Family Proud

Medical expenses are the number one reason families go bankrupt in the United States and healthcare inequality is a global issue. Family Proud provides an innovative software technology that streamlines all care resources for patients and families into one platform: Patient Care Management, Social Service Connectivity, Peer-to-Peer Facilitation, and Financial Support. The proposed product’s key technological innovation is the socio-demographic matching algorithm underpinning the peer-to-peer emotional support resource. Family Proud will  provide a societal value by helping millions of patients obtain equitable healthcare and address their needs to connect with family, friends, and other caregivers to overcome tasks and expenses related to their health issues.

In the United States, 61 million citizens live with a disability and 6 in 10 adults suffer from cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, and chronic diseases of the heart, respiratory system, and kidneys. This is a tremendous economic and social burden for patients and their families, the expected customers for the innovation. The US healthcare system is one of the most expensive worldwide. Patients  can be covered in part by private or public insurance, or it can be the patient’s full responsibility if he/she is one of the 26 million uninsured Americans. Their financial strain can be further aggravated by indirect costs such as lost wages, legal services, transportation to and from treatment, lodging near treatment facilities, childcare, mental health services, and so on. CMS.gov estimates that out-of-pocket medical expenses have reached over $360B per year in the US alone. Additionally, healthcare facility locations are unevenly distributed within the US which can be particularly burdensome for patients and families in isolated rural areas. By 2022, the Global Mobile Health Market is expected to reach $22.31 Billion with the U.S. holding the largest share, 35.1% or $7.83 Billion. 

Family Proud is an adaptable web and mobile technology platform, which can be accessed free-of-charge by patients and families in need. On the platform, patients will be able to receive financial assistance, treatment consults, online peer-to-peer collaborations, and care coordination with their family and trusted network. The software will connect patients and families to critical care resources, which will lighten their medical-related challenges and reduce demands on social workers. This will ultimately impact a community’s Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) at scale. 

The Family Proud platform a is designed to support patients and informal caregivers physically, emotionally, logistically, and financially. It also matches and provides access to much needed disease and treatment information. This will impact a community’s Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) at scale. SDOHs are the social, economic and physical “conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play”, which are responsible for health inequalities.

Family Proud is focused on supporting patients and their caregivers, with a initial focus on pediatric cancer. The initial rollout of the platform has included a partnership with a children's hospital and local organizations such as the American Cancer Society and YMCA Livestrong. Within this segment, the specific initial target users will be families of kids with cancer. The Coalition Against Childhood cancer estimates that the average cost of a stay in a hospital for a child with cancer is $40,000 per stay. It also states that childhood cancer threatens every aspect of a family’s life, which is why cancer treatment must include psychosocial care [44]. Treating cancer can take a very long time and usually reoccurs or leads to other illnesses over the course of a childhood patient’s life. Parents’ motivation level for using a platform like Family Proud’s, to ease some of their child’s emotional challenges and help lower their own financial obligations, was subjectively measured to be very high. Additionally, given that cancer care-related expenses are significant, Family Proud can help fill some of the financial gaps throughout a very lengthy treatment cycle, and keep a percentage of each transaction in the process.

Families do not see borders and at scale, our ability to account for sociodemographic variables, language, culture and religion all tie back to healthy families and strong communities. The platform can also be used to track the spread of an outbreak as push notifications can be enabled to a wider community to identify who has been impacted. Family Proud can also be used by health care workers to provide support prior, during and post an outbreak. Mental health impacts are significant. Ultimately, Family Proud allows for a stronger community leading to stronger support for one another and improved health outcomes.

Family Proud’s proposed product will be the first online care management technology platform that is all-encompassing. It has an integrated patient care network and is an emotional support and financial resource tool, which is accessible to anyone who downloads the application. Patients are able to receive 360-degree support using only one app. The company’s technology platform does not limit users by what specific illness they are being treated for. It also does not just facilitate emotional support, but also gives patients access to valuable resources, communication tools, and fundraising avenues to help pay for the OOP expense not covered by health insurance.

