Frequently Asked Questions About LifeWIRE

What were the primary objectives when developing the LifeWIRE solution? LifeWIRE began by our focusing on the science and the art of communication.  We knew we needed to create a dialogue between Providers and Patients that was engaging, efficient and effective where the technology (the “science”) was “invisible”, but at the same time dynamically customizable for the patient using their desired communication media and language (the “art”). We were passionate about building a technology solution that does not dictate how or where a patient communicates with a Provider, but where the technology is invisible and ubiquitous; an enabler, not a barrier.

Which features of the system set it apart from other interactive health communications solutions? It is easy to ‘blast’ information based on a theoretical agenda.  LifeWIRE is about people, and people controlling the pace, the content, and the delivery of every interaction.  With LifeWIRE, the patient dictates the means of communication, whether it is email, IVRS, call centers, text message or chat.  LifeWIRE is highly interactive.  It facilitates communications with the patients, and then uses their responses to parse the answers.  Based on the answers, the patient receives immediate follow-up calls to action, referrals, informational feedback such as providing insight to their response, links to websites, or warm handoffs to a care manager.   Importantly, we know that a non-response is in fact a response where a user chooses not to respond. 

LifeWIRE measures and is responsive to non-responses. In all cases, based on responses (or non-responses) it can be configured to notify the care team or personal support networks, to contact the patient. LifeWIRE can even send notifications to third parties outside the immediate treatment team and family, such as program managers of supportive services.  Fundamentally, LifeWIRE is patient driven and user-interactive.  This is how it gets results. All communications are permission-based and HIPAA compliant. No software and no special equipment are required.  No Apps are installed.  LifeWIRE is virtually instantaneous, and implementation does not require the installation of any software for either the Provider or the patient. LifeWIRE is a cloud-based population management communication engine that provides our clients with the tools to mobilize their existing interactive protocols and/or validated instruments. It can be customized/personalized for one patient, a group of patients or a large population of patients with virtually the same effort.  All the tools are in the hands of the Providers, requiring little to no programming, allowing our clients to manage as they know best. As a result it allows them to manage 1 or 10,000 with equal ease.

What are the main benefits the system provides?

1) LifeWIRE is designed to be very flexible to enable each customer’s installation to be configured to closely mirror the operational processes that it emulates.  It does what our clients do and does it when our clients want;

2) LifeWIRE allows a few people to interactively communicate and monitor a large group of people with virtually all routine monitoring performed by the system;

3) No software is required by client or patient/user; therefore no capital investment is necessary and implementation can be immediate;

4) LifeWIRE puts the “controls” in the hands of the client to create their own interactions, using online tools, allowing clients to use their own protocols; whether for validated instruments or new interactions;

5) LifeWIRE has a track record of many years of service and proven Return on Investment (ROI);

6) LifeWIRE clients have experienced an average on-going utilization of 92% (early adopters have used LifeWIRE for more than 4 years);

7) LifeWIRE integrates directly into existing customer workflows and virtually any Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system;

8) LifeWIRE’s robustness and client engagement are based on almost 10 years of development including more than 2,500 client/patient driven enhancements;

9) LifeWIRE has been approved for use with Health & Human Services, the Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense.  It is ePRO validated to FDA audit standards providing privacy, security, robust and auditable accountability;

10) LifeWIRE allows clients to select between many communication modalities such as email, IVRS, Call Centers or SMS messages;

11) LifeWIRE empowers our client companies to deliver personalized population management. We equip our clients with an ability to improve outcomes, measure on-going ROI based on the communication modality used (such as comparing email versus call centers versus text messaging), and to parse and compare responses based on the comparison of those communication modalities.

How do all of these relate to both providers and patients? LifeWIRE is designed to be flexible to the changing needs of the providers, patients, IT and the C-suite.  All parameters are determined by our clients and are not dictated by us.  LifeWIRE is designed for robust and continuing interaction, while satisfying HIPPA and associated personal privacy guidelines.

What are the principal clinical and economic values of deploying a cloud based communication solution such as LifeWIRE?

1) Patients who are compliant with their treatment plans tend to heal faster, more fully, and at a lower cost;

2)  Patients who are engaged in their treatment plan are more compliant with its terms;

3) Patients tend to do what is inspected, not what is expected;

4) LifeWIRE can be widely implemented and easily scaled because there is no requirement for software installations on every device or location for either the clinician or payment;

5) System management and administration are completely centralized;

6) System changes, updates, and upgrades are immediately available to all users thereby saving tremendous time for the management of software;

7) LifeWIRE provides the opportunity to share data with approved individuals as may be desired for research or process improvement;

8) Clients experience significant savings when compared to traditional call center management.  

