Patient Stories

What's the most important gift we can give?

Chris Altchek
Chris Altchek
December 14, 2021
What's the most important gift we can give?

I recently heard the story of David, a 78-year-old North Carolina man who lives with heart failure. Earlier this year, David and his cardiologist decided to support his condition using Cadence. Reflecting on this decision, David said, "I want to live a long and happy life, and I want my children to be proud of me for the rest of my life.”

 

David’s wish is universal. And the past two years have brought this into sharper focus for all of us: Our time on this earth is limited, and how we spend it is the most important decision any of us make. 


So why did I choose to dedicate the next decade of my life to building Cadence? 

Because Cadence is an opportunity to give people more time. 

  

Chronic conditions impact more than half of all seniors in America, and the plain truth is that the current system is failing to treat them. Today’s clinicians and patients know firsthand that consistent, world-class healthcare is difficult for individuals to obtain on their own, and nearly impossible for clinicians to deliver at scale. This results in a lower quality of life for people living with chronic conditions, and unfortunately, higher-than-necessary mortality rates.

 

Today, fewer than half of patients with chronic conditions are prescribed or follow medically recommended guidelines (1). For example, as few as 13% of eligible heart failure patients in the U.S are prescribed guideline-directed medical therapies, despite research showing that doing so may reduce risk of death by 73% over two years (2). This isn’t because patients are stubborn, or don’t care about their health. It’s because chronic conditions require close, clinical attention and daily monitoring that isn’t widely available today.

 

We’re changing that. Cadence is partnering with the largest and most progressive health systems in the U.S. We make it easy for patients to actively engage in the management of their conditions by seamlessly sharing vitals and symptoms remotely, with access to responsive care teams anytime. 


Cadence makes it easier for medical professionals by extending their practices with virtual teams of world-class clinicians. And finally, health systems benefit from our cutting-edge software and personal devices that make it possible to support hundreds of thousands of patients concurrently.

 

It’s working. Over 90% of eligible patients are enrolling, using devices daily, and participating in virtual follow-ups regularly through our partnership with LifePoint Health.


Our vision is to bring more responsive, personalized, and data-driven care to patients in the comfort of their own homes. We started with a focus on chronic conditions, because that’s where the problem is most urgent, but we’re building a future in which seamless, continuous care can prevent diseases, and improve everyone’s quality of life.  


Today, I’m thrilled to announce that we’ve raised our Series B funding to help tens of thousands of physicians deliver care that is more personal, responsive, and data-driven to tens of millions of patients. 

 

Our work for the next decade will be challenging, but it will always be guided by a simple mission: to give patients and their families more time, and help clinicians deliver care they can be proud of. 

 

So here’s to the gift of time. For millions of people living with chronic conditions, their families, and those who dedicate their lives to helping them. As David put it: “Without Cadence, I don’t think it would be possible for you to do that.”


If you’re interested in spending your next decade with us, please get in touch.

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1 - Zaugg V, Korb-Savoldelli V, Durieux P, Sabatier B. Providing physicians with feedback on medication adherence for people with chronic diseases taking long-term medication. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Jan 10;1(1):CD012042. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012042.pub2. PMID: 29320600; PMCID: PMC6491069.

2 - Greene SJ, Butler J, Albert NM, DeVore AD, Sharma PP, Duffy CI, Hill CL, McCague K, Mi X, Patterson JH, Spertus JA, Thomas L, Williams FB, Hernandez AF, Fonarow GC. Medical Therapy for Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: The CHAMP-HF Registry. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018 Jul 24;72(4):351-366. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2018.04.070. PMID: 30025570.

Greene SJ, Butler J, Fonarow GC. Simultaneous or Rapid Sequence Initiation of Quadruple Medical Therapy for Heart Failure-Optimizing Therapy With the Need for Speed. JAMA Cardiol. 2021 Jul 1;6(7):743-744. doi: 10.1001/jamacardio.2021.0496. PMID: 33787823.



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Author Bio
Chris Altchek

Chris is the CEO and Founder of Cadence, the health tech company helping health systems deliver world-class care to patients at home throughout the U.S.

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