Tyrone - mHealth applicaton

The social impact problem we tackle through our solution is health literacy.  In the United States, approximately nine out of ten adults struggle to use personal and public health information when filled with unfamiliar and complex terms to make everyday healthcare decisions. This issue also has implications worldwide, as there are over 700 million illiterate adults who are challenged with using literacy skills for their own, family, and community development, including making important healthcare decisions.  Additionally, the global COVID-19 pandemic further illuminated that low health literacy is a critical public health problem that has been long underestimated worldwide. Further, health literacy has been identified as one of the social determinants of health and a central focus of Healthy People 2030, an initiative set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.

In the past few years, we all experienced and witnessed the effects of how low health literacy and gaps in provider/patient communication exacerbated the global COVID-19 pandemic. This communication gap between provider and patient results in a yearly average of over one million preventable hospital visits/readmissions and $25 billion in unnecessary medicare spending, alone. The impacts of this problem go beyond Medicare and impact vulnerable and other communities, as the healthcare marketplace includes a variety of providers and patient groups.

This data demonstrates a sizable demand for culturally responsive(shame-free) health literacy tools that get to the heart of the issue: ensuring everyone has access to make the most informed decision for themselves and their families. Combining technological innovations, with community-driven feedback and evidence-based health literacy strategies to these healthcare challenges - especially the social determinants of health - can help improve access to vital health information and eliminate the prevailing barriers people face worldwide. 

An initial approximation places the order of magnitude of the cost of low health literacy to the U.S. economy in the range of $106 billion to $238 billion annually. This economic drain is exacerbated worldwide. 

Our solution, Tyrone, will 1). Reduce unnecessary health care spending related to low health literacy that can be diverted to other core health causes and systems and 2). Improve adults' access to easily understood health information that allows them to make important health decisions that reduce ER visits and/or dispel myths that bar people from accessing critical health information.

Tyrone benefits society by introducing one solution to help mitigate some of the current challenges of people with no and limited health literacy. Results of a systematic review of health literacy interventions on health-related outcomes for economically disadvantaged adults show that ‘multifaceted interventions, combining both an information transfer medium and contact with an interventionist” are effective at improving health literacy and interventions that include “cultural appropriateness and tailoring” are among the most effective intervention operational components that help people better manage their health care.  Tyrone provides essential health information in patient-friendly language to communities in a way they need it, when they need it while navigating the complex pathways of healthcare systems.

• Our core product, Tyrone, is a mHealth application developed with culturally sensitive, community-driven feedback to help patients navigate health care encounters by accessing critical health information when they need it most. Patients, especially those likely to go to the ER, or have a high chance of readmission, when faced with critical care need 1. Open Tyrone to check their symptom(s). 2. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, Tyrone returns the common condition described, the urgency level, and suggested next steps. 3. The patient receives immediate feedback in plain language that directs them to the ideal solution based on the urgency level. 4. Tyrone helps the patient prepare for their interaction using a question builder to provide them with key areas to address with their provider increasing their self agency. Using AI and adaptive language, Tyrone grows smarter with more use and integrates with the provider’s patient portal helping to simplify the nudges, prompts and post care instructions.

• Version A (business to consumer model) will be available as a standalone tool ensuring everyone has access, while subsequent iterations (business to business model) will integrate with the provider and health system's patient portal(s), helping to simplify the information providing nudges, prompts, and post-care instructions. Helping patients to improve their health literacy and enhance their health knowledge.

• We must note that  barriers to clear communication between patient and health provider and access to quality healthcare – including preventive care and treatment – exist everywhere and affect people regardless of their profession, level of education, or income. However, our company’s ethos is focused on designing solutions at the margins, for and with communities who are most impacted by structural and socio-political inequities not of their own design. We believe that by designing at the margins all impacted will benefit.

• Tyrone Explainer Video

Enhancing equitable access to health care is our core mission and we believe that addressing low health literacy in our communities is a critical opportunity ripe for innovation.  We are building for the community members we see in our respective occupational fields, our neighbors, and our family members who simply "do not understand what their doctor is saying" (a running theme we have heard during our field testing) which leads to poor health outcomes. 

