Medtep Blog

If we could use one adjective to describe February 2016 that would be FULL! We have been up to some pretty cool stuff at Medtep this month. Care to find out? Read on! 

Speaking at Lake Nona Impact Forum 

In the newest series of Medtep around the world, this month we had the opportunity to travel to Orlando, Florida for the Lake Nona Impact Forum, bringing together people changing the healthcare game. 

Our CEO and co-founder Pablo Pantaleoni, along with other featured entrepreneurs, was invited to speak about the way they are helping transform healthcare. 

A huge thanks to everyone who was part of the event, it was a pleasure to be there! 

Pablo presenting Medtep’s outcomes during his speech at Lake Nona. 

Entrepreneurship Mentoring Forbes Mexico 

As you may know by now Pablo Pantaleoni, Medtep CEO, was awarded Forbes 30 Under 30 in healthcare at the beginning of the year. 

This month Pablo was invited to lead a mentoring session organized by Forbes Mexico and directed at young entrepreneurs who are changing the way business is done. 

“If you’re planning on becoming an entrepreneur, do it globally, the world is your market” - Pablo Pantaleoni during the session. 

Pablo on stage during the Forbes Mexico speech. 

Mobile World Congress

We came. We saw. We conquered. 

For the fourth edition in a row, Medtep was present at Mobile World Congress which took place in Barcelona, and it couldn’t have gone better. We had the opportunity to meet so many people in the digital industry and see how other people are helping transform the world the way we know it.  

Our beautiful MWC 2016 stand.

Some members of the Medtep Business Development and Marketing Team were even on the News! 

Josep Baijet, Medtep VP Sales & Marketing on Onda Cero Cat Radio show.

We are very grateful for all of you who came by our stand to say hi and showed interest in Medtep and what we do. Thank you!

Until next month! 

Keep up with us on:

Twitter: @medtep

Facebook 

Newsletter Mensual - FEBRERO

El mes de febrero fue completo aquí en Medtep. Hemos estado haciendo cosas muy interesantes este mes. ¿Quieres saber más? ¡Sigue leyendo! 

Hablando en Lake Nona Impact Forum

Siguiendo la serie de Medtep por el mundo, este mes tuvimos la oportunidad de viajar a Orlando, Florida para el Lake Nona Impact Forum, que aunó a personas transformando el mundo de la salud.

Nuestro CEO y co-fundador Pablo Pantaleoni, junto a otros emprendedores seleccionados, fue invitado a hablar sobre Medtep y la forma en la que contribuimos a este cambio.

¡Muchas gracias a todos los que ayudaron a hacer realidad este evento, fue un placer estar ahí!

Sesión de Mentoring Forbes México

Como quizás ya sabéis todos, Pablo fue nominado a Forbes 30 Under 30 en salud a principios de año.

Este mes fue invitado a presentar una sesión de mentoring “Las 30 Promesas de Forbes” de mano de Forbes México dirigida a jóvenes emprendedores que están cambiando la forma de hacer negocios.

“Si te planteas emprender siempre hazlo de manera global, el mundo es tu mercado" - Pablo Pantaleoni durante el evento.

Pablo hablando durante el evento Las 30 Promesas de Forbes. 

Mobile World Congress

Vinimos. Vimos. Vencimos.

Por cuarta edición consecutiva, Medtep estuvo presente en Mobile World Congress Barcelona y no pudo haber ido mejor. Tuvimos la oportunidad de conocer a muchas personas en la industria tecnológica y ver cómo otros están ayudando a transformar el mundo tal y como lo conocemos.

Algunos miembros del equipo de Desarrollo de Negocio y Marketing incluso aparecieron en los medios.

Guillermo Marqueta, desarrollo de negocios en Medtep, para Barcelona Activa.

Josep Baijet, Medtep VP Sales & Marketing durante el programa MÉS 324.

Estamos muy agradecidos a todos los que se pasaron por nuestro stand a saludar y mostraron interés en Medtep y en lo que hacemos. ¡Muchas gracias!

¡Hasta el mes que viene!

Síguenos:

Twitter: @medtep

Medtep began its journey as an online solution to a real healthcare issue: improving patient-doctor communication. Fast forward five years and we’re a digital health company helping over 120.000 users worldwide improve their health.

The healthcare industry is transforming at breakneck speed: doctor and patients' needs evolve, new challenges take place, and technology changes everything. Today we wanted to share how we're rebranding Medtep and communicate what our company has evolved into. 

We present the benefits that come with this change, the design, and the impact it will have on our company and on you.

Advantages of the new identity 

As of now uPatient - our platform for patients- and uClinics - our platform for healthcare professionals - have come under the same brand, giving birth to Medtep and Medtep Professionals. 

By changing our branding and unifying our name we’re looking to narrow the gap between the corporate brand and the product itself.

From now on all projects developed by Medtep will be backed up by the company’s own identity.

Our Logo

One thing you’ll notice is that our logotype is at once more leveled and clean. This will help you recognize Medtep from afar, even in small places. It also reflects a more substantial look as we too have matured as a company.

