DEERFIELD, Ill. & VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX), a global innovator in renal care, and Ayogo Health Inc., a behavioral science, digital health company, today announced the pilot of CKD&Me in several nephrology practices across the United States. Baxter and Ayogo partnered to build CKD&Me, a unique app for smartphones and tablets that tailors its educational content to chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients’ individual learning needs. Baxter is debuting the digital learning tool with hands-on demonstrations in its booth #1527, during Kidney Week in Washington D.C., Nov. 5-10.
CKD&Me supplements the education programs provided by nephrologists and their teams. The digital tool provides objective pre-dialysis education to help patients feel empowered to confidently engage in their kidney care and participate in shared decision making about their therapy options. It also provides nephrologists insights into patients’ level of engagement in the education process, their values, lifestyle needs and confidence in therapy selection.
“Experience tells us there is a gap in kidney care models globally; care should start long before dialysis is necessary, when CKD is diagnosed and steps to educate and empower patients can be taken,” says Laura Angelini, general manager, Baxter’s Renal Care business. “We’re in a unique position to address this gap with digital health tools like CKD&Me, which is designed to help healthcare professionals and patients more closely partner on individualized care to improve outcomes.”
More than 30 million Americans have CKD, many of whom can feel overwhelmed at the time of diagnosis. Research suggests more comprehensive pre-dialysis education better engages patients in taking an active role and improving their outcomes,1 and that dynamically customized interactions are shown to be significantly more effective than static programs.2
“Our shared goal is to provide patients with tools that are timely, contextually relevant, and personally tailored,” says Michael Fergusson, CEO of Ayogo. “By meeting patients where they are, by building an understanding of their goals and values, and monitoring the psychosocial factors that influence treatment success, we can provide patients with support that effectively adapts to their individual needs and circumstances.”
The CKD&Me pilot will help Baxter and Ayogo gain further insights from patients with diverse backgrounds and the specific interactive needs of healthcare providers. These learnings will support key product updates and multilingual content for its full launch, expected mid-2020.
Baxter Innovation Highlighted at Kidney Week 2019
In addition to debuting CKD&Me during Kidney Week, Baxter will showcase its leadership across the continuum of kidney care during the meeting. Baxter peritoneal dialysis (PD), remote patient management and HDx (expanded hemodialysis) therapy innovations are highlighted in more than 15 abstract presentations. At the Baxter booth #1527, nephrologists can:
- Preview the AK 98 hemodialysis system that is pending 510k clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The system is designed with features that streamline staff workflow and dialysis treatment monitoring.
- Interact with the new PrisMax acute care system for critical care patients. The system offers innovative technology to help simplify therapy delivery, while providing hospitals the flexibility to meet the specific demands of the intensive care unit.
- Experience a new mobile ordering system, which is designed to simplify patients’ home dialysis ordering experience from their smartphones, tablets and computers.
- Learn about a new Baxter-led PD nurse training program, set to go live in Q2 2020. Designed by PD experts to help address the growing need for PD nurses, the curriculum will teach practical skills and explore the latest technologies and methodologies to enhance patient care, in both live and virtual curriculum options. Register online.
- Hear more about NKF Peers, a free program that helps people adjust to life with CKD by creating a personal connection with a peer mentor.
About Baxter
Every day, millions of patients and caregivers rely on Baxter’s leading portfolio of critical care, nutrition, renal, hospital and surgical products. For more than 85 years, we’ve been operating at the critical intersection where innovations that save and sustain lives meet the healthcare providers that make it happen. With products, technologies and therapies available in more than 100 countries, Baxter’s employees worldwide are now building upon the company’s rich heritage of medical breakthroughs to advance the next generation of transformative healthcare innovations. To learn more, visit www.baxter.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
About Ayogo Health Inc.
Ayogo is an award-winning, behavioral science-based company, recently acknowledged as one of the 100 most innovative mHealth companies in the world. Ayogo’s Glimpse™ Platform substantially increases activation, adherence and persistence to therapy by tailoring content, tools and support to each person’s unique psychosocial characteristics. To learn more, visit www.ayogo.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
This release includes forward-looking statements concerning CKD&Me, AK98 and PrisMax, including potential benefits associated with their use. The statements are based on assumptions about many important factors, including the following, which could cause actual results and anticipated benefits of the aforementioned products or services to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements: satisfaction of regulatory and other requirements; actions of regulatory bodies and other governmental authorities; product quality, manufacturing or supply, or patient safety issues; changes in law and regulations; and other risks identified in Baxter's most recent filing on Form 10-K and other SEC filings, all of which are available on Baxter's website. Baxter does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.
Baxter, CKD&Me, AK98 and PrisMax are registered trademarks of Baxter International Inc.
1 Hibbard, J et al. What the Evidence Shows About Patient Activation: Better Health Outcomes and Care Experiences; Fewer Data on Costs. Health Affairs, Vol. 32, No. 2, Feb, 2013.
2 Krebs, P., Prochaska, J. O., & Rossi, J. S. (2010). A meta-analysis of computer-tailored interventions for health behavior change. Preventive Medicine, 51(3-4), 214-221.
