Bettir (YC W15) Wants to Chat with You About Your Blood Pressure(techcrunch.com)
techcrunch.com
Bettir (YC W15) Wants to Chat with You About Your Blood Pressure
http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/08/bettir-wants-to-chat-with-you-about-your-blood-pressure/
30 comments
Thank you, and thanks for sharing. Shoot me an email at [email protected], we can explore whether or not there is anything useful we could work on together.
Sure, done! :)
I don't know what the business plan here will ultimately be, but there are apps which charge say $40 for a dermatologist to read a photo of your skin lesion. As a physician, at first I thought, what dermatologist would accept $40 (or less if the app gets a cut) to do this. But it's making more sense with time. I can see physicians doing work like this from the comfort of their home environments, on somewhat of their own schedule, than dealing with the hassles of running an office or coding with the nightmarish icd10 schedule. They may lose on some income, but will make up for some of it with volume and for many it will be worth it for the convenience and, hopefully, reduced stress levels. I hope companies like bettir and some of the others, succeed.
Thanks for your kind comments. :) You're totally right. We believe this is the correct paradigm for the future of medicine. Going to the doctor's office is no fun, and nobody likes to do it. As a result, many preventable causes of death and illness remain untreated. Bettir's goal is to make it possible to manage certain conditions, like high blood pressure, from the comfort of one's home.
I don't much care to admit it, but I have an irrational fear of doctors. This would be a great help for me.
Even better, if you enable people all over the world tohave access to the best doctors.
Even better, if you enable people all over the world tohave access to the best doctors.
You would be surprised how many people have an irrational fear of doctors. And that said, even people who aren't fearful generally don't like going. For most, it's just not a pleasant experience.
We'd love to get you signed up, go ahead and email me at [email protected] I can answer any questions that you have.
And you also nailed something on the head that hasn't been addressed much yet in these comments - one of the biggest benefits of what we're doing is that many people around the world don't have access to the best doctors. By giving people care through our service, we're enabling high-quality care in a widespread fashion.
We'd love to get you signed up, go ahead and email me at [email protected] I can answer any questions that you have.
And you also nailed something on the head that hasn't been addressed much yet in these comments - one of the biggest benefits of what we're doing is that many people around the world don't have access to the best doctors. By giving people care through our service, we're enabling high-quality care in a widespread fashion.
Congrats, guys. What is the business model for Bettir? Is it going to be a challenge to cover costs if you're employing expensive physicians to man the chat lines?
We started out charging people $10/month for our service, and most of our users felt that was a fair price. We are playing with some other options now. In the healthcare industry there are a lot of possible payment models.
We have done a lot of internal calculations to prove that we can make the numbers work, but you are right that covering the costs is a challenge for this type of service. Without revealing too much, I'll say that part of our secret sauce is the way that we provide high-quality feedback at an affordable cost.
We have done a lot of internal calculations to prove that we can make the numbers work, but you are right that covering the costs is a challenge for this type of service. Without revealing too much, I'll say that part of our secret sauce is the way that we provide high-quality feedback at an affordable cost.
I've been told I have white coat hypertension. My bp readings are 130-140/85 in doctor offices and usually 110-120/75 outside.
High bp runs in my family so I've been considering monitoring on a more consistent basis. I may have to try this out.
High bp runs in my family so I've been considering monitoring on a more consistent basis. I may have to try this out.
Mike here, one of the founders of Bettir. We'd love to have you try it out. White coat hypertension is one of the biggest problems with hypertension diagnosis. For those that don't know, some studies show 20-45% of people diagnosed with hypertension actually only have white coat hypertension, which means they don't actually have hypertension but that their blood pressure is elevated while in the doctor's office.
Home monitoring is one of the best ways to handle this, and it's a really good use case for Bettir.
Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected], we'll make sure that you get set up to use Bettir ASAP.
Home monitoring is one of the best ways to handle this, and it's a really good use case for Bettir.
Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected], we'll make sure that you get set up to use Bettir ASAP.
Hi, I'm Mike, one of the founders of Bettir. I'm available to answer questions if you have any.
Any visibility as to if/when a device like a fitbit will be able to do blood pressure readings?
I feel like if that can happen, when it eventually comes out, every single person will own it. Hopefully it's possible.
I feel like if that can happen, when it eventually comes out, every single person will own it. Hopefully it's possible.
There are some interesting blood pressure monitors in the works. I know some internal information from several companies who are working on this that I am unable to disclose at this time. There will be more streamlined, wearable blood pressure devices in the near future.
Before then, it's important to note that current home blood pressure monitoring technology is actually pretty good. There are wrist-based monitors available at your local drug store most likely for $50 or less. They're slightly bulky but they are way better than nothing.
One in three American adults have high blood pressure and it is strongly correlated with increases in death from strokes and heart attacks. Even before the monitoring technology is perfectly elegant, it's crucial that people start monitoring their blood pressure using what is currently available.
Before then, it's important to note that current home blood pressure monitoring technology is actually pretty good. There are wrist-based monitors available at your local drug store most likely for $50 or less. They're slightly bulky but they are way better than nothing.
One in three American adults have high blood pressure and it is strongly correlated with increases in death from strokes and heart attacks. Even before the monitoring technology is perfectly elegant, it's crucial that people start monitoring their blood pressure using what is currently available.
Yup, I own one of those and it is a literal life saver.
That's why I want there to be a wearable version. Heart Rate and Temperature should already be measurable on a wearable. Getting BP measurable would give us 90% of the "vitals" information we need to know how we're doing.
BP is the big one too because you can have high blood pressure and not even know it. My wife had gestational hypertension (high BP caused by pregnancy) and her BP went sky high and the whole time she felt fine.