We’re excited to roll out this new look and feel that celebrates our company, as well as our users.

La nueva identidad de Medtep

Medtep empezó su recorrido como una solución a un problema real en el sistema sanitario: mejorar la comunicación entre un médico y sus pacientes. Cinco años más tarde y somos una compañía de salud digital ayudando a más de 120.000 usuarios de todo el mundo a mejorar su salud.

La industria sanitaria se está transformando a una velocidad de vértigo: las necesidades de los médicos y pacientes cambian, surgen nuevos retos, y la tecnología lo cambia todo. Hoy queremos compartir cómo hemos decidido dar el salto de cambiar nuestra identidad corporativa.

Presentamos a continuación los beneficios de este cambio, el diseño y el impacto que supone para nuestra compañía y para ti.

Ventajas de la nueva identidad

A partir de este momento uPatient - nuestra plataforma para pacientes- y uClinics - nuestra plataforma para profesionales sanitarios- se han aunado bajo la misma marca, dando lugar a Medtep y Medtep Professionals.

Al cambiar nuestra marca y unificar su nombre buscamos estrechar la relación entre marca corporativa y plataforma, mejorando la experiencia del usuario.

A partir de ahora todos los proyectos desarrollados por Medtep estarán respaldados por la identidad de la propia compañía.

Nuestro logo

Una cosa en la que te fijarás es que nuestro logotipo es ahora más fresco a la vez que profesional. Esto te ayudará a reconocer Medtep desde lejos, incluso en sitios pequeños. El nuevo logo refleja un cambio más sustancial al haber madurado también como empresa.

Estamos encantados de presentar esta nueva identidad que celebra nuestra empresa, así como a nuestros usuarios.

Well, that flew by! The first month of the year is now over and it has been all the busy we expected it to be. 

Keep on reading to find out what we were up to!

Forbes Award

As you may, or may not know, a few months ago Medtep CEO Pablo Pantaleoni was nominated for Forbes 30 Under 30. Every year the magazine celebrates the game changers under 30 years old transforming the world, and this year we are now proud to announce that Pablo was awarded the Forbes 30 Under 30 in healthcare.

Snippet from Forbes Magazine.

The impact of this award has been huge on social media and press appearance and is a great opportunity to raise awareness towards rare and chronic diseases and the importance of improving patient’s lifestyles by following proper treatment. 

Good job to the whole team! 

Medtep at J.P Morgan Conference

Starting off the year with our first event in San Francisco, the J.P. Morgan Annual Healthcare Conference, which allowed us to explore market and sector trends and get in touch with people in healthcare from all around the world. 

A really bountiful experience added to the books! 

Mental Health Study Launch

Next up, we’re very excited to be announce the launch of the very first mental health study in the history of Medtep: The Effectiveness of Medtep platform in Dialectal Behavior Group Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder, which will be starting later this month. 

We’re very excited for this new path!

Stay updated and follow us:

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¿Qué pasó en Enero? - Newsletter Mensual

El primer mes del año llega a su fin y ha sido todo lo ocupado que esperábamos.

Continúa leyendo para averiguar qué cosas pasaron este mes.

Premio Forbes

Como igual sabes si has leído nuestro blog, hace unos meses el CEO de Medtep Pablo Pantaleoni fue nominado a Forbes 30 Under 30. Cada año la revista celebra los 30 menores de 30 llamados a cambiar el mundo, y este año estamos orgullosos de anunciar que Pablo fue galardonado con el Forbes 30 Under 30 en salud.

El impacto de este premio ha sido enorme en las redes sociales y en las apariciones en la prensa. Esta ha sido una gran oportunidad para dar a conocer las enfermedades raras y crónicas y la importancia de mejorar el estilo de vida de los pacientes siguiendo un tratamiento adecuado. 

¡Buen trabajo a todo el equipo!

Medtep en J.P Morgan

Empezamos el año con nuestro primer evento en San Francisco, el J.P Morgan que nos permitió explorar el mercado y contactar con personas del sector salud en todo el mundo.

¡Una experiencia muy gratificante!

Lanzamiento de nuestro primer Estudio de Salud Mental

Este mes anunciamos el lanzamiento de nuestro primer estudio de salud mental: Efectividad del uso de una plataforma digital en Terapia Dialéctica Conductual Grupal para Trastorno Límite de la Personalidad, que comenzará este mes.

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This list celebrates breakout talents in 20 different sectors out to make a difference in the world

SAN FRANCISCO, CA- (January 5th, 2016) - The young economist and entrepreneur from Barcelona, Pablo Pantaleoni, 27,  has been awarded 30 Under 30 in healthcare by the renowned Forbes in their 2016 edition. Every year the magazine celebrates the game changers under 30 years old transforming the world.

“For me there is nothing more rewarding than entrepreneurship, knowing that you’re not only working for yourself but that you’re putting out something new that society can benefit from, with hopes of making people live healthier”, says the young entrepreneur.

