WASHINGTON and COLUMBIA, Md. and NEW DELHI, India, March 23, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IFC, a member of the World Bank Group; WellDoc, a US-based digital health startup; and Max Healthcare, a leading Indian healthcare provider, today launched a cutting-edge mobile application in India to improve diabetes care, amid predictions from the International Diabetes Foundation that the disease could affect 123 million Indian citizens by 2040. The app will initially be piloted with a select group of patients in New Delhi, which allows them to transform their smartphone, tablet or personal computer into a personal health advisor.
WellDoc’s BlueStar® application is a mobile health monitoring tool that helps adults living with type 2 diabetes and their doctors drive behavioral and clinical change. The app analyzes diabetes data entered by the patient, including blood glucose levels and medications, and delivers curated analytics to a patient’s healthcare team to improve decisions and better manage the disease. The app will be tailored to the Indian market to account for specific medications and local diets, allowing patients to enter details of their meals and receive instant advice on the optimal medication and dosage.
Through its TechEmerge program, IFC provided funding and support, and served as a matchmaker, bringing together WellDoc and Max Healthcare in this powerful partnership.
“IFC’s TechEmerge program works in emerging markets to match innovative firms with local partners, creating not only economic benefits, but also the potential for enormous social and development impact,” said IFC Head of Strategic Business Advisory Solutions, Selcuk Tanatar.
Statistics from the International Diabetes Federation show that treatment for diabetes complications costs more than $670 billion dollars a year globally, and that the disease claims the lives of five million people worldwide each year.
“Being part of IFC’s TechEmerge program is truly validating,” said WellDoc’s Chief Strategy Officer Anand K. Iyer, “especially in markets such as India, where there is a high and growing prevalence of diabetes and increased use of smart phones.”
The diabetes care app is one of 17 cutting-edge technologies to be piloted in India, following a TechEmerge matchmaking event in New Delhi last June. IFC is providing one million dollars to support these groundbreaking health initiatives.
“Max healthcare is focused on changing the healthcare delivery to better serve patients with chronic ailments. Diabetes, with its high prevalence and growing incidence, is a crucial one to tackle. We are committed to providing comprehensive care to our patients and this is another step towards it.” said Max Healthcare’s Chief Growth Officer, Rohit Kapoor. “We are looking forward to this pilot that TechEmerge has helped us identify and to working with WellDoc to better manage Type 2 diabetes”.
IFC’s TechEmerge program is being implemented in partnership with the Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy, and the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry, and is supported by Health 2.0.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our six decades of experience to create opportunity where it’s needed most. In FY16, our long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $19 billion, leveraging our capital, expertise and influence to help the private sector end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
About TechEmerge
TechEmerge is an initiative of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. It’s a first of its kind matchmaking program for proven technology companies around the world that are looking to grow their business in emerging markets. IFC’s unique acceleration platform connects startups globally with leading corporations in emerging economies to form new partnerships. The objective of the initiative is to bring technologies to new markets, and spur sustainable innovation in regions that need it most. For more information, visit www.techemerge.org.
About WellDoc®
WellDoc is a digital health technology company that develops mobile solutions to drive behavioral and clinical change in chronic disease. WellDoc’s goal is to improve patient self-management and help physicians overcome gaps in the delivery system to improve clinical outcomes and decrease cost. WellDoc has commercialized BlueStar®, a digital therapeutic, for individuals living with type 2 diabetes. This therapeutic is designed to fill the support gap between patients and providers during the 8700 hours that individuals live their lives outside the healthcare system each year. WellDoc has a proven track record of contributing published, peer-reviewed clinical evidence of a 1.7 to 2.0 point AIC reduction and has presented real-world patient engagement and clinical outcomes at important scientific meetings. BlueStar® is recognized by the American Diabetes Association on its website as the first and only in the new class of diabetes treatment known as Mobile Prescription Therapy. In a Forbes blog, WellDoc was named among one of five healthcare tech companies to watch in 2016. For more information, visit www.WellDoc.com and www.BlueStarDiabetes.com.
About MaxHealthcare
Max Healthcare (MHC) is a joint venture with Life Healthcare, South Africa, and is the Country’s leading comprehensive provider of standardized, seamless and international-class healthcare services. It is committed to the highest standards of medical and service excellence, patient care, scientific and medical education.
Max Healthcare has 14 facilities in North India, offering services in over 30 medical disciplines. Of this, 11 facilities are located in Delhi & NCR and the others in Mohali, Bathinda and Dehradun. The Max network includes state-of-the-art tertiary care hospitals in Saket, Patparganj, Vaishali, Shalimar Bagh, Mohali, Bathinda and Dehradun, secondary care hospitals at Gurgaon, Pitampura, Noida & Greater Noida and an out-patient facility and speciality centre at Panchsheel Park. The Super Speciality Hospitals in Mohali and Bathinda are under PPP arrangement with the Government of Punjab.
Max Healthcare has a base of over 2,300 doctors, 10,000 employees and over 2.2 million patients from over 80 countries, across its network of 14 hospitals.