Transforming Kidney Care with a Digital Coach for Better Health

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a long-term condition where the kidneys don't work as well as they should. It's a common condition often associated with getting older. It can affect anyone, but it's more common in people who are black or of south Asian origin (Source NHS). In fact, when we ColloghCares, we were shocked to discover that, according to the, more than 1 in 7 US adults, or 37 million people, are estimated to have CKD.

ColloghCares’s vision is to reach this underserved group with a digital coach that will help them keep their CKD in check and over time, expand this behavioral change program to help people avoid the disease altogether.

They aim to achieve this by pairing an application with fitness trackers as well as glucose and blood pressure monitors. The impacts of this can be massive, particularly in the US where people don’t have access to affordable healthcare, and around the world where CKD programs have adherence rates lower than 40%.

Pragmatics designed the user experience for the first launch of the application which is slated to be FDA approved. Our team got to work directly with CKD patients, medical experts and kidney disease advocacy groups. The final prototype has been instrumental in helping ColloghCares launch their application and get the funding they need to reach the patients who need it.

One of the key insights that emerged from working so closely with doctors and patients is that, as much as patients may need a coach, they already have their own systems that work for them. What’s needed for the best possible outcomes is for the application to provide gentle nudges and an overview on their health so that they can be in control of their treatment.In response to this learning, we developed a unique “Daily” view that acts less like a sterile medical application, and more like a subtle To Do app. The intention is to give patients an idea of what they should do next and then empower them to take that step. Together with the data coming in from the tracker and monitors, patients would no longer need to go to the hospital to complete their CKD education programs, and can reduce the chance of renal failure.