There are several online care management or fundraising platforms on the market. NONE of them combines financial and product support with social support and care coordination like the Family Proud App and platform does. Some companies, like CancerAid, only target patients with cancer and ignore other types of illnesses. Others, MyHealthTeams for example, focus entirely on social networking but ignore fundraising. CaringBridge offers similar features to what is available on the Family Proud platform, but is a not-for-profit entity and entirely dependent on donor contributions. 

Additionally, Family Proud’s proposed platform will leverage a proprietary Peer-to-Peer socio-demographic patient matching algorithm, which will access a global support network and bring together individuals suffering from similar illnesses to provide each other understanding, encouragement, and other advice on a 24/7 basis.

Family Proud currently exists as a web-based application built using the React Javascript framework and Google's Firebase as a backend. Cloud Firestore is utilized as a NoSQL datastore for application data, but much of it will be broken out into relational SQL databases as the platform is moved towards a microservices-based architecture. Serverless cloud functions drive much of the backend operations and, where those are insufficient, containerized services are built as API gateways, data processors, and administrative functions. All of the code is written with a test-first mindset, continually integrated and deployed to focus on application development rather than supervised deployments and devops tasks.

 Technical milestones plan:

1. The mobile app will undergo user testing before the final prototype is locked.

2. Results from stakeholder and user research, and their implications for the success of the platform, will be prioritized in terms of their potential impact and feasibility. The high potential/feasible items will be implemented.

3. The Peer-to-Peer Matching algorithm will be developed and validated with a larger test dataset that is not captured directly from user interactions on the platform. The algorithm will be integrated and made functional on the web-based application, then ported to iOS and Android, and fine-tuned via multiple iterations that include stakeholder and end-user research. 

4. Additional HIPAA-compliant security protocols and systems, such as blockchain-enabled authentication, will be implemented if required. 

5. Security and privacy issues on the platform will be incorporated into technology builds and evaluated by users. 

Software

Family Proud also has the support of the Rady Children’s Hospital, where it is running a pilot program for the Social Worker section of the app, and has received a Letter of Support from the Chief of Staff as well as qualitative testimonials. Other potential future partners include Scripps Health and Sharp Healthcare (see Letters of Support). The company also has partnerships with TaskRabbit, an online and mobile platform that was founded in 2008 and matches freelance labor with local demand (acquired by IKEA in 2017), and Sun Basket, which is a certified organic meal delivery service based in San Francisco. These partners supply some of the goods and services (home maintenance and other tasks, food delivery, etc.) that will be  available for purchase on the Family Proud platform by caregivers, family, and friends of the patient. The next step will be to contact and collaborate with other San Diego Hospitals such as Scripps, Sharp, CHOC Children, the health care insurer Kaiser Central Valley, and the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

The scientific feasibility of the Family Proud app is driven by systematic user research. User Research with stakeholders and target users in pediatric oncology began in 2018. One-on-one interviews with adult patients, caregivers, and social workers in pediatric and adult oncology were used to gather information on their needs. Major findings were that 1) patients and families rarely, if ever, met with a social worker; 2) while family and friends are important for patients, many seek and benefit from connections with other patients; 3) patients have diverse needs for services; and 4) patients in remote areas have a greater need for video conferencing over other modes of telecommunication.

Subsequent research explored these initial case findings further. One follow-up online survey found that more than two thirds of the respondents had never had contact with a social worker. This was consistent with reports in the literature that social worker to patient ratios in healthcare settings are abysmally low. A user acceptability test (UAT) on a web-based minimum viable product (MVP) version with current patients, survivors of cancer, and caregivers showed that patients valued the peer-to-peer matching feature the most. Results also suggested the basic design of user flow posed navigation challenges. A rework of the user flow was integrated in a subsequent iteration. In April 2019, an online survey with n=33 respondents indicated that the top 5 products/services most valuable for cancer patients are hand sanitizer, lip balm, headwear [hat, cap, wigs, etc.], warm blankets, and rides to/from the doctor. These results provided a basis for plans to include a gift registry and rideshare features. 

