A three-year-old developer of vision screening kiosks is using a $1.2 million grant from the National Institute of Health to launch a more comprehensive self-service and wellness station.
SoloHealth was awarded the NIH grant on June 17 through the Small Business Innovation Research program, a collaboration between the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities. The grant will be used to expand the company's flagship EyeSite kiosk to address such health concerns as diabetes, obesity, eye health and vision, hypertension and nutrition.
"Vision in many aspects is viewed as a window to your overall health," said Bart Foster, the Atlanta-based company's CEO. He said the company's kiosks – nearly 100 deployed in select Kroger and Schnucks retail locations around the country – "take the technology to where the people are."
That technology will be important, he said, as the nation's healthcare system deals with an influx of some 30 million previously-uninsured Americans who will enter the healthcare space, thanks to healthcare reform. Without a corresponding increase in healthcare professionals to handle this influx, quick and effective access will be in demand.
Foster sees his company's kiosks as the next generation of the ubiquitous blood pressure machine now seen in pharmacies nationwide. With success in eight metropolitan areas with the EyeSite kiosk, he said, the company wants to target not only vision but hypertension and obesity – the three target areas for preventive health and wellness screening. Also, the kiosks are targeted for high-traffic environments like grocery stores, pharmacies, large employers and other public locations and aimed at people who might not otherwise have these screenings done.
Operating in both English and Spanish, the kiosks use interactive health screening software and self-reported health information to produce individualized reports for consumers. The customized reports also provide information on prevention, coupons for relevant products and services as well as doctor referrals to drive consumers to follow-up care and treatment.
"We're going to be the front porch for healthcare," Foster said.
That "front porch" is seen as an important stage in the battle to control surging healthcare costs and improve the nation's healthcare system. It was one of the chief topics of discussion during the recent conference held by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), and was the focus of University of California, San Francisco Professor of Pediatrics David A. Kessler's closing keynote.
"Health promotion, prevention and early detection efforts are among the NCMHD's priority areas of interest in seeking to improve health and eliminate health disparities," said John Ruffin of the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. "We are pleased to support research projects such as these that will guide our research efforts in addressing prevention and early detection of disease in health disparity populations."
"SoloHealth's Health and Wellness kiosks support the broader fundamental shift our healthcare system is making: moving away from treating illness and instead focusing on wellness," said Michael Frankel, a professor of neurology at the Emory University School of Medicine and chief of neurology and director of the Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. "This unique kiosk is specifically designed to reach out to underserved communities and engage individuals in the process of creating a healthy lifestyle that includes an ongoing relationship with a healthcare provider."
"This is critically important if we're going to diminish the excessive burden of stroke and other critical medical issues in these communities," he said. "The individual diagnostic data for each patient that the SoloHealth kiosk creates aids physicians in beginning their assessment and treatment programs for patients."