Location

E14- 633, MIT Media Lab

Description

Chronic disease is the most important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and the prevalence is growing at an alarming rate. Half of Americans have at least one chronic disease, and 70% of deaths are attributable to it. The cost is unsustainable at an an estimated $1.65 trillion in the United States alone. It is widely understood that new models of chronic disease management need to be developed to address this epidemic. 

This thesis will present a new paradigm of chronic disease management informed by personal health informatics, learning science, health psychology, and computer-supported collaborative work. It posits that dramatically elevating the role of the patient is key to improving the experience, outcomes, and cost of care. In the apprenticeship model, master clinicians support novice patients in developing self-efficacy in disease management to the extent that they can assume the lead in their care and potentially become master coaches themselves; effectively growing the healthcare workforce exponentially. CollaboRhythm is a technology platform that was designed to maximize the benefit and efficiency of the apprenticeship model and to support clinical trials of its effectiveness. Extremely encouraging results of randomized controlled trials for diabetes and hypertension will be presented and compared to the current standard of care, to more progressive models including Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs) and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), and to the state-of-the-art in research. The implications for practice design, healthcare payment, and technology implementation will be explored.

Additional Featured Research By

(Unpublished) New Media Medicine

Host/Chair: (Unpublished) Frank Moss

Participant(s)/Committee

Mitchel Resnick, Pattie Maes, David Judge