Forbie

The rapid growth of the global aging population has raised attention to the health and healthcare needs of older adults. There are complex factors that elucidate the complex factors affecting the relationship between chronological age, socio-economic status (SES), access to care, and healthy aging using a SES-focused framework.

Evidence supports a relationship between SES and healthcare access as well as healthcare access and health outcomes for older adults. Because financial resources are proportional to health status, efforts are needed to support older adults and the burdened healthcare system with financial resources. This can be most effective with grassroots approaches and interventions to improve SES among older adults.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...

Forbie® transforms cancer care by Giving Patients a Voice in their Care™. Forbie® App is designed with patient privacy as a core tenet. Available on Google Play and the App Store, the app helps patients track their symptoms and emotions, monitor medications, track treatment side effects, and transcribe information during doctors' visits to enable positive outcomes.

Specifics:

1. It tracks symptoms and emotions.

Patients can record how they they feel via audio or written notes.

They can track daily pain levels and symptoms.

2. It tracks medications and can make sure patients are taking the reight medication at the right time, at the right dose. They can also take notes about the how the medications make them feel.

3. It allows you to get more out of every doctors' visit.

Patients can record and transcribe everything the doctor says. They can share pain symptoms from a journal. 

4. They can feel secure.

Everything recorded by Forbie is private. Only people patients authorize can access data. 

There are many ways that psychological functioning can influence physical health. Psychological stress is not event-based but rather a sense that that personal challenges and demands exceed current abilities. Forbie can help manage that stress. It can help avoid recall bias and communicate accurate symptoms to providers, avoid stress and anxiety from information overload and make the patient feel in control of their journey. 

Why is this important? Many health problems are more prominent in communities that are lower in socioeconomic status (SES). Low SES associated with lower birth weights and higher rates of asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and day-to-day ailments. Access to Forbie is not based on SES status, but rather, a provider's interest in giving this access. 

There are social factors, such as feelings of low status and subordination are a source of chronic psychological stress. The chronic presence of stress hormones places undue strain on metabolic systems, resulting in illness. Forbie increases inclusivity in its access to health care. 

Construals play an important role in health and there are health benefits of having positive expectations and a sense of control.

We are a group of technologists and healthcare professionals deeply passionate about transforming cancer care. Each of us has been personally impacted by cancer.

We are determined to utilize our knowledge, network and resources to solve problems that inhibit efficient care delivery. We hope our work will in some small way help improve the lives of people impacted by cancer.

Forbie® is born out of this desire to help patients.

Our founder and board member has over 28 years of experience in deal sourcing, deal execution, asset management, operations consulting, and C-level management. Prior to joining Innovatus Capital Partners, LLC in February 2019, he was a Founder and Managing Partner at Excelsior Capital Partners for eight years, a portfolio company of the Perella Weinberg Asset Based Value Strategy (“ABV”) that invests in distressed debt, special situations, and specialty lending across commercial real estate and operating companies. 

Out vice-president of Engineering brings over 12 years of leadership experience from a diverse set of concentrations including software development and supply chain management.

As a fullstack developer and technical product lead he has led the ground up design and creation of multiple applications.

Prior to working in the software industry, he was a Senior Channel Manager and Project Manager with Accenture and Microsoft. Casey directed international teams in developing and deploying real-time cost and time savings solutions across diverse and complex supply chains.

Our CIO/CSO is a 19-year Microsoft veteran and has a 30-year wealth of technology experience. He formerly directed numerous organizations at Microsoft, is a certified Scrum master, and has led numerous large projects to success, including the 6-month BizTalk implementation for Ford Motor Co. 

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We are looking for ways to get the word out! Specifically, we are looking for help on delivery and expanding our client base, and how to improve your existing service distribution model. We also need more development in our marketing and brand strategy. We haven't found the best way to reach people yet, as it has so far been more by word-of-mouth. Finally, we don't have a social media presence yet and need help starting that. 

We are a robust combination of a comprehensive cancer care app and an online evidence-based community support network that can empower individuals to take control of their own health data, make informed evidence-based decisions and connect with experts across the field of cancer treatment and research. What we add to the field is that we have formed partnerships with major research universities and with other platforms that provide employer-sponsored health plans, so that we have a full-service resource for cancer patients and rapidly furthers both organizations' missions to change cancer's impact.

Our partnerships with research institutions and large employer-based platforms will hopefully acclerate the rate at which cancer patients can experience an improved quality of life is significantly accelerated. We provide a holistic approach through a family of solutions, including cancer prevention strategies, cancer navigation, cancer coaching, insurance advising, survivorship, and return-to-work plans.

We have formed a partnership with Foundation 96.