Critically, African American adults are disproportionately more likely to have below-basic health literacy skills. This means that a person cannot use reading, writing, and calculation skills for his/her own and the community’s development. This functional illiteracy has considerable negative effects not only on personal development but also in economic and social terms. While barriers to clear communication between patient and health provider and access to quality healthcare – including preventive care and treatment – exist everywhere and affects people regardless of their profession, level of education, or income, we believe in designing solutions at the margins, for and with communities who are most impacted by structural and socio-political inequities, not of their own design.

Our solution will impact marginalized communities by providing health information technologies to improve patient health literacy which is particularly important to prevent readmissions and improve health outcomes. Tyrone will benefit society by introducing one solution that has the potential to help mitigate some of the current challenges people with no and limited health literacy face. Results of a systematic review of health literacy interventions on health-related outcomes for economically disadvantaged adults show that ‘multifaceted interventions, combining both an information transfer medium and contact with an interventionist” are effective at improving health literacy and interventions that include “cultural appropriateness and tailoring” are among the most effective intervention operational components that help people better manage their health care.  

The foundations of Tyrone began with initial funding from Johns Hopkins/Sibley Memorial Hospital and a human design sprint working alongside community members in Southeast Washington, D.C.: one of the nation’s most under-resourced communities. Through a series of focus groups, interviews, and field testing at local housing communities, libraries, gyms, barbershops, community clinics, and senior centers we designed the aforementioned components of Tyrone together WITH the community. And we’ve continued to field test components of the application in New York City, New Orleans, and rural Georgia. Our ongoing community activations help us fine-tune language and the functionality of Tyrone as we have built our beta-version of our MVP, Tyrone 1.0. 

We must note that barriers to clear communication between patients and health providers and access to quality healthcare – including preventive care and treatment – exist everywhere and affect people regardless of their profession, level of education, or income. However, our company’s ethos is focused on designing solutions at the margins for and with communities that are most impacted by structural and socio-political inequities. We believe that by designing at the margins all impacted will be better off. 

• I, Carlisha, am a public health enthusiast, pharmacist, certified diabetes educator, and member of the Public Health Service. An underlying theme across these many roles is the intersection of public health and uplifting of under-represented and under-resourced communities. My experiences span government and clinical sectors including Indian Health Services, Food and Drug Administration, Community of Hope Clinic, and currently the Center for Disease Control and Prevention as well as having served in federally qualified healthcare clinics and community pharmacies.  My expertise and gifts include masterminding possibilities for discrete workflows and all things intersecting with health, community, and government. My community-building work includes Dissipating Disparities, a nonprofit focused on eliminating disparities and empowering communities in rural communities, and the safe spaces I have built in Ward 8 of Washington, DC as a community health educator.

• My co-founder, Kesha Lee, leads international capacity-building training for a large multinational organization, The World Bank. I often refer to her as a literacy guru for she is a subject matter expert in literacy and access to culturally responsive book access and training in addition to being an educator.  Her expertise and gifts include strategic advising, supply chain, and identifying throughlines between local and global communities. Her community-building work includes #Ward8Reads and facilitating connections in Niger and Pakistan around literacy attainment for vulnerable populations.

• Together we have the perfect intersection of public health and literacy in addition to lived and personal experiences to tackle the problem of low health literacy and take our solution to market. We have a combined 28 years of experience and have managed over 50 million in programs. Our team is well-rounded and has a strong background in healthcare and education with expertise in solving complex problems and providing solution-oriented strategies to improve social and societal outcomes. We have a proven record of building and managing innovative and quality customer-centered products. We provide programs sensitive to underserved communities including education, health, and social programs. 

• Our inspiration to start our business stemmed from personal, lived experiences, professional observations, and a deep desire to address the challenges faced by our community members, particularly older adults. My co-founder and I were born and raised in the urban and rural south, Alabama and Georgia respectively. Growing up in the vestiges of the civil rights movement, our families, friends, and community members have experienced varied levels of mistrust and missed opportunities for vital health care. I have personally experienced systemic and structural racism in education and the healthcare system during my formative years leaving an indelible imprint on my life and influencing my decision to become a pharmacist and community health educator. My cofounder Kesha’s passion for literacy is rooted in accompanying her great-grandmother, who achieved a 10th-grade education before having to return to the fields for work, to the hospital because in her grandmother’s words “I don’t trust and can’t understand what they are saying”. This work is intimate and extends beyond our professional backgrounds as pharmacists and literacy experts.
  