This nomination is a great opportunity to raise awareness towards rare and chronic diseases and the importance of improving patient’s lifestyles by following proper treatment. Medtep offers a product that lets doctors make and share care plans with patients who can follow them on their phones and computers and keep track of whether they’re doing what they need to improve their health.

In a short year Medtep has become a part of the most important accelerator in healthcare of the world, StartUpHealth; raised $2M in seed funding and has seen how it’s CEO makes it to Forbes 30 Under 30 list, showing the rapid growth and future projection of the company.

“Having a trustworthy team is the single most important trait for an entrepreneur. Achieving goals and success does not come from the work of one person, but from the whole team behind it. In my case, counting on Jacob, also Medtep co-founder, makes everything that much easier. This acknowledgment is his as well,” Pablo Pantaleoni points out.

Medtep’s team works towards helping users worldwide achieve lasting behavioral changes through global partnership agreements, with a model that helps healthcare professionals optimize the way they treat their patients and offers patients personalized care to improve their health state and quality of life.

Snippet from Forbes magazine.

Pablo Pantaleoni -CEO y Co-Fundador de Medtep- entre los llamados a cambiar el mundo por Forbes

Esta lista rinde homenaje a los talentos de 20 sectores diferentes que están marcando la diferencia en el mundo

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (05 de enero 2016) - El joven economista y empresario barcelonés Pablo Pantaleoni, de 27 años, ha sido galardonado con 30 Under 30 en salud por la reconocida revista Forbes en su edición 2016. Cada año la revista celebra los logros de jóvenes menores de 30 años que están transformando el mundo.

"Para mí no hay nada más gratificante que la iniciativa empresarial, sabiendo que no sólo estás trabajando para uno mismo sino también ofreciendo algo nuevo y beneficioso para la sociedad, con la esperanza de hacer que las personas vivan de forma más saludable", dice el joven empresario.

Esta nominación es una gran oportunidad para dar a conocer a las enfermedades raras y crónicas y la importancia de mejorar el estilo de vida de los pacientes siguiendo el tratamiento adecuado. Medtep ofrece un producto que permite a los médicos crear y compartir planes de salud con sus pacientes, realizando seguimiento mediante sus teléfonos y ordenadores y comprobar si se está haciendo lo que necesitan para mejorar su estado de salud.

En el plazo de un año Medtep ha pasado a formar parte de la aceleradora más importante en salud a nivel mundial, StartUp Health; cerrado una ronda de financiación de 2M$ y ha visto cómo su CEO se abre paso en la lista Forbes 30 Under 30, demostrando el rápido crecimiento y proyección de futuro de la empresa.

"Tener un equipo de confianza es el rasgo más importante para un emprendedor. Los logros y el éxito no son la labor de una sola persona, sino de todo el equipo que está detrás de él. En mi caso contar con Jacob, también co-fundador de Medtep, hace que toda sea más fácil. Este reconocimiento también es suyo”, señala Pablo Pantaleoni.

Happy New Year! 

Before we go into detail about this awesome year ahead of us, we want to take a moment and remember the things accomplished in 2015. 

2015 Highlights 

One of the biggest events that took place last year was raising $2M in a seed funding round to fuel our international expansion and grow our team. Thanks to all our investors for their trust. We now have amazing headquarters in San Francisco, and offices in Mexico and Barcelona. 

Medtep Barcelona office. 

We had the opportunity to share our vision in different events across the globe, such as the HealthXL event in Munich, the Health 2.0 Anual Conference in Silicon Valley or Exponential Medicine in San Diego.

All this hard work paid off and in 2015 Pablo Pantaleoni, CEO & Co-Founder of Medtep received a nomination for a Forbes 30 Under 30 feature. 

Pablo was also invited to participate on an episode of StartUp Health NOW!, the weekly video podcast that celebrates the entrepreneurs who are reimagining healthcare. Watch him talk about Medtep’s origins and our mission to create global behavior change. 

We finished off the year with great news: a feature in PM360’s Innovations Issue placing us among the most innovative and cutting-edge startups of 2015. We give our point of view on digital healthcare innovation and achieving patient engagement.

Also on this note, our Hemophilia care plan appeared as part of the European Hemophilia Consortium newsletter in December. 

None of this would have been possible without your help. A big thanks to you for your support and believing in Medtep!  

Where will we be in 2016?

The new year is off to a good start. 

Medtep welcomes with open arms the newest addition to the team: Josep Baijet, VP Sales & Marketing. So glad to have him on our team! 

Keep an eye on us! 

Starting next week in San Francisco with the J.P. Morgan Annual Healthcare Conference, an event which will allow us to explore market and sector trends and get in touch with people in healthcare from all around the world. 

We will be speaking at ePharma Summit at the end of February in New York. This event brings together leaders in digital marketing to develop innovative marketing strategies. So excited to be a part of it! 

This year we will also have a stand at Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry & held in Barcelona from the 22-25 February.

This is just the start. Stay tuned for much more to come! 

Newsletter Mensual: Edición Año Nuevo 

¡Feliz año nuevo!

Antes de entrar en detalle de lo que nos espera este año, queremos tomarnos un momento y recordar lo cumplido en el 2015.

