WellDoc®’s BlueStar® Now Available for Hypertension and Weight Management

BlueStar Provides One-Stop Solution for Managing Multiple Chronic Conditions


BALTIMORE, July 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WellDoc®, a leading digital health company, today announces hypertension and weight management solutions integrated within its digital therapeutic app for type 2 diabetes, BlueStar®. Later this year, WellDoc will launch its stand-alone product for individuals living with hypertension (high blood pressure) and stand-alone products are also in development for multiple chronic diseases.

“The American Diabetes Association reports that nearly 1 in 3 American adults has hypertension, and 2 in 3 people with diabetes have hypertension or take prescription medications to lower their blood pressure1,” said WellDoc President and CEO Kevin McRaith. “The combination of both conditions more than doubles the risk of stroke and heart attacks and should be treated in tandem. BlueStar is now a one-stop digital health solution to help individuals better manage their chronic diseases to achieve long-term health."

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in nine Americans has diabetes2 and one in three Americans has hypertension. Hypertension and diabetes—type 2 diabetes in particular—are two of the most common chronic diseases and often occur together. Typically, hypertension occurs prior to the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.3 In addition to heart disease, diabetes and hypertension together increase the risk of eye, kidney and nerve disease.4

“Individuals living with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing hypertension,” said Richard Katz, MD, Bloedorn Professor of Cardiology and Director of the Division of Cardiology and the Heart and Vascular Institute, George Washington University School of Medicine, who serves as a scientific advisor to WellDoc. “Together, diabetes and hypertension make up a deadly combination. We are addressing this chronic condition head on with the integration of the new features within BlueStar, which provides timely and real-time feedback.”

BlueStar now serves as a personal digital diabetes, hypertension and weight management coach that gives highly precise, real-time tips to help individuals living with multiple chronic diseases better self-manage their condition. Additionally, by having support for multiple chronic diseases on one digital therapeutic app, BlueStar can now synthesize important health data to give a more complete window into the lives of the individuals managing multiple conditions. Additionally, payers, employers and healthcare systems can streamline their resources by focusing on one digital health solution to help better manage their populations living with multiple and costly chronic diseases.

About BlueStar®
BlueStar®, powered by WellDoc®, is an FDA-cleared, proven digital therapeutic that is an in-app coach engaging people with type 2 diabetes. It delivers personalized, real-time feedback, as well as diabetes educational tools that are actionable and individualized. Specifically, WellDoc has developed more than 30 peer-reviewed publications and presentations on BlueStar, including two randomized, controlled clinical trials. Our clinical evidence shows a 1.7 to 2.0-point mean A1C reduction for adults living with type 2 diabetes who used BlueStar. In November 2017, the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science (formerly Quintiles/IMS) named BlueStar the “top app” in clinical diabetes treatment. BlueStar delivers an estimated average cost savings of $254-$271 per user per month, proven clinical outcomes and a net promoter member satisfaction score of 70. For more information on BlueStar, visit: www2.bluestardiabetes.com.

This year, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and WellDoc announced that Samsung Health users now have access to a new consumer version of WellDoc’s digital platform known as the Diabetes Wellness Program (DWP). The DWP, which is integrated within the Samsung Health service, is a 12-week health and wellness program designed to help adults with type 2 diabetes achieve a healthy lifestyle and to help manage their condition. More information on DWP is available at: www.welldoc.com/diabeteswellness

About WellDoc®
WellDoc® is a leading digital therapeutic company revolutionizing chronic disease management to help transform lives. Our groundbreaking technology is guiding individuals through the complicated journey of living with chronic diseases, with a goal of helping individuals self-manage their conditions to achieve significant clinical outcomes and cost savings. We began our journey by mastering diabetes management solutions and are moving rapidly into creating additional tools for managing other chronic diseases including hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and congestive heart failure (CHF). We are the first digital health company based on a life science business model with a foundation that is built on randomized clinical trials that demonstrate significant clinical outcomes. We have taken an aggressive and innovative approach that utilizes sophisticated logic, precise algorithms, and artificial intelligence (AI), which integrates the most advanced mobile technology and behavioral insights. WellDoc partners with, collaborates with, and is backed by top healthcare companies (including Merck and Johnson and Johnson), leading innovators, dedicated investors, and top mobile technology companies (such as Samsung). For more information, visit www.welldoc.com.

Media Contact:
Juliette Bogus
PressComm PR
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Email: juliettebogus@presscommpr.com

1 American Diabetes Association http://www.diabetes.org/are-you-at-risk/lower-your-risk/bloodpressure.html

2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2017. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pdfs/data/statistics/national-diabetes-statistics-report.pdf. Accessed May 22, 2018.

3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. High Blood Pressure. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services.  https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/index.htm. Accessed May 22, 2018.

4 NCBI US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, The Comorbidities of Diabetes and Hypertension: Mechanisms and Approach to Target Organ Protection. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3746062/