Platforce

Global health illiteracy is a significant problem where individuals lack the knowledge and skills to understand and navigate health information. This leads to poor healthcare decision-making, limited access to quality care, and ultimately contributes to health disparities and compromised public health outcomes worldwide.

Digital health literacy is the ability to find, understand, evaluate, and apply digital health information to make informed decisions about one's health and healthcare. It encompasses the skills needed to navigate digital platforms, access online health resources, and engage in digital health interactions effectively.

In the design of digital solutions, best practices and guidelines, such as those provided by the UNESCO Pearson Education 2030 Project, provide an appropriate pathway to success. These guidelines emphasize designing with all users in mind, focusing on their needs and context, and prioritizing users' digital skills and competences.

Before enrolling individuals in healthcare protocols, Telehealth initiatives, or clinical research, understanding their level of digital health literacy is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, assessing digital health literacy ensures that individuals possess the necessary skills to communicate effectively with healthcare providers through digital channels such as teleconferences, secure messaging, or patient portals. It helps determine if they can comprehend and interpret medical information presented online.

Secondly, digital health literacy impacts an individual's access to relevant health resources online, such as reputable websites, health apps, or educational materials. Assessing their level of digital health literacy helps identify if they can navigate digital platforms and utilize available resources to gather information and make informed decisions about their health.

Additionally, many Telehealth initiatives and healthcare protocols rely on digital tools like remote monitoring devices or mobile health apps. Understanding a person's digital health literacy level ensures they can effectively use these technologies, follow instructions, and adhere to prescribed protocols for managing their health conditions.

In the context of clinical research, assessing digital health literacy helps researchers determine if potential participants can comprehend and provide informed consent for digital research initiatives. It ensures individuals understand the study's nature, potential risks and benefits, and their rights as research participants.

Identifying a person's digital health literacy level enables healthcare providers and researchers to provide personalized support and education tailored to their specific needs. This assessment helps determine if additional training or resources are necessary to enhance their digital health literacy and ensure active participation in healthcare and research activities.

Platforce provides competency and competence assessments for healthcare products and digital services.  The assessment data is used to differentiate patient capability.  Patient skills are demonstrated through interactive assessments and allow "triage" to the appropriate engagement levels to improve utilization, provide personalization, and ensure compliance.

Product demo video: https://app.box.com/s/asp822fj...

The target population for Platforce encompasses all digital technology users who aim to enhance their user experiences and improve the utility of the products and services. Platforce focuses on analyzing the capabilities, requirements understanding, and comfort levels of these users to provide an enriched experience.

By assessing skills and digital literacy levels, Platforce gains valuable insights that can be translated across various use cases, products, and services. This assessment allows Platforce to identify areas where users may have gaps in literacy and understanding, enabling them to provide more personalized education and support.

The goal of Platforce is to bridge the digital literacy gap and empower users to make the most of their digital experiences. By understanding the unique needs and preferences of each individual, Platforce helps service providers tailor offerings to meet specific requirements, ensuring that they can navigate and utilize digital technology effectively.

Through personalized assessment and tailored information delivery, Platforce aims to provide users with the necessary knowledge and skills to confidently and efficiently interact with digital platforms, applications, and services. This includes training on how to access and evaluate online resources, understand privacy and security measures, and effectively communicate through digital channels.

By addressing digital literacy gaps and providing personalized education and support, Platforce empowers users to optimize their digital experiences. Users gain confidence and competence in utilizing digital technologies, allowing them to access and leverage the full range of features and functionalities available to them.

Our leadership background in technology and healthcare, including policy, corporate affairs, and marketing, equips us with a comprehensive understanding of the intricate dynamics limiting digital transformation in patient care . Our experience in these areas enables us to navigate the complexities of patient experience and effectively communicate with healthcare providers and systems in pursuit of best practices and innovative solutions.

We recognize the importance of proximity to the communities we serve. By actively engaging with local communities directly and through our partners, we gain valuable insights into the unique needs, challenges, and aspirations of those involved.  This proximity allows us to tailor our services and solutions to address the healthcare concerns in a differential manner ensuring our offerings are relevant and impactful to digital literacy, quality of care, and outcomes.

Our MVP (Minimum Viable Product) has been developed in close collaboration with partners. This collaborative approach ensures that our solution aligns with industry best practices, leverages cutting-edge technology, and incorporates diverse perspectives.

The financial support provided would be instrumental to our ability to scale.   

First, the funding would provide necessary resources to continue to refine assessment capabilities and user experience, supporting further software development, user interface design, database management, and technical infrastructure. A portion of the funds will support marketing and promotional activities to create awareness and attract users to the platform.  In addition, the funding will support continued testing to ensure data security and privacy.

