MIT Solve

Solution Overview & Team Lead Details

Solution name.

Peopl

Provide a one-line summary of your solution.

PEOPL is a GPT3-based chatbot that optimizes the treatment adherence of chronic-disease patients

What specific problem are you trying to solve?

Every year, +3 million patients die because of treatment non-adherence. Besides, this treatment non-adherence causes an economic loss of +$637 Billion to pharma companies. Three of the causes of this treatment non-adherence are: 1) patients are not well-educated about the options and relevance for following their treatment, 2) patients have logistical and planning issues for attending hospital appointments and taking their medications on time, and 3) disease is emotionally exhausting for the patient. Pharma companies try to tackle these problems by creating Patient Support Programs (PSPs). PSPs can pay a taxi for the patient to get to the hospital, give discounts on medications, and even call the patient every 2 weeks to assess his emotional status. In Peru, PSPs cost up to USD$150K and work for just 200 patients. Worldwide, pharma companies spend up to 10% of their annual budget on initiatives for increasing treatment adherence.

Elevator pitch

What is your solution?

PEOPL has developed a chatbot called Pipo that tackles the problem through a community-driven approach. By GPT-3 and Whatsapp, this virtual assistant helps the patient not to forget his medications, attend his medical appointments on time, and remember all the essential information about his treatment. On the other hand, the community of +1000 patients that we have is constantly informed about new treatment options and strategies for coping with the emotional burden of the disease.

Who does your solution serve? In what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Our main focus is on patients that come from spanish-speaking communities. Starting with spanish-speaking oncological patients (9.6MM patients counting latino communities in the US and latin American). Most of them are women between the ages of 35 and 50, whose relationships are over, whose bodies are changing, and whose ability to work and take care of their children is impaired.

Public services in Latam are far away to be efficient, which leads to oncological patients feeling stressed and anxious because of a lack of information, multiple medical appointments, and loneliness. With Peopl, we offer them a virtual assistant, powered by AI through Whatsapp that works as an everyday companion, virtual agenda and emotional support, that helos them to face every step of the treatment.

How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?

Three of our members, Piero Cosme, Briggite Ocampo and Nickolay Rojas, are bioengineers with experience founding a prosthesis startup, and bioengineer research projects published in scientific journals.

Kate Lu has experience in accelerating and investing in technological companies. And building education communities for women.

Sebastian Hurtado is a software engineer with +4 years building infrastructure for startups.

What steps have you taken to understand the needs of the population you want to serve?

Every member of our team has been a companion for an oncological patient. We have experienced the need by assisting our parents, grandparents, and uncles with cancer. We have also conducted pilot programs with different NGOs and we always recollect feedback from our +1200 patients from +12 countries worldwide.

Which aspects of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Improving healthcare access and health outcomes; and reducing and ultimately eliminating health disparities (Health)

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Pilot: An organization deploying a tested product, service, or business model in at least one community

In what city, town, or region is your solution team located?

Lima, Perú

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Piero Cosme