Lo más destacado del 2015

Uno de los mayores acontecimientos que tuvieron lugar el año pasado fue cerrar una ronda de financiación de 2M$ para expandir Medtep a nivel internacional y crecer nuestro equipo. Gracias a nuestros inversores por su confianza. Ahora contamos con una sede fantástica en San Francisco y oficinas en México y Barcelona.

Oficinas de Medtep en Barcelona

Tuvimos la oportunidad de compartir nuestra visión en diferentes eventos alrededor del mundo, como HealthXL en Munich, Health 2.0 en Silicon Valley o Exponential Medicine en San Diego.

Todo este trabajo tuvo su recompensa y en 2015 Pablo Pantaleoni, CEO y Co-Fundador de Medtep fue nominado a Forbes 30 Under 30.

Pablo también fue invitado a participar en un episodio de StartUp Health NOW!, un programa semanal que rinde homenaje a emprendedores que están trabajando para reinventar la sanidad. Le podéis ver hablar del origen de Medtep y nuestra misión para crear un cambio de comportamiento global. 

Terminamos el año con buenas noticias: un artículo en la revista PM360, situándonos entre las startups más innovadoras del 2015. En él damos nuestro punto de vista en temas de salud digital y fidelización de pacientes.

Siguiendo esta línea, nuestro plan de Hemophilia fue destacado en la newsletter de Diciembre del European Hemophilia Consortium.

Nada de esto hubiera sido posible sin tu ayuda.  ¡Muchas gracias por apoyarnos y creer en Medtep!

¿Dónde estaremos en 2016?

Este año empieza bien.

Medtep da la bienvenida a un nuevo miembro del equipo: Josep Baijet, VP Ventas y Marketing, ¡Nos alegra mucho tenerle en el equipo!

Empezando esta semana en San Francisco con la conferencia anual de salud J.P. Morgan, un evento que nos permitirá explorar el mercado y contactar con personas en el ámbito sanitario de todas partes del mundo.

Hablaremos en el evento ePharma Summit a finales de febrero en Nueva York. Este evento reúne a líderes en marketing digital para desarrollar estrategias innovadoras.

Este año también estaremos en el Mobile World Congress , el mayor evento de la industria móvil que tiene lugar en Barcelona del 22-25 de febrero.

So, that went by real fast...November is yesterday’s news and we’re welcoming December, and all it entails, with open arms. But before we start a new month, let’s recap what we’ve been up to this month: 

Medtep attends Exponential Medicine

This month we had the privilege of attending the Exponential Medicine Conference, and travel to San Diego. 

It was an intense 4-day cross-disciplinary program hosted by Singularity University where leading innovators showcased game changing technologies in healthcare. 

What will these technologies mean to the future of medicine & healthcare? When will we be 3D printing our own personalized organ replacements?

Key questions in digital health were addressed during the event, filled to the brim with world-class faculty speakers, demos, and in-depth discussions, and the Innovation Lab we attended as part of the program. 

It was great to be surrounded by relevant people in the sector and make contacts. It’s been a reboot for the way to think about healthcare challenges and a great opportunity to make a difference in the healthcare world. 

Thanks for inviting us #xmed ! 

Image source: ExMed Web 

Coming Soon: Obesity Care Plan in Partnership with IFA Celtics 

Yes, here’s something we’ve been working on this month: a partnership with the Mexican pharmaceutical company IFA Celtics, whose mission is improving patient’s health by bettering their quality of life. Hey, just like ours!

For this partnership we will be developing a care plan to help people with obesity improve their daily lifestyle.

Here’s a fact: Did you know obesity affects 300 million people around the globe? It’s a multifactorial illness and is caused mainly by a high-calorie diet, reducing physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle.

Good things will come from this partnership! 

Forbes 30 Under 30 Nomination 

Forbes presents today’s greatest gathering of young game changers, movers and makers, and this year (drum roll!)... we’re part of the nominees! Medtep CEO and co-founder Pablo Pantaleoni has been nominated and we couldn’t be prouder. 

After a selection process focusing on Pablo’s journey as a young entrepreneur and Medtep’s origins and future projection, the nomination is now formal. So now it’s up to the judges! 

Big congrats to Pablo and the whole team for making it possible! 

Follow us on twitter for all our updates. Until next month! 

Article from La Vanguardia newspaper covering the story. 

Las Novedades de Noviembre

Este mes ha pasado volando...Y damos la bienvenida a diciembre con los brazos abiertos. Antes de empezar el nuevo mes vamos a hacer un pequeño resumen de lo más destacado este mes: 

Medtep en Exponential Medicine

Este mes hemos tenido el privilegio de asistir a la conferencia de Exponential Medicine en San Diego.

Fuimos parte de un programa de 4 días intensos organizado por Singularity University donde pensadores líderes mostraron sus ideas innovadoras en el campo de la salud digital.

¿Qué supondrán estas nuevas tecnologías para el futuro de la medicina y la salud? ¿Cuándo podremos imprimir nuestros propios órganos en 3D? 