Importantly, winning the recognition and support of the MIT Solve community and Horizon would significantly boost our market presence, credibility, and visibility, facilitating even greater partnerships with healthcare providers, insurers, and other stakeholders.  This support would be invaluable in helping to achieve widespread adoption of the digital assessment tool.

Tore Sagstuen is a serial startup founder and executive skilled in digital transformation initiatives.  He resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

PLATFORCE ensures stakeholders can effectively engage and promote innovation, collaboration and a comprehensive range of services.

Our solution is delivered via an integration platform allowing seamless integration with external systems, databases, and applications, enabling partners to connect and collaborate to enhance user experience, service delivery and healthcare outcomes.

The API capabilities of the platform allow developers to create and deploy new services efficiently. By providing well-documented APIs and developer resources, the platform empowers third-party developers to leverage our infrastructure and build innovative services that cater to specific user needs. This encourages a vibrant ecosystem of developers, fostering collaboration and the rapid development of new solutions.

Efficient product development minimizes resource consumption, resulting in sustainability. By streamlining processes, optimizing designs, and reducing waste, fewer resources are needed throughout the product lifecycle. This approach promotes sustainable practices, including efficient energy usage, responsible sourcing of materials, and waste reduction. Ultimately, it enables the development of products that are environmentally friendly, economically viable, and socially responsible.

Most importantly, personalized healthcare service development improves outcomes and fosters sustainability by tailoring care to individual needs. This approach also optimizes resource utilization, reduces unnecessary interventions, and minimizes waste. By providing targeted and effective treatments, personalized healthcare reduces healthcare costs, improves patient satisfaction, and promotes long-term sustainability by focusing on the right interventions for the right individuals, leading to better overall health outcomes and efficient resource allocation.

Our 12 month goal is to expand our services delivery in three significant ways

a. additional existing client opportunities

b. expand to 5-10 additional healthcare clients for patient care

c. accelerate patient recruitment and research compliance for 2 clinical trials

Over the next five years, we are focused addressing the challenges posed by low digital literacy in healthcare delivery:

1. Improve Digital Literacy: Develop and implement comprehensive digital literacy programs targeting underserved populations, collaborating with healthcare providers to provide training on basic digital skills, online health resources, and the use of digital tools for healthcare management.  We aim to reach a significant number of individuals and empower them to confidently navigate digital platforms.

2. Enhance Access to Information: Ensure equitable access to reliable health information by expanding digital health resources in multiple languages and formats. Partner with healthcare organizations, libraries, and community centers to disseminate educational materials and promote awareness of credible online health sources. Foster collaborations with content creators and experts to develop user-friendly health content that caters to individuals with varying levels of digital literacy.

3. Facilitate Digital Communication: Promote effective digital communication between healthcare providers and patients by implementing user-friendly telehealth platforms and secure messaging systems. Focus on enhancing accessibility and usability features to accommodate individuals with low digital literacy. Invest in technology infrastructure and training to enable seamless virtual consultations and ensure patients can easily communicate their health concerns.

4. Encourage Adoption of Digital Tools: Drive the adoption and utilization of digital health apps, wearable devices, and remote patient monitoring technologies. Collaborate with device manufacturers and app developers to create user-friendly interfaces, clear instructions, and simplified data interpretation. Conduct targeted outreach and education campaigns to raise awareness about the benefits of these tools and provide support for their effective use.

5. Impact Long term Digital InclusionStrategies: Assess the effectiveness of digital literacy initiatives and the integration of digital tools in healthcare delivery. Collect data on user engagement, health outcomes, and patient satisfaction to measure the impact of interventions. Use these insights to refine strategies, identify areas for improvement, and inform future decision-making.

It is our belief the sustainability impact achieved by adherence to treatment plans correlates strongly to a more sustainable healthcare system and world.

Our impact is measured by increased Telehealth participation rates and improved compliance with treatment protocols. 

By incorporating competence and confidence assessments and leveraging broader digital technologies, we enable convenient access to healthcare services and measure success by reduced in-person visits coupled with improved outcomes and quality scores.  This delivery efficiency lowers resource needs and reduces travel and facility utilization to positively and associated carbon emissions.  

By increasing Telehealth participation rates through targeted outreach, digital literacy training, and accessible user interfaces, immediate outputs such as increased awareness and improved access to remote healthcare services can be generated. These outputs contribute to longer-term outcomes, including enhanced patient empowerment, improved health outcomes, reduced healthcare disparities, and a more sustainable healthcare system. These outputs establish our logical framework.

By strategically aligning our activities against this framework, we plan to effectively address the unique needs of individuals with low digital literacy and drive positive change in healthcare delivery.

