Each month, we highlight one of our amazing members doing amazing things in digital health and beyond. Our August member feature is written by and about one of our members, Strivy Health; the online clinic for kids.
Strivy Health was founded by Ishan Wijewardana, a former medical doctor, healthcare management consultant and start-up operator. Strivy connects parents to a paediatrician online (via chat, phone or video) or in-person at a local urgent care clinic.
What are Strivy Health doing?
Raising a family has become incredibly difficult for new parents with 80% stressed about access to healthcare. Worried parents who need support on their child’s health, commonly end up at their GP or in the Emergency department. Today, over 40% of primary care consultations are for children and young people and 55% of paediatric attendances at the emergency department are discharged without requiring any follow up.
Strivy Health connects parents to a paediatrician online to provide timely specialist input to worried parents who otherwise might attend the emergency department or GP in-person. We believe specialists are better able to resolve issues at home, with care and advice provided remotely.
Our primary goal is to improve parents’ healthcare experiences with reduced wait times but also improve health outcomes for children as specialists provide their input right from the start. We also want to build an integrated healthcare experience, helping families identify the right follow-on care with better connections to local paediatric services through the “front door”.
For health systems we are reducing the cost per patient with a digital appointment vs an in-person appointment at your GP or A&E. Early trials of this type of service by the NHS have shown to strengthen specialty care for children.
What is next for Strivy Health?
We are currently building our network of paediatricians across the country as well as hiring for our lead paediatrician in house (get in touch if you are interested in joining). We also plan to partner with local health systems to pilot the service in their area and conduct trials. We aim to launch our technology and gain the required regulation by September 22.
Regardless of your background, if you are interested in our vision for children’s healthcare, get in touch with us here.
Words: Strivy Health
If you’d like to connect with Ishan and find out more about Strivy Health, get in touch here.