Durante el evento, repleto de ponentes de fama mundial, se abarcaron temas clave en salud digital, se realizaron demos y participamos en discusiones en profundidad.

Fue muy interesante poder contactar con personas relevantes del sector durante el evento y poder barajar nuevas maneras de abordar los retos existentes en la sanidad. ¡Gracias por invitarnos #xmed! 

Próximamente: Plan de Salud de Obesidad en colaboración con IFA Celtics

Esto es algo en lo que hemos estado trabajando este mes: una colaboración con la empresa farmacéutica mexicana IFA Celtics, cuya misión es mejorar la salud de los pacientes enriqueciendo su estilo de vida. ¡Ey, igual que nosotros!

Junto a IFA desarrollaremos un plan de salud centrado en el tratamiento de la obesidad y ayudar a las personas a mejorar su calidad de vida.

¿Sabías que la obesidad afecta a 300 millones de personas en todo el mundo? Es una enfermedad multifactorial y las causas mayores son dietas hipercalóricas, una reducción de actividad física y llevar una vida sedentaria.

¡Estamos muy ilusionados con esta colaboración! 

Nominado a Forbes 30 Under 30

Forbes hace alarde de los jóvenes emprendedores del momento y este año... ¡estamos entre ellos! El CEO y co-fundador de Medtep, Pablo Pantaleoni ha sido nominado y no podemos estar más orgullosos.

Tras un proceso de selección centrado en la trayectoria de Pablo como joven emprendedor y los orígenes de Medtep, así como su proyección de futuro, la candidatura ha pasado a ser oficial. ¡Ahora la decisión está en manos del jurado!  

Muchas felicidades a Pablo y a todo el equipo por hacer esto posible.

Awesome stuff is brewing in Medtep offices. This past month has been eventful for our team and we want to make you part of these achievements. Let’s walk through a brief summary of what has been going on.

Presenting uPatient Hemophilia study

The Hemophilia Study Tour has started and the feedback received so far is great!

For those of you living under a rock with no internet connection: Medtep team has started visiting healthcare facilities in Spain, as part of the hemophilia study. The mission of this study is to prove the increase in treatment adherence and the improvement of the patient’s quality of life using our platform.

The study has already been launched and will be taking place all around the Spanish territory.  “This is easy to use and I see how it will help me improve my adherence to the treatment”, says M.G, 41 year old male Hemophilia A patient, after using the platform for the first time.

Our hopes are high with this study, we will keep you posted!

Launching of our new website!

Medtep is growing and it only makes sense our website keeps up with us!

It’s much more than just a new look. Presenting all you need to know about our company and ways you can get involved with us. You can also find our new designs - which we are very proud of!

This website launch comes from our desire to make it a place to learn more about us and our mission to revolutionize the digital healthcare landscape, as well as make it easy to navigate through our content.  

Do you want to see what we’re talking about? Head over to www.medtep.com to check it out for yourself!

Traveling to Valencia for the SEMERGEN Congress

A few weeks ago, the 17th of October, we headed over to Valencia for the 37th SEMERGEN Congress to present the ongoing clinical trial 'Medtep platform application for optimal control of the asthmatic patient'. We were able to speak to Dr. Callejas, who has successfully been using the platform with his patients for a year now.

“The platform has helped me better control my patients. They have made less trips to the ER”, states the doctor, “uPatient helps make them responsible of their own health condition”.

Yes! This is the kind of results we want to hear from our users.

We were also able to talk to a participant of the MADIME Study, also presented during the Congress, which measures adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, in this case of a group of medical residents.  

She talked us through some of the results: Thanks to this study, she “is able to realize the dietary mistakes that are being made” and subsequently take action.

As part of the second phase of this study, uPatient will be the tool used, and the population sample will be larger. We’re excited to get their feedback!

Igualada, Barcelona (Spain), 9/3/2014 - Medtep, Fufosa (Foundation for the Promotion of Health) and 4D Health have announced today a collaboration agreement by which Medtep becomes 4D Health’s software provider. The partnership will allow the hospital to use needed tools to improve clinic management and patients’ follow-up.

The implementation of uPatient and uClinics -developed by Medtep and clinically validated by Fufosa- will help  4D Health Centre to treat patient’s data in the same way hospitals and pharmaceutical companies do. One of the main advantages that uClinics and uPatient provide is the possibility to gather and consult information from any device, anywhere and at any time. This information is updated constantly so it allows to follow prevention processes, treatments and diagnoses in an optimised way. Besides, the information generated by the patients using the platforms will make possible to analyze anonymous big data, since personal and medical information are completely separated. 

The partnership agreement has been signed today, leading into the first work session. The agreement will be extended to December 2015. For Medtep, it is an opportunity not only to collaborate with 4Dhealth research studies but also to obtain a perfect environment for testing and enhancing the platform. 

'When we talk about people’s health, failure is not allowed' says Jacob Suñol -Medtep's CEO-. That is why testing and creating prevention and tracking protocols is essential. 'It is important to remember that technology is a tool that has to fit people’s needs'.