We have received seed funding from Johns Hopkins/Sibley Memorial Hospital to conduct human design field testing of our concept and support from Walmart to deploy a health literacy/information community event at the Barclays Center. We have currently tested our clickable prototype of Tyrone in the Washington, DC, and New York City communities. During our testing in DC and NYC, we garnered over 4500 touchpoints of community feedback across the clickable prototype testing, community events, and website.

Due to COVID-19, we had to pause our community testing of our clickable prototype.  However, realizing the importance of health literacy during this challenging time, we chose to pivot and develop www.covid19ready.org.  This was done as an intermediary access point to share with communities. The website simplified and organized essential health information available from the DC, NYC, and NOLA government health offices into easily understandable steps so that community members could get the COVID-19 testing and Vaccination information they needed to make vital health decisions. 

During our testing at community events in DC and NYC plus the activation of our website, we garnered over 4500 touchpoints of community feedback for our clickable prototype.

We then were selected as recipients of Cisco's Global Problem Solver Challenge HBCU Prize of $50,000 which allowed us to build out our beta version of Tyrone and have begun user testing with a small number of users. 

Most recently, as a part of our AgeTECH Collaborative with AARP, we reached over 600 users who were very enthusiastic about Tyrone, the mission, and the service that will be provided and who engaged with elements of the prototype and found it very helpful. These users also provided positive feedback to incorporate into our beta version.

We are currently in conversations with the New Orleans Health Department and another federally qualified health center to secure a partner and kick off a community pilot by the end of Q3. Further, while  Tyrone is available on a web-based platform via Bubble (a low-code app-building platform) and upon completing our 1st pilots with 1-2 community partners we will begin making the transition to host Tyrone on the Apple and Google Play platforms.

• We are applying to this program based on its reputation for providing both breadth and depth of support to founders. We also especially appreciate the inclusiveness lens, technological expertise, and overall support by which the program is designed; providing our team with the ability to focus more keenly on allocating resources to our priority outcomes.  At this stage in our company’s growth, we are keenly focused on aligning with programs that have diverse cohorts and are committed to transparency in their support. We know that fulfilling our vision for Salveo may be difficult and we want to align with thought partners and strategic/technological support that believe in reimagining and designing what’s possible in the future, even if it's never been done before. 

• Too often, we have been in the room with a few VCs and some incubator/accelerator programs whose tactics have been almost predatory to women founders and founders of color.  It has been our goal to align with entities that we believe in and their core values align with ours regardless of the funding they could offer or the subject matter expertise.  We are looking for our people and this program seems to be our kind of people.

• Additionally, we feel that this program aligns with a commitment to making health care information universally accessible so that no one has barriers to accessing health information and everyone has access to critical health care information in a way they can understand.

• Current market solutions often focus on health institutional/provider administration management and thus the language used in the design is not patient-centered. Current solutions often focus on health institutional/provider administration management and thus the language used in the design is not patient-centered. As for competitors, several applications provide discrete features such as a symptom checker such as:

  • Symptomate

  • WebMD Symptom Tracker

  • Your Health Record

  • ZocDoc

• In general, these applications have discrete features that address one, but not all components that Tyrone addresses. We have two unique advantages: (1) we deploy adaptive language technology to enhance data analytics that supports healthcare decision-making and patient health literacy and (2) Tyrone simplifies the key aspects of complex/overwhelming apps into the 3 most critical components identified by testers from diverse communities of our prototype who most frequently use the ER and having difficulty engaging with the current healthcare system.  The testers of our clickable prototype  expressed they would like easy access to a Symptom Checker, an Appointment Maker with appointment preparation and nudges and prompts with clear instructions post healthcare visit. 

