While early digital health companies have long been developing digital solutions to tackle chronic diseases, from diabetes, pain, mental health, and more, one major chronic condition has been under-represented; hypertension!

Physicians have long grappled with the challenge of inadequate blood pressure data between appointments with the patient, limiting their ability to refine diagnoses and treatment plans. Furthermore, the time gaps make it difficult to provide appropriate follow-up care. As a result, physicians often hesitate to recommend lifestyle changes, even though these have been proven effective in controlling blood pressure. This leaves patients feeling confused and powerless in the period between visits, while physicians must make critical health decisions based on scarce and often biased data, affected by the “white coat effect”, the propensity for blood pressure readings to be higher during a medical visit! This approach to blood pressure treatment is ineffective, costly, time-consuming, and contributes to creating a situation in which over 50% of diagnosed hypertensives have blood pressure levels that are above the recommended thresholds, despite the availability of effective medication and established lifestyle change guidelines.

Amicomed’s solution revolutionizes the management of blood pressure, leveraging proprietary algorithms to provide vital support through remote monitoring tools, enriched by blood pressure trend analysis and actionable and personalized lifestyle interventions with tangible outcomes.

Amicomed is based on three core features:

1. Proprietary Blood Pressure Trends Analysis and Insights: Each time a patient enters a blood pressure value, Amicomed instantly provides a comprehensive analysis of all blood pressure values recorded. These insights empower users with actionable steps to effectively manage their condition and facilitate real-time decision-making for physicians.
2. Personalized Lifestyle Modification Plan: Through a dynamic in-app questionnaire, Amicomed automatically generates fully personalized lifestyle programs that provide evidence-based recommendations about nutrition, exercise, and blood pressure monitoring schedules, catered to individual needs.
3. Remote Patient Monitoring for Physicians: Amicomed includes a web-based dashboard which features blood pressure monitoring, trend analysis, and insights, streamlining healthcare providers’ workflows. It also supports them in identifying atrial fibrillation events, allowing physicians to prioritize urgent cases.

Importantly, Amicomed’s versatility extends beyond hypertension, making it suitable for various situations that require careful blood pressure monitoring, such as in cases of congestive heart failure, or during pregnancy to prevent conditions like pre-eclampsia.

The Birth of Amicomed and Milestones before the acquisition by Newel Health

Founded in 2015, Amicomed was subsequently acquired by Newel Health in 2021, which has continued the development of the product, with the involvement of members of the original Amicomed team. Key aspects of the product that led to the acquisition were:

1. Proprietary Algorithms: The company developed two proprietary algorithms—an algorithm for interpreting blood pressure trends and variability and another for automating personalized lifestyle program development. These algorithms are still to this day the only ones that offer a mathematical approach to describing blood pressure trends and a fully personalized protocol for guiding users through lifestyle changes.
2. CE-Mark for BP Interpretation Algorithm: Amicomed obtained a CE-mark for its blood pressure interpretation algorithm, certifying the software as a Class IIa medical device.
3. Proof of Concept and Scientific Validation: Amicomed conducted a pilot study on hypertension, albeit with the unrefined experience of a minimum viable product (MVP). The results were extremely promising, with 71% of participants experiencing an average reduction of 4.7 mmHg in systolic blood pressure. These results were presented at prestigious medical conferences, including the European Society of Hypertension, American College of Cardiology and American Society for Hypertension, demonstrating the product’s potential.

Newel Health’s Transformation of Amicomed

Since its acquisition, Newel Health has enhanced an already strong product with the following:

• A Complete Redesign: Newel Health initiated a full redesign of the Amicomed app and the physician dashboard, breathing new life into the user interface and experience, and creating a user-friendly solution that caters to individual user experiences.
• Usability Testing: Extensive usability testing was conducted to gather invaluable user feedback and inform design improvements that focus on the needs and expectations of its users.
• The Introduction of a Behavioral Module: One of the standout features of Amicomed 2.0 is the introduction of a behavioral module. This innovation engages and retains users to promote long-term health behavior change.

Amicomed 2.0 was designed to address the diverse needs of individuals with varying levels of motivation, hypertension, age, cultural backgrounds, and more. It is tailored for sustained digital engagement and real-life behavior change, making it an indispensable tool in the field of digital therapeutics.

What Sets Amicomed Apart

Amicomed’s uniqueness lies in its comprehensive approach to blood pressure management:

• Automation and Scalability: Amicomed is fully automated and scalable, making it accessible to a wide range of users and democratizing blood pressure management.
• Integration Capabilities: The product is fully integratable through API, following a SAAS (Software as a Service) model.
• Evidence-Based Outcomes: Amicomed boasts a track record of evidence-based outcomes and compliance.
• Scientific Recognition: The product has consistently garnered scientific recognition for its mathematical approach to describing blood pressure trends and actionable lifestyle protocols.
• Comprehensive Behavioral Strategy: Amicomed incorporates a comprehensive behavioral strategy to support the improvement of lifestyle habits, which recognizes the importance of the human element in health management.

The evolution of Amicomed from its inception to Amicomed 2.0 under Newel Health’s stewardship has created a product that combines cutting-edge technology, behavioral science, and a commitment to user experience. Amicomed aims to transform blood pressure management by offering a new way to manage cardiovascular health to millions of individuals worldwide.