We are glad to announce some important updates regarding Medtep. We are embarked in various exciting projects and about to relaunch our products uClinics (for healthcare professionals) and uPatient (for patients).

We have re-engineered the platform from top to bottom based on the real needs of our customers and the trends for the future of digital health. It is a new start and a whole different way to offer health care to a patient: personalized for every individual, involving the patient on their own treatment and focusing on the prevention of acute and chronic conditions.

Photographer: Malcolm Park/Getty Images

For all this exciting changes we offer you different ways to follow Medtep in all our endeavors. You can still follow this blog for updates on the company and products: releases, news, projects, etc. And if you want to read our content centered around digital health, personalized medicine and patient advocacy you can refer to our linkedIn group page.

Also follow us on facebook and twitter for more exciting contents and updates. You can also see our website to know more or contact us at contact-at-medtep.com, We'll be more than happy to attend any request.

Stay tuned for Medtep! This has just begun...

It is never easy to face a chronic illness. However, having a good attitude can help you cope with it. Knowing the disease, symptoms, protocols, what your daily habits can change... will not only help you know what happens but that will improve the quality of life.

In 2009 Carolyn Magura, defended the thesis that the patient should be aware of all the factors involved in the evolution of their disease. She defined it as Chronic Disease Self-Management. Self-Management covers the following areas:

Knowing how to Recognize and respond to the changes in a chronic disease

Dealing with problems and emergencies

Effectively Using medicines and treatments

Finding and using community resources

Getting enough exercise

Coping with fatigue, pain and sleep problems

Maintaining good nutrition

Making decisions about when to seek medical help

Working with your physician (s) and other care providers

Talking about your illness with family and friends

Managing work, family and social activities

Paying particular attention to these aspects, patients are not only improving their quality of life but they are also reducing the number of medical visits and even sometimes the amount of different medications they have to take.

After a trial, the NHS National Health Service, UK Department of Health-, drew the following conclusions:

The benefits of self-management include:

reducing the severity of symptoms

significantly decreasing pain

improving life control and activity

improving resourcefulness and life satisfaction

In particular, one survey of 1,000 people who had taken part in an Experts Patients Programme found that they:

felt more confident that their symptoms would not interfere with their lives

felt better prepared for appointments with healthcare professionals

made fewer visits to their GP

made fewer visits to accident and emergency (A&E)

Source: The patient patient

Solutions like uPatient Hemophilia are a clear example of how to conduct a Self-Management Program through a tracking and monitoring tool.

Moreover, economically, reducing doctor visits and medicines entitles great savings for the public health system. According to Magura, the statistics speak for themselves:

Chronic disease has become pandemic in the United States, and estimates are that it will affect 148 million people by the year 2030.

Patients with chronic illnesses cost the health care system over three times more than individuals without chronic conditions.

Over 80% of adults over 65 years of age have one or more chronic conditions -- over 60% have two or more chronic conditions.

It has been over 9 years since Nintendo launched Brain Age, a game that, despite not being scientifically validated, is one of the most recognized examples of health gamification. The game is basically a set of mini-games that get our mental faculties to work, thus improving the response to stimuli and increasing mental agility. But what is gamification? In fact, gamification can be defined as the use of game-thinking in non-game context to engage users and encourage them to change a target set of behaviours.

If we are talking about health gamification, it would be the use of games for changing patient’s habits.

Source: Bizpenguin.com

According to Zichermann, author of The Gamification Revolution, “games are designed to help raise people’s engagement now in a way that’s more powerful than what we’ve had before” that is why linking health and games has become a trend. Games are of great use to change the habits of the patient and indirectly improve their adherence to a prescribed treatment.

According to Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness –check out their presentation-, the importance of gamification is such that we should stop talking about it as 'the future' and we must begin to consider it as the present. Positive results are already verifiable. For example, the company GameMetrix Solutions reinvented famous games like Jeopardy or the Solitaire to impact in the treatment of chronic diseases. Their studies indicate that users can acquire more knowledge of the pathology and what they can do to improve their treatment through a simple set of questions.

Daniel Fuster MD PhD

End-of-life treatment can be challenging, as patients and families tend to suffer unnecessarily because dying is not recognized, health providers do not communicate about prognosis, and adequate symptom management is lacking. Moreover, patient suffering may be exacerbated by usual medical care, in which harmful and futile treatments are frequently continued. 

Source: John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

During this time, palliative care treatment plans can be implemented, in place of or in addition to existing care plans, to reduce suffering and improve end-of-life care.  There is a need to address processes of care for actively dying patients in inpatient settings, as patients only die once and end of life is a clinical situation were important differences can be made. 

A study by Bailet and colleagues from six different Veterans Administration Medical Centers aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a multimodal intervention strategy to improve processes of end-of-life care in inpatient settings has been published in the latest issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

The study included more than 6,000 veterans between 2005 and 2011.  The intervention strategy consisted in staff training that was targeted to all hospital providers. The training was focused on identifying actively dying patients and implementing best practices from home-based hospice care, supported with an electronic order set and paper-based educational tools.