• Our personal and lived experiences aligned with an amazing opportunity to dream big with initial funding from the John Hopkins University Medicine - Ward Infinity Program led to the creation of Tyrone.  In the Ward Infinity program, we were able to utilize a human-design-centered approach to conduct field testing (including focus groups and one-on-one interviews) in the Ward 8 community of Washington, D.C. This community being 99% African American and reflects many of the national indicators often negatively impacting black people around the United States such as transportation/infrastructure challenges, lack of access to healthy food (Ward 8 is a food desert, lack of access to maternal and primary care in general), low literacy, high obesity among other challenges led to the creation of Tyrone. The resounding want and need for a solution like Tyrone was very loud and clear, giving us the confirmation to push full speed ahead. 
• Tyrone’s origins are based on human-centered design and developed with feedback from community members. In addition to community member feedback, the application is designed with input from concerned community-based medical providers.
• Our cultural identity as Black founders significantly influences our entrepreneurial journey and vision. Drawing strength from our heritage, we use it as a lens to identify unmet needs and create solutions that resonate with diverse communities. Our unique perspective and lived experiences enable us to develop solutions that deeply resonate with marginalized communities, fueling our passion for social impact. Cultural sensitivity informs our approach to business, prioritizing inclusivity, equity, and an essential component of community engagement. We ensure our solutions are accessible and relevant to diverse demographics, centering the voices of those most affected by inequities. Ultimately, our cultural identity guides us to challenge the status quo, advocate for change, and create a more equitable future.
• All of these elements together are what make Tyrone innovative with the ability to change the landscape and the world for the better.

• Our theory of change is to improve the health outcomes  and well-being of marginalized communities by providing accessible information through our core solution,‘Tyrone,  a Health application that helps people access critical health information when they need it most. It is designed to be integrated into current platforms used by health providers/institutions and/or as a stand alone tool. Using AI and adaptive language, Tyrone grows smarter with more use and integrates with the provider’s patient portal helping to simplify the nudges, prompts and post care instructions. Our framework consists of assumptions, activities, outputs, outcomes, and impact. 

  • Assumptions:  

    • Creating pertinent health information that can lead to improved health outcomes.

    • Deliver health information that is readily accessible and practical reaching a vast audience. 

    • Improved health outcomes as a result of lower healthcare expenses and enhance well-being.

  • Activities :

    • Improve MVP application that provides users with access to accurate and relevant health information utilizing AI technology

    • Partner with healthcare providers and organizations to ensure the information provided is up-to-date, relevant, and high quality

    • Conduct user testing and feedback sessions to continuously improve the application

    • Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the application

  • Outputs:

    • Application that grants users access to precise and pertinent health information

    • Collaborations and partnerships  with healthcare providers and organizations to ensure the provided information is current and accurate. 

    • User feedback that assists in enhancing and refining the application.

  • Outcomes: 

    • Enhanced knowledge base on health concerns and issues or society

    • Improved health behaviors and decision-making among users

    • Reduction in healthcare costs due to improved health outcomes

    • Overall improvement in quality of life for users.

  • Impact:  Our solution will provide access to those who are at the margins offering accurate and relevant health information to improve health outcomes for individuals, leading to a reduction i

• Within the next year our impact goal consists of the following:

  • Hire a developer to further build out our platform. 

  • Systematize our concept testing and fundraising growth strategies.  Aligning with the SOLVE program it  will provide us unprecedented access to a range of business systems, frameworks and best practices. We are particularly eager to engage with essential mentorship, training, and technical assistance we needed to continue testing Tyrone, refining our storytelling and improving our ability to fundraise during the pre-seed rounds. 

  • Expand technical capacities and Tyrone’s feature profile. The SOLVE program will provide critical access to a network of resources and technical expertise in machine learning and building Ai infrastructure. We are excited about engaging with hands- on mentoring support that could help us advance Tyrone to the next level. We need critical feedback from business savvy colleagues so that we can quickly iterate on the MVP version of Tyrone and deploy to key user groups. We are also eager to crowdsource learning ideas from the other women founders. While we are self motivated, we thrive in environments with like minded driven entrepreneurs.

