Applied Science Releases New Advanced Technologies to Improve Care for People Living With Diabetes in Rural and Under-Served Communities

GRASS VALLEY, Calif., September 25, 2024 (Newswire.com) - Applied Science, Inc. (ASI), a leading provider of workflow automation and data integration platforms for whole blood collection and chronic care management, today announced the expansion of its AdaptivMD chronic care workflow technology to Sierra Family Health Center (SFHC) and Western Sierra Medical Clinic (WSMC). ASI has successfully integrated a retinal screening solution from Verily Life Sciences LLC (formerly Google Life Sciences) into its workflow automation platform to make easy, high-quality retinal health screenings conveniently accessible and efficient.

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of preventable blindness among working-age adults, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Early detection is critical to preserving eyesight. However, annual screening compliance is only 60% nationwide¹. Applied Science’s simplified clinical workflow solution, coupled with Verily’s screening solution, aims to significantly increase compliance through improved clinical workflow and patient convenience.

As Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), SFHC and WSMC are committed to delivering best-in-class care to patients in Northeast California’s Nevada, Placer, Sierra, and Yuba counties. Instead of requiring patients to travel to San Francisco or beyond to receive high-quality retinal screenings, they are now locally available at SFHC and WSMC in Grass Valley. The solution combines best-in-class technologies from Verily, which has developed its easy-to-use retinal screening technology, and Applied Science, which has integrated the screening technology into its advanced clinical workflow software platform to ensure that the screening process is convenient, efficient, and secure for the patient and the clinician. 

Applied Science is committed to delivering tools and technologies that enable better access to care and efficient, high-quality outcomes for underserved rural and urban communities. Cumbersome workflow for the clinical staff and inconvenience for consumers are major barriers to adoption and compliance. Applied Science’s AdaptivMD clinical workflow and integration engine solves these challenges by delivering to the FQHC market a suite of tools that are tightly integrated with the facility’s electronic health record (EHR) system, resulting in simplified workflows, ease of use, and full integration of clinical and decision-support data.

“Diabetic Retinopathy is a far too common cause of blindness, and it must be caught early to enable effective treatment,” said Debra Plass, CEO of SFHC. “Unfortunately, too few people who need regular screenings get them. With this new technology in place in our clinics, our community members can now receive the essential, timely and convenient, five-minute screenings each year as medically recommended, without the hassle of leaving the community.”

Daniel Happs, WSMC’s Chief Information Officer and Chief Quality Officer, continues, “We understand that managing diabetes can be challenging, so we have been working hard to improve compliance with what the science tells us. I have been impressed by the technology, safety and security of the Verily / Applied Science solution and look forward to deploying additional future innovations to simplify ways to help our community remain healthy.”

Jonathan Morgan, President and CEO of Applied Science, remarks, “There is a critical need to improve care among the rural and urban communities, especially those supported through the FQHC program. We are dedicated to delivering solutions that make advanced technologies accessible, easy to use, and directly impactful to quality of care for the 30 million Americans who are served by clinics facing the same challenges faced by SFHC and WSMC. No American should lose their eyesight due to missed screenings, nor suffer from the effects of hypertension through lack of monitoring, no matter where they live. Our AdaptivMD AI-powered clinical workflow solutions resolve many of the barriers to efficient, high-quality care for consumers living with chronic health conditions. Seamlessly integrating Verily’s retinal screening solution is just one of ASI’s answers to addressing these conditions.”

Rich Glenn, Head of Commercial and Care Delivery for Verily, adds, “Verily is uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology, data science and healthcare. Born at Google with a goal to tackle health’s biggest challenges, we are proud to see the work of our leading scientists in the hands of clinicians where it can have a positive impact on so many lives. We are pleased to have teamed up with Applied Science to seamlessly integrate data from our Retinal Service into the clinic’s core technology platform, where it can be immediately actionable, and simplify workflows for busy clinicians so they can focus on helping patients.”

¹https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/diabetes/increase-proportion-adults-diabetes-who-have-yearly-eye-exam-d-04

About Applied Science

Applied Science provides workflow automation and data integration platforms for whole blood collection and chronic care management. Through its HemoFlow brand, Applied Science is the industry-leading provider of automated workflow solutions for customers all over the world, from the American Red Cross to the UK’s National Health Service. By extending its automation and integration expertise to underserved healthcare communities, the Company is empowering health systems to manage outcomes remotely and efficiently for their patients with chronic conditions. Through advanced devices, services, informatics, and data tools that automate healthcare workflow processes, customers of Applied Science capture healthcare data that enable actionable intelligence. For more information, please visit applied-science.com.

About Sierra Family Health Center

Sierra Family was founded in 1982 when Dr. Peter Van Houten opened a rural private medical practice in the geographically isolated area of Nevada County known as North San Juan. The full-service family practice had two physicians, two nurse practitioners, and 24/7 medical-call. In 2016, Sierra Family was awarded Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) status through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Sierra Family’s mission is to provide quality healthcare and promote physical and mental wellness for the members of our rural communities across California’s beautiful Nevada County. For more information, please visit https://www.sierraclinic.org/.

About Western Sierra Medical Clinic

In 1975, community volunteers led by Frank Lang established a Western Sierra Medical Clinic in Downieville, providing primary care services. In 1987, Dr. Dee Dawkins founded Miners Clinic in Nevada County. The two health centers merged in 2010, expanding their mission. Western Sierra now operates health centers in Grass Valley, Auburn, Penn Valley, and Kings Beach-Tahoe, committed to community-focused healthcare. Western Sierra offers quality medical, dental and behavioral health care and continues to expand its specialties to meet the needs of the region’s residents, regardless of their income or insurance coverage. For more information, please visit https://wsmcmed.org.

About Verily

Verily is an Alphabet health technology company focused on research, care, and public health to deliver on the promise of precision health and help people live healthier lives. We are uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology, data science, and healthcare to create tools to accelerate evidence generation, products to enable more personalized care, and approaches to manage disease at a population level. For more information about the Verily Retinal Service, please visit: verily.com/solutions/numetric.

Source: Applied Science, Inc.