Electronic Caregiver launches new avatars and features on virtual platform

Electronic Caregiver (ECG), a national health technology company, has announced the launch of several new avatars and features on its digital healthcare management platform, Addison Care.

“The newly launched features are part of continuous updates planned for Addison Care with the goal of making the platform the best possible system for customers in terms of both health care and companionship,” ECG said in a news release.

Addison Care, publicly released in January, is “an all-in-one telecare solution that connects the patient with primary care, emergency response, friends and family,” ECG said. Addison, a 3D-animated virtual caregiver, helps monitor the health of aging and chronically ill clients of all ages via a dedicated Lenovo all-in-one computer or tablet. Clients interact with Addison and the surrounding environment through voice and touch.

“Addison Care will revolutionize how we support, monitor, and coordinate care for patients, caregivers, and older adults at home,” said ECG founder and CEO Anthony Dohrmann. “With 33 percent of our doctors at or past average retirement age, alongside rising demand with the chronically ill and aging, Addison fills the gaps in care, improves treatment adherence, and helps early-identify changes in health status. Addison helps doctors fine tune and personalize treatment plans in real time and empowers health providers to deliver more services to more patients. This results in better outcomes, lower mortalities, and extended quality lifespan.”

Originally released with just one flagship character, Addison Care will now include four additional living avatars, representing diverse cultural ethnicities.

“Representation matters,” said Addison Product Owner Samuel Blake. “Electronic Caregiver’s art team identified a long time ago that one type of avatar may not best reflect our end user, and we’ve found that people are more willing to use a system if they feel they’re represented in that system in meaningful and personal fashion.”

Other newly released features include the integration of dynamic reminders, the option to put Addison in sleep mode and the ability to have familiar, festive décor appear within the virtual caregiver’s living space around various holidays, ECG said.

“Along with medication reminders, clients now have the option to set dynamic reminders based on their specific goals and needs,” the news release said.

While sleep mode will allow users to temporarily shut down and darken Addison’s screen, “she will come alive if there is an emergency call placed, a reminder comes in or the client brings Addison out of sleep mode by tapping the screen or saying, ‘Addison, wake up,’” the news release said. “Addison will also now perform customizable, automated, interactive health surveys and assessments, along with health network integration to report actionable data points.”

Holiday décor options include Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan, New Year’s, birthdays, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day and more, ECG said.

“Keeping clients engaged in their health care is vital,” ECG said. “According to an article published by The Permanente Journal, ‘nonadherence to prescribed treatment is thought to cause at least 100,000 preventable deaths and $100 billion in preventable medical costs per year.’”

Addison also “moves healthcare beyond the mobile health app and is designed with the elderly in mind,” the news release said. “A survey from the University of Michigan showed that while health apps could help older adults better track health goals and manage chronic illness, “’less than 1 in 3 people over 50 currently use them for any purpose, and only 28 percent of people with diabetes use them to track blood sugar levels.’

ECG was founded in 2009 and is located in Electronic Caregiver Tower, 506 S. Main St.

Visit www.electroniccaregiver.com.