PLATFORCE utilize various technologies to enable efficient service delivery and new product testing. The platforms leverages cloud infrastructure, agile development methodologies, and integrated development environments (IDEs) to streamline the development process.

Cloud infrastructure provides scalability, flexibility, and cost-effective access to resources on-demand. It eliminates the need for expensive physical infrastructure and enables rapid deployment and scaling of applications. Additionally, cloud services offer built-in security features, data storage options, and collaborative tools that enhance the development experience.

Agile development methodologies prioritize iterative and incremental development promoting collaboration, adaptability, and quick feedback cycles, enabling faster delivery of features and continuous improvement. This approach allows the ecosystem to respond to changing requirements and  feedback efficiently, ensuring the development process remains aligned with user needs.

Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) provide developers with a comprehensive set of tools for writing, debugging, and testing code. These IDEs often include features such as code editors, version control integration, and debugging capabilities. IDEs enhance productivity by providing a unified environment for development tasks, simplifying code maintenance, and facilitating collaboration among team members.

In addition to these foundational technologies, the advantages of an API (Application Programming Interface) environment are significant. APIs allow different software systems to interact and share data seamlessly. In the context of service delivery and new product testing, APIs enable efficient integration of various components, systems, or third-party services. This integration capability promotes interoperability, allowing different parts of the system or ecosystem to work together harmoniously.

APIs facilitate efficient service delivery by enabling the integration of external services or features into a digital product. For example, integrating a payment gateway or a map service can enhance the functionality and user experience of an application. APIs also allow for easy integration of new product testing tools, such as analytics or monitoring services, enabling developers to collect valuable data, measure performance, and iterate on their products rapidly.

Overall, our technology stack supports efficient, rapid, and dynamic product innovation and release.  

Full time staff:17

Contractors: 27

We have been developing the assessment tool for 11 months

Our company is committed to fostering diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our operations. We recognize the value of diverse perspectives and believe that by embracing individuals from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences, we can drive innovation and creativity. We strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique talents. Our approach to diversity is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic advantage that enables us to better understand and serve the diverse needs of our customers and stakeholders.

We operate using a SaaS (Software as a Service) model to deliver improved user experience and engagement to generate customer value and revenue form our software offerings. By providing a cloud-based platform, we offer customers access to user experience (UX) tools, design frameworks, and collaboration features. The value proposition lies in enabling businesses to enhance their digital products and services by delivering seamless and intuitive user experiences.

Through a subscription-based revenue model, we charge a recurring fee for accessing and utilizing our platform. This approach is designed to deliver a predictable revenue stream allows us to budget effectively, ensures a consistent revenue flow, and provides scalability that allows us to cater to a wide range of customer types and use case needs,

We also focus on delivering exceptional customer support, regular product updates, and continuous improvement based on user feedback. By demonstrating the value and impact of our UX tools on business outcomes, we hope to attract and retain customers, ensuring long-term revenue generation.

Importantly, our platform provides strategic advantage as we gain market traction allowing us to explore partnerships or integrations with complementary technologies and services to expand its offerings and create additional revenue streams

Our company generates revenue by focusing on proving our products in collaboration with initial customers, who serve as early adopters and provide valuable feedback. This helping us to refine the product and build a strong foundation.

As we gain traction, we intend to expand by catering to our existing client"s  other needs. By identifying and addressing specific pain points, the platform can offer additional products or features that enhance the customer experience. This vertical expansion within the client base allows for increased revenue generation by upselling and cross-selling to existing customers.

At this same time, horizontal strategies will be used including the clinical research protocol use case, which involves partnering with healthcare providers or research institutions to better tailor clinical processes and improve patient outcomes. This expansion into the clinical domain opens up new revenue opportunities by serving a larger market and addressing critical healthcare needs.

In addition to product sales, revenue efforts will leverage platform capabilities and company expertise and knowledge to offer services such as employee training and some custom development. These value-added services provide an additional revenue stream, address specific customer demands, and develop and prioritize roadmap items.

By showcasing the impact of our innovations on relevant use cases we may also seek to secure grants from government agencies, foundations, or research institutions.

We will also explore raising investment capital by engaging with venture capitalists, angel investors, or strategic partners to fuel expansion, product development, and marketing efforts, ensuring sustained growth and market penetration.

In summary, we plan to achieves revenue through a phased approach. This multi-faceted revenue generation strategy is designed to provide financial sustainability and deliver innovative solutions efficiently to market.

Our financial stability is from a range of supporters. It benefits from the financial backing of a family office, which provides long-term support and stability, a key customer shared revenue model with a strategic partner, and additional paying customers.