LifeHub+ and a Fitbit can help prevent non-complex chronic health conditions

It’s all well and good that you have a fitness tracker that keeps track of your health but is that patently enough?

Well, fret not, because StarHub, in partnership with Alexandra Hospital and ConnectedLife with Fitbit, has launched LifeHub+, the first health tracking app of its kind that links a patient to a family doctor or General Practitioner (GP), health coach, or caregiver to better manage pre- and non-complex chronic conditions.

Alexandra Hospital is the first, and at the moment, the only hospital to onboard this service and they are working on connecting the GPs based in the western half of Singapore. We understand that at present, there are over 30 GPs expressing interest, with five already on board and two digital health coaches employed. A Digital Health Coach, as they explained, is a specialised role created for this purpose.

Through AH’s partnership with its regional GP clinics, 300 eligible patients with preventable chronic health risks under their care will be onboarded to LifeHub+. Their wellness activities and certain metrics will be monitored by AH health coaches and their GPs and AH will also extend joint escalated care to GPs where necessary.

Dr Alexander Yip, a gastroenterologist and integrated care consultant who is the Clinical Director of AH’s Healthcare Redesign to seal this partnership with StarHub said, “AH is a designated sandbox for new digital health and technology innovations.

We are constantly looking to implement new technology-enabled care models to provide better care to all our patients in the hospital and community. This new digital health initiative leverages wearables to provide a rich source of information on the lifestyle of our patients, which helps our doctors and health coaches in AH improve patients’ health holistically through timely lifestyle interventions.”

An efficient ‘mini ecosystem’

The primary idea is not that different from the insights feature of many fitness trackers that offer observations and recommendations based on the tracked data, except that there is a qualified healthcare professional at the end of LifeHub+ who can offer far more than what basic algorithms can.

The initiative hopes to build the relationship between patients and their care team, as well as improve the management of the patients’ health and lifestyles through precise personalised health plans, thanks to up-to-date data. This enables better management and preventive care for patients who are at-risk or have simple chronic health conditions including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, through timely lifestyle adjustments.

The timing of the launch is in step with the recent announcement of Healthier SG, where Singaporeans are encouraged to enrol with a family GP to work on proactive and preventive care. In that sense, LifeHub+ is like a more refined execution of this objective. And the good thing about LifeHub+ is that you do not have to be a StarHub customer to use the service.

How it works

LifeHub+ uses metrics that you choose to share, such as steps, exercise, sleep patterns, heart rate, heart rate variability, skin temperature variation, breathing rate, oxygen saturation (SpO2), etc., along with user-recorded data like blood pressure and blood glucose from third-party devices. LifeHub+ then generates dynamic health scores, data alerts, and metrics, that provide simple and clear insights into your health for tracking and daily improvement.

The application also allows you to set up reminders to reduce sedentary time throughout the day and toggle reminders for medication and exercise. You can also schedule medical check-ups as well.

We’re told that users have full control of the data as well as the sole right to share this information with third parties, which comprise only approved healthcare professionals.

How to get on board

Interested patients can also subscribe to ConnectedCare, a plan under LifeHub+ through approved healthcare providers at $9.99 monthly. The first 300 LifeHub+ subscribers onboarded through partner GPs will receive a Fitbit device and access to ConnectedCare at no cost for the initial 12 months.

StarHub intends to scale this rollout with its partners from ConnectedLife with Fitbit and AH and more GPs. Healthcare providers who wish to find out more information about LifeHub+, or join as a StarHub ConnectedCare partner at no cost, may visit www.lifehub.sg/partner.

This article was first published in Potions.sg.