A Houston-based health tech startup plans to begin rolling out its products nationwide later this year.
EllieGrid, which develops a “smart” pillbox device with smartphone integration, will begin selling its product in CVS HealthHub locations in June or July of this summer, said Abe Matamoros, EllieGrid co-founder and CEO. The Houston company’s product, dubbed Ellie, is a connected pillbox that organizes medications, reminds patients to take their pills and uses sensors to track compliance.
The Covid-19 crisis accelerated the adoption of EllieGrid’s smart pillbox technology, Matamoros said. With many elective procedures put on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, providers still needed ways to make sure their patients were taking their medication as prescribed. EllieGrid has largely marketed its product directly to consumers, but Matamoros said the company sees a lot of opportunity in partnering with large health care organizations and pharmacies, like CVS.
“With EllieGrid, they can not only give them this pillbox that makes management easier, but they can track it,” Matamoros said. “By tracking it, they’re able to really optimize their resources and reach out to the people that aren’t being compliant.”
EllieGrid’s chief product is its smart pillbox, but Matamoros said large health care organizations see a lot of value in EllieGrid’s ability to track medication compliance over time. He said some organizations are using EllieGrid during clinical trials to ensure patients adhere to the correct medication regimen in an attempt to avoid problems with flawed clinical data. EllieGrid charges hospitals a monthly fee to access data on their patients, Matamoros said.
“Without the pillbox, there would be no data,” Matamoros said. “But [EllieGrid] is 100% about the data.”
Matamoros said that EllieGrid takes privacy very seriously. The company does not share patient data with an outside organization if a customer purchases a pillbox from a retail store or online.
Rhode Island-based CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) has 24 HealthHub locations in the greater Houston region, according to the company's website. The drugstore giant initially piloted three HealthHubs locally and announced in January 2020 it would expand the number of HealthHub locations in the Houston region. HealthHub locations offer a broad range of health care services, new product categories, digital tools and on-demand health kiosks.
