LOS ANGELES– Renee, the first-ever healthcare assistant that combines human support with advanced AI to alleviate the burdens of healthcare, today announced the nationwide rollout of its platform. Founded by Dr. Renee Dua and Nick Desai, the visionary founders of the leading doctor house call company, Heal, Renee unifies the healthcare experience in a long overdue effort to give Americans, especially the aging population, the help they desperately need. Upon the initial 1.0 launch, services Renee will provide include managing the scheduling of all of a patient’s doctor appointments, booking rides to and from the doctor’s office, providing reminders for appointments & routine prescriptions, and free delivery of most routine prescription medications right to the member’s door. Starting today, patients can sign up on Renee’s website and initiate their seamless digital health journey for $24.99 per month. Further, for the remainder of 2022, Renee is waiving the $99.99 Personal Care Activation fee for all new members.
“The irony of American healthcare is that accessing and managing healthcare is hardest for patients who need it most,” said Dr. Renee Dua, Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer of Renee. “Unfortunately for most older and polychronic Americans, healthcare fails at the most basic levels. Refills run out, so patients stop taking medications. Hold times are long, so labs and imaging don’t get done. Renee fixes these issues by closing the gaps to enable the person to easily see their doctor, take their prescribed medications, and get the reminders they need to stay ahead of the foundational and most important healthcare needs.”
A poll conducted earlier this year by the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation found that less than one in three people over 50 currently use digital health apps for any purpose— despite the fact that Pew research has shown that 83% of people 50-64, and 61% over 65, own a smartphone. The idea behind Renee was birthed to actively close this digital divide and improve adoption rates amongst aging populations. After conducting a survey with AARP on the specific aspects of healthcare seniors need help with, Renee was designed to fix the traditionally fragmented and siloed healthcare management experience by equipping seniors with the very services they are seeking in one easy-to-use place. The service takes the confusion out of healthcare and earned a patient satisfaction NetPromoter score of +88 during its Beta launch.
“The idea that older Americans are not tech-savvy enough to adopt digital health is a folly,” said Nick Desai, CEO and Co-Founder of Renee. “The issue isn’t the seniors, it’s the tech. Health-tech has failed to rise to the same ease of use as the tech offerings in other industries. If a patient has diabetes, hypertension and heart health issues, are they supposed to sign up for three disconnected services that are not interoperable with each other? No one wants that. What seniors and all Americans need is ease and integration. By handling the most common, cumbersome healthcare tasks and putting it all in one place, Renee is a solution all Americans can use every day as the first-touch to all their healthcare needs.”
Upon signing up, the user journey on Renee begins with a 1:1 consultation called a Personal Care Activation between the member and a trained, dedicated Renee concierge. The 45-minute session works to capture all necessary health background information (including current doctors, social determinants, health goals, existing issues/conditions, ongoing medications, pharmacies, and more) in order to curate the most seamless concierge care experience. This session also serves to establish an essential bridge of trust between the member and care concierge. Once the Personal Care Activation call is complete, members use Renee’s simple and smart browser “app” to request appointments, track their medications, order refills and more. Renee’s app is built with easy, conversational AI so members rarely have to do more than touch a couple of buttons.
The company recently conducted a rigorous 90-day pilot study tracking hundreds of seniors, which found that Renee’s services improved clinical outcomes, increased engagement of patients and lowered overall healthcare costs. After the pilot, Renee went through both the US Department of Health and Human Services PandemicX and the AgeTech CollaborariveTM from AARP accelerator programs. AARP then joined Quiet Capital, Tau Ventures, Mucker Capital, Fika Ventures, SaaS Ventures, Global Founders Capital and Citylight Ventures as investors in Renee’s seed round— where the company raised more than $8.2 million to build a world-class team of product & engineering leaders and win early customers.
“It is long overdue for health-tech to live up to its potential of improving the health of everyday Americans,” continued Dr. Dua. “No one wants to spend their best years waiting on hold or chasing down pill bottles— trying to remember what to take and when to take it. Better healthcare is within our hands, and in fact, at our fingertips with Renee.”
“Renee delivers value to the patient from day one,” added Desai. “The digital experience is personal to you from the moment you first sign in. This is what healthcare should be. The only way to enable whole-person, coordinated care is to proactively handle all of a patient’s needs.”
