Founded with a mission to target the opioid crisis in the U.S., a local mobile health company has expanded its technology to battle against alcohol and tobacco addiction.
DynamiCare, an Inno 2019 “50 on Fire” winner, has released data showing that its recovery platform can increase quit rates two-three times more than average recovery systems for drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
Three government-funded studies by academic researchers at John Hopkins University, Western Michigan University and The University of Vermont were published by peer-reviewed journals showing the company’s success with recovering addicts, company officials said. The studies, which took place over three-to-nine month periods at addiction-treatment programs such as BrightView in Ohio and Gosnold Inc. in Massachusetts, were published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment and Preventive Medicine.
Compared to traditional rehab centers or hospital care facilities to fight addiction, “we try to automate as much as we can through technology and then add on the coach as a layer of human touch and support,” CEO Eric Gastfriend said.
Since the studies have been released, the company has obtained partnerships with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and Anthem.
Due to the results, the National Institutes of Health has awarded DynamiCare a $1.6M grant for an expanded trial with 300 participants, which was recently launched in Vermont.
Total funding for the company outside of its most recent grant, is $4M in equity funding, $3M in grants & prizes and $1.25M from MassDevelopment.
DynamiCare users can sign up themselves for the platform or be nominated to sign up by loved ones. At registration, each user is matched with a personal recovery coach who will work with them for the duration of the program.
Throughout the program, users are sent random alerts to take sobriety tests. Tests must be video recorded and uploaded to the application. Upon passing the test, users are awarded financially through a visa card. These financial incentives usually amount to around $100 a month and can be spent on anything except alcohol. The card also blocks cash withdrawals.
