These two Forbes’ “30 Under 30” 2021 award winners and co-founders are reinventing the experience surgical patients face.
As the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged countries and populations throughout the world in 2020, healthcare professionals struggled to keep up with the growing list of symptoms and effects the deadly virus could inflict. Though, now that vaccine rollouts are officially in place in multiple countries, many of the virus’s long-term effects – including fatigue, pain, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, and memory problems, according to the Mayo Clinic – have yet to be fully documented and understood.
One additional and troubling correlation between COVID-19 and the patients it infects, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), is as BMI increases, so does the risk of death from COVID-19. In fact, COVID-19 patients whose BMI categorizes them as obese (BMI greater than 30) or bariatric (BMI greater than 40) may triple the threat of hospitalization due to a COVID-19 infection because of the documented correlations between obesity and impaired immune function and diminished lung capacity – which adversely impacts ventilation in patients with the worst COVID-19 symptoms.
Due to this increased risk, one company has dedicated their mission to connecting the country’s top bariatric surgeons to patients in this category in the hopes to both better understand the effects COVID-19 can have on bariatric patients, as well as unlock new ways for patients to undergo bariatric surgery to prevent them from being at higher risk of COVID-19’s potentially deadly effects.
Formerly known as Rightdevice, PatientParter is a company that aims to reinvent the experience bariatric patients face by connecting current surgical patients to those who have recently undergone the same or similar procedure. PatientPartner has recently onboarded 20 of the top bariatric surgeons in the Los Angeles/Orange County, California area. The company’s pilot rollout focuses on this geographical area due to the opportunity to impact the area’s bariatric community. PatientParter hopes to highlight the benefits that bariatric surgery procedures can have on patients who qualify for the surgery, which includes more than 40-percent of the Los Angeles population, especially considering the impact which information coming directly from past bariatric surgery patients can have on new ones.
Patrick Frank, one of the co-founders of PatientPartner, says, “We are launching our bariatric PatientPartner program in Los Angeles because of the large number of patients who could benefit from meeting and talking with a PatientPartner. We are working with the top bariatric surgeons in the area and have the most experienced patients who are wanting to help others.”
George Kramb, Frank’s co-founder in PatientPartner, adds, “We believe that our PatientPartner program can bring tremendous awareness and support to patients in the L.A. metro area.”
Frank and Kramb recently made the Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list for 2021, which recognizes the top young entrepreneurs across the nation.
Frank and Kramb are united in their mission to utilize PatientPartner as a platform to help patients navigate the fear and uncertainties that arise with the journey of undergoing bariatric surgery. The platform is truly innovative in its ability to turn the daunting surgical process into a positive and comforting experience by connecting pre-surgical bariatric patients with fully recovered patients who have gone through the same surgery, often with the same surgeon. The key to their platform is that they are able to connect patients based on relatable experiences and pair patients to others who are the most similar to themselves.
However, the PatientPartner’s program is not only designed to assist current and former patients. The company’s platform would likewise assist surgeons, hospitals, as well as healthcare companies in building a long-term referral network of patients by creating a unique, one-of-a-kind patient experience. Their peer-to-peer patient advocacy program gives users the opportunity to learn from real experiences and helps empower patients to achieve more successful outcomes through connectivity.
For those who have been thinking or talking about regaining control of their physical health, there has never been a better time for a company like PatientPartner to make an impact. Not only is it more important than ever to maintain a focus on improving our health, but due to the social impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had over the past year, including the mass shift in the workforce to move to digital and/or remote platforms, it is also important that patients who undergo bariatric surgery be able to return to their remote work much faster.
PatientPartner empowers and educates patients by providing personalized one-on-one support through relatable experiences. Our mission is rooted in the value of giving back. Our PatientPartners are volunteers who generously give back to you, so you have the emotional support you need. They have been through it and recognize how important it is to have a support network. We give back to our PatientPartners by donating to the charity of their choice for their generosity. Visit www.patientpartner.com today to learn more.