conditions at once. This is especially important as chronic conditions often lead to other complications and comorbidities.

Open integration with connected devices

As more and more consumer and medical devices come online, they generate valuable data that can help create a detailed picture of one’s health. We envision Chronicle as an open platform that integrates data from many sources and creates a multidimensional understanding of chronic conditions.

Patient engagement through familiar tools

Chronicle is designed to support the emotional needs of people with chronic conditions. We designed the experience to feel more like communicating with a friend or a guardian and less like a medical device or doctor’s visit.