Asthmapolis Relaunches as Propeller Health to Advance Broader Respiratory Mission

MADISON, Wis., Sept. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Asthmapolis, the FDA-cleared mobile health solution for chronic respiratory disease, today announced the company is changing its name to Propeller Health. The Propeller platform is designed to help patients and their physicians better understand and control respiratory disease to reduce preventable emergency room visits, hospitalizations and unnecessary suffering.

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Propeller Health will now offer providers and payers expanded mobile apps for asthma, COPD and other respiratory disease, as well as new sensors for additional inhaled medications pending regulatory clearance.

"COPD is the third leading cause of death in the United States and an extremely costly disease, both in its actual medical costs and the impairments that limit patients with this illness. I believe using technology to help improve adherence and give clinicians early indications of increasing symptoms or exacerbations is valuable and will make an important contribution to helping people successfully manage the disease," said David Mannino, MD, professor and chair, University of Kentucky Department of Preventive Medicine and Environment, and international expert on the epidemiology and impact of COPD.

Early outcomes have been promising. In the last month, more than two-thirds of Propeller users with asthma were well-controlled or transitioned to well-controlled; by comparison, only 30-40 percent of the general population with asthma has their disease under control. In recent programs, up to 80 percent of patients with asthma remain engaged with Propeller three to six months after enrollment. As a result, the Propeller platform has yielded an 80 percent improvement in medication adherence.

"We need to be doing everything we can to help people manage their health conditions and prevent unnecessary trips to the hospital," said Rich Roth, vice president of strategic innovation at Dignity Health. "Propeller Health is in a position to make a big difference for our patients, which is why we're excited to see the company moving in this direction."

Propeller is a novel combination of snap-on sensors, mobile apps, analytics and personal services to empower people to achieve better self-management of their respiratory disease, while reducing the burden of chronic disease management. The HIPAA-compliant solution uses remote monitoring to track when and how often patients use their inhaled medications. This real-time information advances understanding of symptoms and triggers and reveals insights about both medication adherence and rescue medication frequency. Analytics coupled with personalized feedback and individual support, including access to health educators and community managers, inform more productive conversations between Propeller users and their care teams, contributing to positive behavior change, improved quality of life and reduced costs to manage chronic disease like asthma and COPD.

"Over the last year, we've grown to be the leading mobile health platform for managing asthma. Today we are charting a new course in chronic respiratory disease management, applying our proven technology and accumulated wisdom to reduce healthcare utilization for COPD," said David Van Sickle, CEO and co-founder of Propeller Health. "The Propeller brand broadens our mobile health footprint to include all disease treated with inhaled medications. It more accurately describes how we use technology to achieve momentum in self-management, but with minimal disruption to our users' daily lives, which in turn helps improve outcomes that reduce cost."

"Asthmapolis, now Propeller Health, is one of the leaders in mobile health sensors and apps. It is great to see their expansion from asthma to COPD," said Eric Topol MD, CAO of Scripps Health and author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine (Topol has no relationship with the company). "Further, someday in the future there is now hope that such a platform will be able to markedly reduce asthma attacks and exacerbations of COPD."

Propeller for COPD is available now, and the company is filing applications for international regulatory clearance for additional sensors later this year.

About Propeller Health

Propeller is the leading mobile platform for respiratory health management. Through sensors, mobile apps and services, Propeller Health helps reduce the cost of care while delivering better quality of life for individuals with chronic respiratory disease. Backed by The Social+Capital Partnership, California HealthCare Foundation and other investors, Propeller Health is now working with organizations like Dignity Health, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, Amerigroup Florida and the City of Louisville. Company recognition includes TEDMED Innovation Showcase, White House Champion of Change and Bluetooth Breakthrough Product awards. The system has been featured in The Economist, Washington Post, Fast Company, Wired and Scientific American.

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David Van Sickle

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SOURCE Propeller Health