 Foundation 96 a company that fosters an online care community for people transitioning from cancer treatment to everyday life, have announced a formal partnership to improve cancer patients' lives. The partnership provides a robust combination of a comprehensive cancer care app and an online evidence-based community support network that can empower individuals to take control of their own health data, make informed evidence-based decisions and connect with experts across the field of cancer treatment and research.

"The partnership opportunity with Foundation 96 is a natural fit in our mission of giving patients a voice in their cancer care and transforming the cancer care journey of patients and survivors. The services Foundation 96 provides for patients is a critical component of the cancer journey," says Stephen Chaney, Chief Product Officer of Forbie. "The Forbie team is excited to find a partner truly focused on the cancer patient and their journey."

Effective symptom management is a critical component of cancer treatment. Computational tools that predict the course and severity of these symptoms have the potential to assist oncology clinicians to personalize the patient's treatment regimen more efficiently and provide more aggressive and timely interventions. According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology using a smartphone application to track symptoms can result in a 70% reduction in unplanned hospital visits.

"Forbie provides Foundation 96 a means to connect with people who are experiencing treatment side effects. The Forbie app helps patients identify when they need physical or emotional support and we can then refer them to trusted health and wellness professionals who can assist them," says Karen Anderson, Director of Foundation 96. "We at Foundation 96 are delighted to have found a common sense of purpose and service ethic with the team at Forbie.."

We have formed a patnernship with Wheelhouse. 

Wheelhouse, a cancer management platform for employer-sponsored health plans, and Forbie, a cancer care management technology company, announced a formal partnership to improve cancer patients' lives. The partnership provides a unique combination of prevention, care management, and survivorship solutions along with a comprehensive cancer care app. This creates a full-service resource for cancer patients and rapidly furthers both organizations' missions to change cancer's impact.

"Our partnership with Forbie is the first step to expanding our reach to cancer patients around the world, says Ben Frank, CEO of Wheelhouse. "Our missions are truly aligned, and our core solutions complement each other perfectly."

The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2022, roughly 1.9 million people will be diagnosed with cancer in the United States. With Wheelhouse and Forbie working together, the rate at which cancer patients can experience an improved quality of life is significantly accelerated.

"The partnership opportunity with Wheelhouse is a natural fit in our mission of giving patients a voice in their cancer care and transforming the cancer care journey of patients and survivors," says Stephen Chaney, Chief Product Officer of Forbie. "The Forbie team is excited to find a partner truly focused on the cancer patient and their journey."

Wheelhouse is a cancer management platform bringing 20 years of experience in oncology to provide a holistic approach through a family of solutions for employers and health plans to close the gaps in cancer care for their employees. Solutions include cancer prevention strategies, cancer navigation, cancer coaching, insurance advising, survivorship, and return-to-work plans.

Patient-centered outcomes are outcomes that patients notice and care about when they make health care decisions. Each patient is different, and what matters to one may not matter to another. For example, high blood pressure and high serum cholesterol levels may not cause alarm or lifestyle change for some patients. Good shared decision making means talking with your patients about what is important to them.

Outcomes that matter to patients may include:

Quality of life

Mobility

Ability to carry out certain tasks

Ability to focus

Ability to return to work

Side effects/risks of treatment

Symptoms (e.g., pain, nausea)

Survival 

1.Institute of Medicine (IOM). Crossing the Quality Chasm. Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century. 2001. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press.

2.Stacey D, Légaré F, Col NF, et. al. Decision aids for people facing health treatment or screening decisions. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014 Jan  28;1:CD001431. PubMed PMID: 24470076.

UI/UX is used for both Google Play and the Apple Store. Computational tools that predict the course and severity of these symptoms have the potential to assist oncology clinicians to personalize the patient's treatment regimen more efficiently and provide more aggressive and timely interventions. According to the ASCO, using a smartphone application to track symptoms can result in a 70% reduction in unplanned hospital visits.

https://www.asco.org/

1/4 of our Solutions team is a minority group, including our founder, our board members, our research interns, and half of our partners oncologists for data. 

1. Key Resources:

Forbie.org platform

Oncologist and Researcher word of mouth

Founder and board member investment

2. Key Activities:

Access to patients

Screening

Managing Platform

3. Type of intervention:

Forbie App

4. Segments:

Oncologists

Academics/reseachers

(Cancer patients and survivors)

5. Value Proposition:

Improved patient outcomes

Measure: number of patients using app

6. Cost Structure:

Online platform

Staff

7. Surplus:

Marketing and platform development

Revenue:

Optional donations

Free-for-service

We will establish the appropriate free structure vis a vis the benefits to patients. Current users of our app include researchers at the University of Southern California, oncologists at the University of California, and Miller Women and Children’s Hospital, and employee healthcare platforms. 

Our founder and board member has been the only financial donor, current users of our app include researchers at the University of Southern California, oncologists at the University of California, and Miller Women and Children’s Hospital, and employee healthcare platforms.