The development of mobile app prototype with input from user research will increase market accessibility, mitigating market failure risks of the mobile app from a technical and user acceptance perspective based on frameworks  for designing digital health interventions and theories of online social support. Work proposed to develop the peer-matching algorithm will enable Family Proud to provide a highly-valued feature for users. 

Current: 151

1 year: 50,000

5 years: 1 M

Family Proud's goals in the next year is to conduct a full launch within Southern California to grow our user base to 50,000. This includes increasing our channel partnerships to support our growth. Within the next five years, our goal is to be able to add Spanish as our second language capability and expand to the greater United States while developing our globalization strategy.

The barriers associated with any form of digital engagement are high, which is why channel partners are critical to keep our CAC low and assist in our go to market strategy. Funding is also always a barrier to support product and staff but can never be leaned on as a show stopper. For a technology to properly scale, it does require the right team however. I feel we have the right team to execute as we have been, however it is time to grow and impact more families.

Family Proud will lean on its strong community of advisors and relationships established through our accelerator program. It is important in the space of social impact to always be open and identify ways to collaborate with others.

Funding is difficult right now with our lower metrics. Ultimately we need the product and numbers to speak for themselves but there is no easy answer to mitigate funding as a barrier. :)

Family Proud has five full time staff and ten part-time.

Jaden Risner, CEO & Co-Founder –

Mr. Risner is a graduate of the Naval Academy, UCSD MBA, and was a Naval Aviator for over 12 years. Under his leadership, he helped hospitalized Navy Sailors expand their support networks while away from their families. The vision for Family Proud was strengthened after his own mother suffered a heart attack, and he was personally faced with the struggle of providing long distance care.

Kris Triplett, CTO –r

Mr. Triplett is a United States Marine Corps Veteran. Mr. Triplett has working experience with the full software development lifecycle and test-driven development. 

Trevor Prophet, COO  –

Stanford MBA & M.S., Naval Aviator and licensed Professional Engineer, with 14 years of experience in instructional and managerial roles. Mr. Prophet is dedicated to a “mission first, people always” principle. He is an expert in user research, design thinking, user-centered design (UCD) and prototype ideation for early stage ventures. 

Clay Treska, Strategy

Healthcare Business Strategy and Technology Startup Business Leader specializing in strategic planning, joint ventures, strategic affiliations, with focuses in risk mitigation, margin generation, and programmatic expansion. As a former United States Marine Corps wounded warrior and two-time cancer survivor, strategic level healthcare delivery is not an occupation, it is his life. 

Pamela Kato, Ed.M., Ph.D.: Scientific Research Consultant - International thought leader and keynote speaker with experience in academia and industry around health and behavior change. Key strengths are Analytical Skills, Research Design, User Research, Outcomes Evaluation, Instructional Design, Lecturing, Scientific Writing, and Game Design. 

Rady Children's Hospital - V1 Pilot

Scripps MD Anderson - Introduces Family Proud as a resource tool

PenFed Foundation - Strategic partner 

Nex Cubed - Digital Health Accelerator, Portfolio Company

The Family Proud web platform and app will be made available free of charge to patients and their family, friends, and caregivers. The company will generate revenue using two different strategies.

• User Transactions (B2B2C): As the Family Proud care registry distributes OOP expenses from the patient-family in need to their support network, Family Proud keeps a percentage of each transaction along with affiliate marketing, subscription, and product/service referral fees.

• Partnerships and Licensing (B2B): Through the Family Proud Platform, business partners such as financial lenders, medical equipment manufacturers, medical supply distributors, pharmaceutical companies, and so on will be able to advertise, sell, and distribute their products and services to patients and caregivers. Some of the target industries, which will make their products available on the platform are food, professional care, transportation, health/wellness care items, holistic health services, and housing.

Family Proud is currently undergoing our pre-seed round. We have also received a Phase I SBIR contract from the U.S. Air Force. We have a pending Phase II SBIR with the Air Force as well as a Phase I National Science Foundation award.