Significant, albeit modest, intervention effects were observed in several of the proposed quality end-points, such as orders for opioid pain medications, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines (commonly used sedatives), death rattle medications, sublingual administration rather than intravenous, nasogastric tubes, and advance directives. However, the intervention had no effect on the use of restrains, on intravenous medication, no resuscitation orders and location of death (general wards rather than ICU).

This broadly targeted intervention strategy has potential for widespread dissemination to improve end-of-life care for thousands of patients who die each year in inpatient settings.

Medtep Team

From May 20 to May 22 The Israel Innovation conference takes place in Telaviv, Israel. The IATI - Israel's umbrella organization representing the various constituents of the nation's advanced Technologies- is expecting ‘this event to present the opportunity for local and global participants to see Israel at its full might. It will be a unique occasion for the audience to participate in discussions, panels, product demonstrations, and networking opportunities for new business cooperation’.

The Israel Innovation conference is the first in the world where Biomed and High-tech join hands in a new conference format. Both conferences run side-by-side, each exhibiting its own activities and programs allowing the audience to freely move between venues without limitation. Conferences will be covering a wide range of topics, but it is being a trend to come to the conclusion thata new era of health IT is paving the way to a new future in patient engagement. A future where integrating the patient in the treatment and making the patient feeling involved will play a key role as a part of the process.

Yesterday’s keynote, in which Charles n. Kahn’s III - President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of American Hospitals (FAH), the national public policy organization for investor-owned hospitals, a position that he has held since June 2001- took part, emphasized in how important is to change the paradigm so that will allow the patient to play a main part in the doctor-patient relationship. This archetype is moving from a unidirectional communication where the patient just follows the treatment to a bidirectional one, in which the patient also provides information to the doctor.

This opens the doors to innovation and solutions that promote the importance of the patient during treatment. That’s why from Medtep we work everyday on this approach. In order to improve the patient engagement, our software solution uPatient works closely with uClinics, not only by making easy for the patient to keep track of his treatment but also by facilitating the doctor’s way of monitoring the progress of the patient.

If you are interested in what it is being discussed these days and wantto stay tuned follow on Twitter: @IATI_Israel or the hashtag #MIXiii

Medtep Team

Sneezing, blocked nose, red eyes, headache, itchy throat are all words quite common these days. It has been almost two months since spring began and allergic symptoms are in its prime. Despite being well known by all of us, allergies are usually forgotten when we talk about chronic diseases. However, did you know that according to the WHO (World Health Organization) allergy related diseases have been ranked as the fourth most common disease nowadays?

Source: Allergy & Asthma Center of Stamford

Underestimated and common symptoms

Allergy is defined as an exaggerated response of the human immune system to substances that should be harmless. This response may result in nasal congestion, respiratory problems or skin reactions among many other symptoms. Even being easy to identify and treat allergic symptoms, they are often ignored since many people tend to confuse them with  other common diseases such as a cold or conjunctivitis. In the worst-case scenario, they may be overlooking a more severe suffering chronic illness like asthma, rhinitis or eczema.

Recent studies show that between 20% and 40% of the total population in developed countries suffer from an allergy while it is estimated that 400 million people worldwide suffer from rhinitis and 300 million from asthma, costing an average of 3,300$ in medical treatment, missed school and work days.

The importance of a proper diagnose 

However, more than 50% of people with allergies are not properly diagnosed , and do not receive an appropriate treatment which usually means disabling symptoms that worsen with time. This is the reason why it is so important  to be correctly diagnosed by a physician. Most cases of allergic symptoms can be treated using over-the-counter medication but it is important to visit your doctor when:

You can't control your symptoms with over-the-counter medications.

You are experiencing persistent complications fromhay fever , such as worsening of asthma or repeated episodes of sinusitis.

The pattern of your symptoms is unusual, such as occurring during the winter or only at a certain location.

  Medtep Team

During these days coagulopathies will be on the spotlight around the globe because of two important focuses. The first focus was the 'International Conference on congenital coagulopathies and rare diseases' that took place in Jaen, Spain, during May 9-10. The second reason is the World Hemophilia Foundation World Congress, which will be taking place May 11-15 in Melbourne, Australia. Both conferences seek to provide insight and cutting-edge advances on the topic of clotting disorders. WFH, according to their organizers, will have with two key areas of emphasis for the next years: education and data collection and analysis. This includes collecting data on specific research questions to build an evidence base for better care.

A clotting disorder (or bleeding disorder) is a condition in which the blood’s ability to clot (coagulate) is impaired by a deficiency of a clotting factor. This condition can cause prolonged or excessive bleeding, which may occur spontaneously or following an injury or medical and dental procedures. The Report on the WFH Annual Global Survey 2012 includes selected demographic and other data on people with hemophilia, von Willebrand disease, rare factor deficiencies, and inherited platelet disorders throughout the world. An update on this survey, which now includes data on more than 90 percent of the world’s population, identified 274,000 people with bleeding disorders in 109 countries.

