Putting Health Trend Data in People’s Hands: Medavie Launches Digital Screening Solution to Help Self-Monitor Key Health Indicators

Self-monitoring technologies are widely used in people’s daily lives and health care,[i] and provide opportunity to influence individual health management practices.[ii] Today, Medavie is excited to announce Perkk Check, a digital solution that offers personalized insights to help people stay informed of their health and detect potential health issues.

According to a recent study, 40 per cent of Canadians monitor one or more aspect of their health using connected care technologies.[iii] “As health care delivery continues to evolve in a digital era, and as more emphasis is placed on disease prevention, people are looking for personalized, convenient access to a range of solutions to help manage, postpone and possibly prevent some medical conditions,” says Venky Kulkarni, Chief Technology Officer & Managing Director, Digital Direct, Medavie. “By offering regular monitoring and risk analysis through Perkk Check, our goal is to help people take a direct and active role in their current and future physical and mental health risks—anytime, anywhere.”

The Perkk Check Advantage
With over 30 health and wellness indicators from heart rate to blood pressure to stress levels, Perkk Check provides an at-a-glance overview of a person’s health status, driven by remote imaging technology. From just a 30-second video scan from a phone, tablet or computer, and a short mental health survey, individuals receive relevant information about their health and mental wellness that supports awareness and prevention of potential health risks.

“This represents the present state of self-health screening and monitoring,” says Kulkarni. “It’s about making health and wellness information more accessible and user-friendly, and encouraging disease awareness and prevention through reliable, real-time data and insights.”

As a screening and early awareness tool*, Perkk Check encourages people to become e-patients—equipped, enabled, engaged and empowered to stay accountable to their health goals and future selves. The health trend data continues to evolve with each use and can help people identify if they should engage a health care professional to help determine the presence or absence of disease, or if they may require lifestyle modifications.

Notably, Perkk Check can help users in early detection of cardiovascular and diabetes risk, supporting informed conversations with a health care team and promoting the notion of healthy behaviours.

“As a company focused on providing digital technology to help improve health care outcomes for Canadians, we wanted to extend this vision to help the wellbeing of our staff,” says Ian Millar, CEO, Health Futures Inc. “We've introduced Perkk Check into our total rewards benefits package to help our people monitor their wellness at work.”

For more information, visit perkkcheck.ca.

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*Using this screening tool is not a substitute for consulting with a qualified healthcare practitioner. Individuals should seek professional medical advice for accurate diagnosis and appropriate care.

For more information:
Gillian Ring
Corporate Communications Manager
Medavie
902-496-8444
[email protected]

About Perkk Check
Using the latest scientifically proven remote photo-plethysmography (rPPG) technology, Perkk Check measures health and wellness indicators via the camera on commonly available devices.

This novel technology combines real-time blood flow data with robust machine learning algorithms to derive over 30 indicators including vitals, physiological measures, and physical and mental health risk scores. The digital services are operated and provided by Medavie.

About Medavie
Medavie is a national health solutions partner that integrates benefits management, health management and health care delivery. Together, with our team of more than 8,000 professionals, we are committed to improving the wellbeing of Canadians.

As a not-for-profit organization, Medavie oversees Medavie Blue Cross, a premier all-in-one benefits carrier and public health program administrator, and Medavie Health Services, a national primary health care solutions organization and the largest contracted provider of emergency management services in Canada.

We are one of Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures, one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for 2022/23 and an Imagine Canada Caring Company.

We don't have shareholders. Instead, we proudly invest in communities to help address some of Canada's most pressing physical and mental health care challenges.


References

[i] Feng S, Mäntymäki M, Dhir A, Salmela H. How Self-tracking and the Quantified Self Promote Health and Well-being: Systematic Review. J Med Internet Res. 2021 Sep 21;23(9):e25171. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8493454/. Accessed January 2024.

[ii] Figueiredo M, Caldeira C, Chen Y, Zheng K. Routine self-tracking of health: reasons, facilitating factors, and the potential impact on health management practices. AMIA Annu Symp Proc. 2018 Apr 16;2017:706-714. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5977566/. Accessed January 2024.

[iii] Paré, G., Leaver, C., Bourget, C. Diffusion of the Digital Health Self-Tracking Movement in Canada: Results of a National Survey. J Med Internet Res 2018;20(5):e177. https://www.jmir.org/2018/5/e177/. Accessed January 2024.



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Medavie is a health company that oversees Medavie Blue Cross and Medavie Health Services. Together, we’re bringing Canadians better health and access to care.