What are the opportunities for population health management, associated with using LifeWIRE?  LifeWIRE has the opportunity to change medical treatment as we currently know it. The ultimate economic solution integrates improved outcomes, decreased costs, and improved customer care by automating existing workflows and remotely monitoring patients across a wide and diverse population. These features are the heart of LifeWIRE. Our clients manage diverse populations in a local geographic zone, state wide, across the US, or in some cases those deployed overseas, from a central location.  Extensive data can be reported by demographic, geographic region, by condition, or by any identified and measured need. LifeWIRE empowers our clients to not only manage wider populations, but to manage a population of 100,000 as easily as they now manage a single individual. 

More critically, each client is managed using individualized interactions tuned to just that individual’s need at that moment, and then adapt the treatment as they change. Through our “personalized population management” LifeWIRE automates the upload process, the set-up process, monitors patient responses, and then categorizes patients based on rule sets created by our clients. For example, LifeWIRE automated the daily working patient management process for over 100 patients per day, reducing labor from four hours a day to 10 minutes with greater accuracy, data collection, and insight Through population management, LifeWIRE collects large amounts of data, which lends to health management analytics on specific issues or trend analysis.

How do you adapt a system of this type to deliver interactive communications tailored to the individual? It’s one thing to have a technical means to communicate.  It’s another to know how to communicate, what modality to use, what language and context, and then to have the technology to address it all. That’s what 10 years and 2,500 insights provides. That’s why this is a great question as it hits directly on what we discuss as the “Science and Art of Communication”. LifeWIRE provides both.  Our team includes specialists from a number of areas, including the world of communication. LifeWIRE provides the means to communicate in the context of the end user augmented by the ability and insights to know how to deliver in a way that effectively communicates. Our patients say it all.  We have implementations where 92% of the patients voluntarily continue to use LifeWIRE for over 4 years beyond their hospitalization.

Are there many difficulties associated with developing an interactive communications system of this type? (language, delivery, engagement, etc.) It’s less difficult to build a piece of software than to implement the processes to effectively motivate companies to use it well.  We went about it a little differently.  Typically in the IT/Tech world, you build a system and then convince management it is good for the clients.  In our case, we identified the problems and issues first, then built a solution to address those needs. LifeWIRE was built for the clients, and therefore our efforts are not on “selling” a technology but helping management communicate more successfully and improving outcomes with their patients. If you know what you are trying to do, understand the core of what is needed, remain open to feedback from clients/users; and work with a great team who really care about client needs, you will build a great product. What LifeWIRE is today has evolved from over 2,500 client/user insights leading to system improvements - all key for the existing engagement. It is crucial to be able to satisfy the adaption of an effective interactive communication engine, but equally crucial to have a system that your clients will be able to use intuitively. And certainly, training is critical.  We have a 1-day LifeWIRE certification training program to train our clients.  By the end of the training our clients can customize LifeWIRE as they see fit. This empowers them to adapt and manage the platform using their insight to their specific population and their insights to the growth of the platform as a whole.

What are the different types of data that can be collated using the system and what meaningful insights can be derived from the analysis of this data? Data comes from interactions with a patient, and patient interactions are developed by, and for, the client.  Correspondingly, there isn’t a limit to the kinds, type, depth, or detail of data that can be collected and collated. LifeWIRE’s unique strength is not simply collecting objective data, but our ability to collect subjective data such as “How do feel today?” or “How effective was your medication?”, and then comparing each response to the patient’s earlier responses.  What makes LifeWIRE stand alone is not simply our ability to collect data but to empower our clients and their patients to make the determination of what is most valuable to them. LifeWIRE then has the tools to measure, analyze, and report those responses. LifeWIRE has algorithm’s that allows our clients to create their own rule set as to what they want to measure, and to then compare populations, patients within a population on how they respond, the changes in the type and range of responses and then make their own determination on future interactions and results.

What are your hopes for LifeWIRE in the future? We recognize that we are barely at the tip of the iceberg of where we can make an impact. Any place a few individuals need to interactively communicate with a large group, LifeWIRE applies.  We began in the medical field, but have already seen applications in areas as diverse as homelessness to corrections.  The more the world accelerates, the more critical it is for something such as LifeWIRE to connect to those who, for whatever reason, are unable to keep pace with those changes. Fifteen years ago only a few people had heard of email.  Today, if a person does not use email, a large segment of the medical industry inaccessible. We see LifeWIRE as the center of connecting many, if not all, forms and modalities of communication.  Tomorrows modalities may not even be envisioned today, but LifeWIRE’s modular construction will allow us to be on the cutting edge.  LifeWIRE will continue to allow Providers to easily, effectively communicate with clients, to gain insights valuable for the Provider, but also to provide feedback for the patient. Technology should not limit and dictate but ultimately it should allow communication between clients and their patients provided how they want, when they want, where they want and about what they want.