That's why I want there to be a wearable version. Heart Rate and Temperature should already be measurable on a wearable. Getting BP measurable would give us 90% of the "vitals" information we need to know how we're doing.
BP is the big one too because you can have high blood pressure and not even know it. My wife had gestational hypertension (high BP caused by pregnancy) and her BP went sky high and the whole time she felt fine.
Hi Mike!
Do you know the guys over at Echo Labs? http://www.echolabs.co/
Do you know the guys over at Echo Labs? http://www.echolabs.co/
I don't. If you do and you feel there's a reason to make an intro, send it to [email protected]. Thanks!
I'd love to try Bettir, but it's iOS only. I understand that the reasoning for this is probably a combination of standard reasons why startups ship only (or at least initially) on iOS and the usage of HealthKit. Are there plans to ship on Android or any other platform anytime in the near future?
We currently have a (beta) mobile webapp that works on Android, and we will definitely have an Android app in the future. We also give our service to some people over email and SMS. Visit http://recordbp.com/ from Chrome on your Android to get it going. It supports being added to your home screen.
Why do startups start with iOS, considering it's a smaller market? Forgive my ignorance.
Does this have any benefit for people who are already diagnosed hypertensives? Like being able to capture triggers or measure effectiveness of different medications?
Yes.
Your blood pressure is a wave, going up and down throughout the day, week, month, etc. Just taking it once every time you're at the doctor's office is not even good enough for some diagnoses.
One example of this is "white coat" hypertension, which some studies indicate occurs in 20-45% of people diagnosed with hypertension. Their blood pressure is high in the doctor's office but low at home, which can result in overmedication.
If you do have hypertension though, then the big challenge is getting your blood pressure under control. Medication is one way, but without home monitoring, it is hard to find out exactly how well the medication is working.
When it comes to lifestyle changes (diet, sleep, caffeine, etc.), we help you track, monitor, and manage the improvements these types of changes can bring.
If you have hypertension, you are at a greatly increased risk of dying from a stroke or from heart disease, and Bettir is designed to help you manage that.
Your blood pressure is a wave, going up and down throughout the day, week, month, etc. Just taking it once every time you're at the doctor's office is not even good enough for some diagnoses.
One example of this is "white coat" hypertension, which some studies indicate occurs in 20-45% of people diagnosed with hypertension. Their blood pressure is high in the doctor's office but low at home, which can result in overmedication.
If you do have hypertension though, then the big challenge is getting your blood pressure under control. Medication is one way, but without home monitoring, it is hard to find out exactly how well the medication is working.
When it comes to lifestyle changes (diet, sleep, caffeine, etc.), we help you track, monitor, and manage the improvements these types of changes can bring.
If you have hypertension, you are at a greatly increased risk of dying from a stroke or from heart disease, and Bettir is designed to help you manage that.
FTA: "at certain times by monitoring it 24/7 with an app"
How can the app do this without a BP device constantly attached to one's arm, inflating/deflating all the time? Or is it just a spreadsheet for entering the values? The article was skimpy on the details.
How can the app do this without a BP device constantly attached to one's arm, inflating/deflating all the time? Or is it just a spreadsheet for entering the values? The article was skimpy on the details.
Good question. There are ambulatory blood pressure monitoring devices, but much more common are devices that take discrete readings. At Bettir, we factor in all data points.
Ambulatory is not necessary in many cases though, where a simple daily reading still provides vastly more information than the once or twice a year that most people go to their doctor.
Most of our users record 1-3 readings per day, which provides a wealth of useful data.
Ambulatory is not necessary in many cases though, where a simple daily reading still provides vastly more information than the once or twice a year that most people go to their doctor.
Most of our users record 1-3 readings per day, which provides a wealth of useful data.
I actually expected some holter monitor integration for this app when reading the headline, but it seems it is a logging tool (still useful).
I'm going to try the Android web app when I go home. I think I actually need this since I do have hypertension.
I'm in my early 20s and I have normal weight and no medical conditions beside this. I consider my self healthy, but I do take some medication to correct it before it causes me any significant damage.
I'm going to try the Android web app when I go home. I think I actually need this since I do have hypertension.
I'm in my early 20s and I have normal weight and no medical conditions beside this. I consider my self healthy, but I do take some medication to correct it before it causes me any significant damage.
Bettir is one part logging tool, and one part a team of algorithms, experts, and doctors that will give you feedback on managing your blood pressure on a regular basis.
We'd be thrilled to have you use our Android web app. Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] if you have any questions or comments.
We'd be thrilled to have you use our Android web app. Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] if you have any questions or comments.
My mom uses this to manage her blood pressure. She liked being able to bring in a report to her doctor summarizing all her readings.
Wonderful. If you have any questions or comments feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].
It's a mobile Excel sheet!
Mike, one of the founders of Bettir here.
While we do track and chart blood pressure data, Bettir is a service that offers daily feedback from experts and doctors on your blood pressure.
Recording your blood pressure is an important part of managing high blood pressure and other blood pressure conditions, but it's only a piece of the puzzle. If you use Bettir, you'll input your blood pressure and other related metrics into our app, and we'll connect you with our in-house specialists who will offer you feedback and suggestions on how to manage your blood pressure.
While we do track and chart blood pressure data, Bettir is a service that offers daily feedback from experts and doctors on your blood pressure.
Recording your blood pressure is an important part of managing high blood pressure and other blood pressure conditions, but it's only a piece of the puzzle. If you use Bettir, you'll input your blood pressure and other related metrics into our app, and we'll connect you with our in-house specialists who will offer you feedback and suggestions on how to manage your blood pressure.
It's used mainly by medical folks but usable by savvy patients as well.