Photo: Contributing to the healthcare revolution. Credit: Unsplash
It is precisely this need to diagnose and treat patients, without the specialist's constant visit, which is accelerating the use of digital tools such as video or specialized applications.This new doctor-patient relationship is already applicable in many situations.However, certain conditions such as dermatological are still requiring monitoring and frequent visits to the specialist
Psoriasis, a chronic skin disease, is a clear example of how a discontinued treatment, the lack of information by patients and the need for constant monitoring comes to condition the quality of life of a good part ofthe affected.All this would change if we had a new scalable and accurate form of patient monitoring.
Reinventing medicine to improve the lives of people through innovation is the mission of Novartis, the world leader in health services that Novartis Biome created is a global network of innovation centers created to strengthen the connectionand interaction between the company and all the agents of the digital ecosystem.When they contacted opinions to ask us for help in the implementation of the Derma Pitch Competition of Novartis Biome, we immediately saw that it was an opportunity to contribute to this true health revolution.
“The first thing we ask ourselves was how to attract the best talent,” he says Patricia Mizrahi,Director of Project of Opinno.“In Opinne, we know well that it successfully orchestrating a competition of this category requires a clear definition of the startup approach, a value proposal that is relevant to entrepreneurs and clear selection rules that allow the way so that all contenders haveequal opportunities”,says Patricia.
From here, we launched the recruitment process.The contact was performed through emails, telephone and weekly reminders to startups with potential for competition, with a result of 101 initial candidates.“After carrying out in-depth telephone interviews, the list was reduced to twenty candidates who were later evaluated by a group of dermatologists during the 5th National Congress on Psoriasis in Madrid”,Remember Patricia.
The resulting list of thirteen candidates was reduced to six, after a process of analysis of the final reports made by Novartis experts.The final winner, should be able to integrate its solution into an application, asiming to the maximum the possibilities of artificial intelligence and & nbsp; the digital images.
It was about optimizing the care received by allowing patients as dermatologists to obtain relevant clinical information to carry out a better monitoring of the disease.For example, a possible solution could include sending reminders over the medication, information about healthy habits for the improvement of patient health or personalized recommendations based on the symptoms detected.
The 6 candidates were aware of what it meant to win: great impact and visibility, funding opportunities, constant support by independent dermatologists and experts from Novartis, and a world of new contacts.But before it would be necessary to defend their solutions before the jury in Barcelona, within the coveted pilot program project.
In an opinion we have maintained an active presence in all phases of the project: launch, selection, evaluation and final presentation, improving and starting the methodology and verification of results.“We were also very interested in extracting best practices and improvement areas overlooking next editions”,Add Patricia, remembering the exciting progression of work until the day of the final presentation.The process required the creation of an effective and aspirational communication strategy that inspired from the initial launch to the design of the visual architecture of the website, including visual consultancy and writing and development of the informative kits.
After two intense work sessions to help candidates prepare their defenses, the 6 finalists were ready to raise their innovative solutions to the jury.
The winner was CaptureProof a tele-medicine application that could become the diagnosis and treatment of psoriasis forever.
Our valuation of the final result: a satisfied client, a winning startup, a proud team of his work and a giant step towards innovative digital solutions that give a new impetus to a sanitary revolution that has come to stay.
