Boston Scientific, Google's contest winners highlight patient engagement, data's role in digital ch…

Patient engagement and purposeful data implementation were common discussion points during the finals of a digital health pitch competition held last night inside Google’s Cambridge, Massachusetts offices.

First kicked off in October, the fourth annual Connected Patient Challenge — cosponsored by Boston Scientific and the tech giant — featured six startup finalists whose offerings were specifically focused on reducing the burden of chronic diseases.

Following pitches from each, a panel of four judges awarded the top prize and $30,000 of in-kind support to Nutrimedy, a HIPAA-compliant mobile and web service that connects patients to registered dietitians. The platform is backed by an algorithm that matches patients to professionals who specialize in providing nutrition guidance personalized to their specific chronic condition, as well as features to keep the patient engaged in their nutritional health such as photo meal logs, blogs, recipes and video or instant messaging with their counselor.

“We have a national network of registered dietitians that can provide nutrition care for any patient, with any condition, anywhere in the United States,” Mallory Franklin, director of nutrition services and engagement at Nutrimedy, said during her pitch presentation. “Our solution … can provide value across many areas of our healthcare system — we can work with health systems to provide programs for patient populations to better outcomes and improve their access to nutrition. We can work with biotech and medtech to pair Nutrimedy with pharmaceuticals and devices that patients are already receiving, and we can work with employers to design corporate wellness solutions for their employees.”