Both congresses have brought special attention to the treatment of these diseases, at all levels, also getting special attention on bringing these treatments to developing countries. With this concept in mind, Medtep has leveraged the  opportunities of these two events to release a new project sponsored by Grifols, which is  a Catalan multinational pharmaceutical and chemical company that is producer of, especially, blood plasma-based products, a field in which it is the European leader and third-largest worldwide. The project uPatient Hemophilia was developed to add a management environment for patients with Hemophilia A, B or von Willebrand disease . The three objectives of the platform are: 1) Track all the information related to the treatment -vials, bleeds, activities, or set up and receive alerts for infusions or events-, 2) Share all this information to the patient’s healthcare team and 3) learn from this. This final objective is related to the multi-pathological condition of this type of patients. This is, firstly patients who learn to prevent will have a better life quality and, secondly, patients will be able to use uPatient for other follow-ups they might need, thus acquiring a health monitoring environment that can help and empower them in a transversal manner.

If you want to know more about uPatient Hemophilia or register to the platform please visit https://hemophilia.upatient.com/info 

A recent report by Joseph Dimasi, Christopher-Paul Milne and Alex Tabarrok brought the attention of some current FDA protocols related to drug approval. The issue of the line that separates an utmost cautious agency (if treatments that are urgently needed are delayed their access) from an agency that has protocols that approve treatments too fast, without enough study, has been an issue for public debate for many years.

The study is part of the Center for Medical progress at the Manhattan Institute (which originated in the late 1970s as a conservative, free-market think tank with a focus toward addressing urban social problems in New York City). Being part of an initiative called “Project FDA”, its goal is to place the FDA as a “ bridge for innovation, rather than a barrier to it (...) without sacrificing patient safety”. The agents involved in the project believe that advances in molecular medicine or personalized medicine that allow companies to target specific sub-groups of patients, in combination with electronic health records, should allow the FDA to streamline and improve time consuming and expensive pre-market product testing, and that the testing process could be done with the inclusion of different monitoring technologies. It should be taken into account that the agency has been using the same basic organizational framework for decades.

The controversy of the report is that on the one hand, it states that there has been some lack of coherence in review and approval times, sometimes caused by structural differences among FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) divisions. On the other hand the care in the FDA reviewing process for some drugs has sometimes obeyed to questions raised from the accuracy and possible effects of a product, for instance the case of the 23andme genetic tests, which might have led to mislead patients to unecessary preventive actions (they are currently just offering raw, uninterpreted data), or the Thalidomide case in the 1950's and 1960's, where a dismissal in the United Stated for the commercialization of the thalidomide drug helped avoid many more cases of malformations in infants (there were around 5000 to 7000 cases just in Germany).

It is a complicated debate, and it will be difficult to find a middle ground between efficiency to test drugs properly and find the real needs arising from new medical advances, but what can be stated is that it is essential to adapt regulations to the current state of science, helping governments lower costs by decreasing the impact of chronic diseases and helping patients get the correct drugs at the correct time.

Here's some more information on the project. Please leave a comment or refer to this link to know more about the study.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ld2Id8xGI8

Medtep Team

From the 30th of April until the 3rd of May it will be taking place in Brussels, Belgium, the 6th Congress of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO), European Chapter.

There are different types of weight loss or bariatric surgery. Gastric bypass and other weight-loss surgeries make changes to your digestive system to help you reach your ideal weight by limiting how much you can eat or by reducing the absorption of nutrients, or both.

The congress will be dedicated to the newest advances and research on that specific medical area, focusing on new surgical techniques, and new debates regarding specific protocols, cost savings and technology. It will also be discussed the importance of alliances between physicians and governments to try to alleviate the obesity epidemic in Western countries.

One of the main topics will be the post-operatory process, a debate will be raised regarding the weight gain that has been proven to appear between the third and sixth postoperative year. The main risk factors for weight gain are behavioral and psychological matters, which can be detected in the preoperative assessment. It has been proven that the weight loss surgery requires a lifelong commitment in eating patterns and lifestyle to be truly successful.

In the IFSO congress, today Medtep will have some prominence thanks to Dr. Joan Pujol-Ràfols. Dr. Pujol is a specialist in general and digestive surgery, has been the Head of the Department of Surgery at the Tres Torres Clinic in Barcelona, and Director of the Metabolic and Obesity Surgery Unit (UCOM) since 1996. He will be discussing e-health topics and will mention a study being initiated in collaboration with Medtep on personalized medicine and online monitoring of postoperative follow-up for patients that have undergone a bariatric surgery.

The presentation of this collaboration is part of the major topic that is inferred from the discussions and debates initiated in this congress, which is, as stated before, the importance of keeping a healthy lifestyle, not only to maintain the benefits from a bariatric surgery, but mostly to prevent citizens of gaining harmful body weight.  

The next important IFSO congress will be the world edition, which will take place in Montreal, Canada, on August 26th to the 30th. To know more about the congress please refer to http://www.ifsobrussels.com/ and http://www.ifso2014.com/

  Medtep Team