Digital-first care drives strong outcomes for IBS in New Research at the ACG

100 billion dollars have been invested in digital health companies in the last 10 years.¹ Despite the benefits that digital health technologies demonstrate in increasing access to high quality care, adoption has been slow and fragmented.² Most of the deployments have centered on the classic top four categories of health spend: cardiovascular conditions, oncology, diabetes, and MSK. Meanwhile gastroenterology, which is a top five spend category for many payers, and a top five driver of ER utilization, has seen little innovation in tech-enabled telehealth services.

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A new research study presented this week by Salvo’s clinical advisors centers on conditions such as IBS, which impact over 40 million people and drive spending to 2x the national average per patient. The research documented an observational study on the impact of digital, continuous care in the treatment of IBS. This research is co-authored by key members of Salvo’s renowned clinical advisory board, including Dr. Mark Pimentel at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Peter Green at Columbia University Medical Center, Dr.’s Amit Sachdev and Frank Gress at Mt. Sinai Health System, Dr. Megan Oser at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and Dr. Laura Reigada at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.

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At this year’s American College of Gastroenterology annual conference in Vancouver, Salvo’s clinical leadership and advisors will be presenting a research poster, which will also be published in the ACG online journal. The findings show continuous, tech-enabled care provides a better patient experience and drives improved quality of life and patient outcomes. 

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Salvo Health patients who spent at least 4+ weeks in the program felt less anxious, more in control of reducing their symptoms, and avoided fewer responsibilities. 73% of patients reported feeling better than when they started the program, even though these patients typically had suffered for 3 to 5 years of chronic abdominal pain and other symptoms before finding Salvo care.

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Powering these results was Salvo Health’s strong patient engagement and satisfaction - logging in an average of 9 times per week and messaging their care team most weekdays. 87% reported that the Salvo experience was better than any healthcare experience before.  

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The Salvo Health program goes well beyond a typical tech-enabled software platform. Salvo works with GI practices and GI divisions at health systems to provide both the digital content, workflow platform, and a team giving a “human touch” of support daily, with registered dietitians, behavioral health specialists, and GI-trained nurses providing a suite of ancillary services, under the supervision of the local physician.  

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Salvo provides patients an app with daily check-ins, medical content and resources, and continuous, asynchronous wraparound support. This personalized care model includes a modified low-FODMAP diet, cognitive behavioral skills, microbiome rebalancing, and personalized recommendations for adjustments to lifestyle factors such as sleep, movement, and stress -- all known triggers of IBS symptoms. 

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IBS patients make up to 15% percent of the U.S. population, and cost on average 2x more than the average U.S. healthcare consumer, per a recent Salvo study conducted with a top US actuarial firm analyzing 9.4 million covered lives and their claims records.  

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With only 15,400 gastroenterologists in the country, this patient population is in great need of access to hands-on quality care, like Salvo, that addresses their symptoms in real-time, while reducing utilization and helping the system as a whole.

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Detailed Results:

Using telehealth and a digital health solution improved quality of life after 4+ weeks in the program.

• 30% avoided fewer responsibilities.
• 41% felt less anxious.
• 42% felt more in control of reducing symptom intensity.

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A subset of this cohort also reported symptom reduction after 4+ weeks in the program.

• 41% had less severe symptoms.
• 41% had less frequent symptoms.

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Patients had a high rate of engagement using the digital app.

• Patients logged in an average of 10 times per week (SD=6.1).
• Patients messaged their care team an average of 6 times per week (SD=4.8).
• Patients tracked their symptoms and protocol adherence on average 3 times per week over a nearly 5-month average treatment duration (SD=2.1).

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Patients reported high satisfaction with their Salvo experience.

• 73% of patients reported feeling better than when they started the program. (Figure 3).
• 84% of patients reported that Salvo Health has been better than their previous healthcare experiences.
• 90% percent of patients were satisfied with the use of Salvo Health. (all CSAT survey questions on a five-point Likert scale).

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Methodology:

• On intake, patients (N = 69; 33% male, median age 37) evaluated for IBS and then given a diagnosis were administered five questions extracted from the PROMIS Gastrointestinal Belly Pain Scale and Quality of Life questionnaires.
  

• This self-report survey was re-administered every 30 days. Two symptom reduction questions were added in January 2023 and, thus, administered to a subset of this cohort.
  

• Change in the patient-reported survey items was evaluated over time. Most recent responses were compared to intake responses to determine change over time. Patient engagement with the app and care team was also measured from August 2022 to May 2023.

For more information about how you can become a Salvo Health GI partner, contact Amanda Sussex at amanda@salvohealth.com. 

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