• Within the next 5 years our impact goal consists of the following:

  • Increase market share: We want to expand our customer base and increase our market share in the healthcare industry. We hope to add enhanced functionality and improve our solutions to meet the changing needs of healthcare providers and patients.

  • Enhance financial performance: We plan to increase our revenue and profits by optimizing our  business model, reducing costs, and improving operational efficiency.

  • Improve the development of products: We will invest in research and development to enhance our existing products and develop new products that address unmet needs in the healthcare industry.

Tyrone is a mHealth mobile application and will be available via responsive mobile design on the two prevailing mobile platforms Android and Apple. In terms of systems, Tyrone incorporates AI and adaptive language technology to learn and adjust the healthcare language to the individual user.  We also incorporate elements of a mapping widget and a trusted health information API ensuring we have the most accurate information available.

Our team comprises 6 individuals: two Co-Founders, a Strategic Advisor, a Virtual Assistant, a Developer, and a Graduate Intern

The company started in March 2020. We have been working on the solution for 4 years.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is the cornerstone of our philosophy and how we work. We create a culture that embraces our uniqueness as individuals and, more importantly, that we foreground treating each other with dignity and mutual respect, shaping cultures of belonging and being aware of unconscious bias. We incorporate the concept of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by analyzing our policies, practices, and programming to ensure equal treatment in the workplace, fair access to advancement opportunities, and fair outcomes for all employees. In addition to meeting people at the margins. We believe in being open and transparent and build deeper relationships among staff allowing a safe space and opportunity for staff to be seen and heard. We incorporate equity and inclusion every step  of the way in building out all aspects of our solution by ensuring their is appropriate representation from our target end users at the table each step of the way.  Thus far, this has been done by hosting several focus group at local housing communities, libraries, community clinics, local restaurants, gyms, barbershops and hair salons to ensure we get adequate representation and feedback regarding our solution.

Using SaaS, our sustainable B2B model includes an annual licensing fee of USD 40 thousand/1000 users for enterprise clients (and a reduced rate scaled for community-based organizations and institutions). Our serviceable area for our go-to-market strategy for Medicare readmissions and ER visits alone is $56 million. Due to the nature of the problem, market opportunities are extensive in a variety of other hospital/payer and patient groups. We believe that by outlining a strong proof of case with one of the more vulnerable groups, Medicare/Medicaid, readmissions, and ER visits, we will be able to expand Tyrone to other segments. 

• We understand the importance of financial sustainability and it is a critical component for the long-term success of our company. Our plan for maintaining success and continued growth includes the following:

• Diversify revenue streams: We believe in having multiple revenue streams including but not limited to grants, business-to-consumer subscriptions, and business-to-business subscriptions, offering premium features, and licensing technology to other companies. 

• Cultivate a committed user community: Develop an intentional and targeted plan focusing on user acquisition and retention, starting with building a loyal customer base that will generate recurring revenue. Our excellent customer service and regular updates and improvements to the product can help to build customer loyalty.

• Harness collaborative relationships: Partnering with healthcare providers, insurers, or other companies in the industry can help expand our reach and boost revenue. 

• Pursue additional funding:  Continue to seek funding from venture capitalists, angel investors, or other funding sources to secure the capital needed to expand the company to ensure it resonates with the company values and philosophy. 

• Manage expenses: To operate effectively we manage and prioritize our expenses, develop cost-saving measures, and implement tactics to reduce overhead costs.

To maintain financial sustainability we proactively manage finances to ensure long-term stability. We do strategic planning of our finances by developing an in-depth financial plan that includes revenue projections, expenses, and profit margins and make periodic updates. In addition, we manage our cash flow ensuring enough funds are available to cover expenses and invest in growth.

To date, we have raised over $110,000 in non-dilutive funding via pitch competitions and grants which has helped to sustain our company over the years, and have not taken on any debt. We have had offers for dilutive funding with unfavorable terms which we did not take. This has more than likely slowed our pace of growth, however, we are determined and are continuing to persevere keeping our eye on the ultimate prize of bringing Tyrone to market while being great stewards of our funding.