Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other dementias affect approximately 5.5 million patients in the U.S. 3 and is a leading cause of disability. Due to and poor coordination, families have no systematic plan to follow, leading to unnecessary hospitalizations, quicker transitions to a facility, caregiver burnout and high cost of care. We propose to demonstrate the feasibility for commercializing a highly validated, but resource intensive, dementia-specific care coordination program, the Maximizing Independence (MIND) at Home program developed at Johns Hopkins University. MIND at Home uses a care coordinator to 1) monitor and assess patient and caregiver needs; and deliver strategies and interventions. Through a randomized-clinical trial, the MIND at Home intervention has shown significant benefits, including delayed time to transition to long-term care facility, increased patient quality of life and reduced caregiver burden. Mind Halo has licensed the MIND at Home intervention and seeks to translate it into a commercial platform by addressing two challenges: scalability and cost. Currently MIND at Home requires in-person and on-site visits to assess and address changes in condition and does not efficiently leverage available health technology to provide cost- effective care. Through an extensive customer discovery process, we have additionally determined that continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) and home care organizations value and would be willing to purchase the program. We will develop, pilot, and evaluate a web and mobile platform for professional caregivers, working at CCRCs and family members. We will 1) develop a mobile/web application for professional caregivers to monitor and assess dementia patients and their family caregivers, and 2) develop and test a workflow tool for strategy and intervention delivery by a remotely-based care support team. Finally, we will 3) pilot and evaluate this platform for feasibility within a clinical trial run at a partner CCRC. Our test of feasibility will be the 1) demonstration of clinical relevance and clinical benefit of the web and mobile application and 2) demonstration of cost-effective care delivery.
Evidence-based, scalable, and cost-effective care models have the potential to help dementia patients remain independent longer, reduce health care costs and improve quality of life. The Maximizing Independence (MIND) at Home program developed by Johns Hopkins University is a highly validated but resource intensive care coordination program that has shown significant patient and caregiver benefits. Mind Halo has licensed the MIND at Home intervention and proposes to develop, pilot and evaluate a web and mobile platform version with remote care support for professional caregivers caring for dementia patients, and family members.
