Across

Currently, the lack of sharing health data across countries almost entirely prevents individuals from accessing their medical records while traveling, posing a significant challenge. The problem we are solving affects International Travellers and Medical Tourists. International Travellers: According to the UNWTO (United Nation World Tourism Organization), more than 900 million people globally traveled in 2022. Among these travelers were frequent flyers, including those traveling for business and leisure, who may find themselves in need of their medical information in the case of accidents or medical emergencies. In the UK alone, travel insurers paid out £209 million in reimbursements for medical conditions in 2018. This number is expected to be much higher post the pandemic. Research shows that around 10-42% travellers develop illness during or after their journey.  

Medical Tourists: The medical tourism market projects a worth of $35.9 billion by 2032, with 14 million people specifically traveling for medical care in 2022. Within the UK, the NHS has a waiting list of 7.2 million people, leading individuals to resort to private healthcare or seek treatment abroad. Unfortunately, their data becomes inaccessible due to locked IT systems in Primary and Secondary care. Even formal requests for access to this data in cities like London can take 2-4 weeks to process. Despite technological advancements, a significant number of Brits and Americans still carry stacks of paper records while traveling for medical, dental, and cosmetic procedures, particularly in regions such as Asia and Latin America. 

In our interviews with over 100 stakeholders in the UK, doctors highlighted the difficulties they face in making accurate diagnoses due to the lack of context and authenticity of the provided information. Travelers, on the other hand, expressed frustration in accessing their medical records, which often prove useless due to translation issues and nuances in medical data entry. People are tied on time and money during travel and the current system does not help make their situation easier. Therefore, enabling patients to have control over their health by granting them quick, secure, and effortless access to their complete medical history becomes crucial.  

Across enables travelers to access their health records on the go and provide it to their healthcare providers. Across has three interconnected subsystems.  a. A patient-facing app to facilitate secure access to health information.

b. A secure global EHR exchange system leveraging FHIR (the global standard for health information exchange) and API keys (for user authentication). This enables the international health systems to exchange health records reliably and securely.

c. A practice dashboard: This enables the GP to access the treatment history of when their patient was away. This closes the loop on care-data.

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Patients: 

·       Allows them to securely access their entire health history anytime, anywhere 

·       Reduces need to carry stacks of physical records 

·       Saves costs of care by removing the need of repeat procedures due to lack of information 

·       Increases convenience of accessing affordable care in other countries 

·       Ensures continuity of care for patients with chronic conditions who get treated outside their home countries

Home-country hospitals: 

·       Access to information on international treatments to ensure continuity of care 

·       Reduced burden on staff to process emergency data requests from patients and foreign hospitals 

·       Improved navigation of patient records through machine-learning powered context-based search 

Visiting-country hospitals: 

·       Secure access to complete patient information 

·       Improved clinical decision making 

·       Translated records to ensure language is not a barrier to diagnosis 

·       Improved efficiency ensures hospitals can see more patients and increase revenue 

Across serves the following:

a.     International Travellers: Across serves a wide range of travellers, including frequent flyers, those with chronic illnesses, and medical tourists. By providing quick and easy access to their medical data while travelling, our solution can have a significant impact on their lives. Frequent flyers spend a considerable amount of time abroad and are at risk of needing medical care from a hospital that may not have access to their medical information. Across will ensure that their medical data is readily available to healthcare providers in case of an emergency, leading to better decision-making and quality of care. Travellers with chronic illnesses face a similar scenario. They may need to take long-term life-saving medication, which may not be available (forgotten or lost) while they are away. Our solution enables healthcare providers to access their medical data and ensure that they receive the necessary medication, reducing the need for re-diagnosis and saving time and cost. 

b.      Medical tourists can also benefit from Across as it can streamline the process of accessing medical data and reduce the hassle of pre-requesting medical documents weeks before travelling or giving a medical history by word of mouth. 

c.      Healthcare providers are another crucial customer segment that is currently underserved. They often spend too much time on administrative tasks, such as accessing patient data, which can be frustrating and inefficient. In some cases, they may even need to repeat tests or procedures that have already been done elsewhere. This not only wastes time and money, but also creates unnecessary stress and uncertainty for healthcare providers, which can compromise the quality of care they provide. To improve the lives of healthcare providers, we need to reduce their administrative burdens and provide better access to patient data, so they can focus on what really matters: delivering high-quality care to their patients. 

d.     Travel Insurers provide coverage for patient healthcare while abroad. Their main focus is to generate profit, attract more customers, and reduce expenditure on reimbursements. Travel insurers can benefit from Across by reducing the amount spent on reimbursements for repeat tests and procedures, their policies and packages will also become more appealing thus increasing their sales. 

Across emerged from Noorain's personal experience, which had a profound impact on her. Her uncle was diagnosed with COVID-19 during a business trip to the USA and had unfortunately not brought any medical records due to the short duration of his stay.  

Complicating matters further, he had a long history of heart disease, which posed significant challenges in his treatment. Despite his painful three-week hospitalization, the lack of past records left her uncle and the entire family feeling helpless and concerned. This experience motivated Noorain to research digital solutions for securely carrying health data across different countries. However, she was disappointed by the available options she found.  

In November 2020, she presented her idea at the DigiEduHack, hosted by EIT Health Spain, and it won first place. Encouraged by the positive feedback from the jury, she decided to pursue the concept actively. To gain a deeper understanding of global health systems, she worked at a HealthTech company in the US for a year. This experience provided valuable insights into the infrastructure and revealed the key pain points faced by patients and doctors. It also made her keenly aware of the existing shortcomings in the healthcare industry. Inspired by this newfound knowledge, she enrolled in the MedTech Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at King's College London to develop her idea further. 

 With the guidance of her supervisor, Prof. Prashant Jha, a Medtech Guru with over 2 decades of experience in developing impactful solutions, a diverse and talented team of individuals was assembled from Asia and Europe who shared a passion for creating impactful solutions. Our team includes members from the engineering and business schools at King's and is united by our collective experiences of witnessing inefficient care due to limited access to data while abroad. In April 2023, we officially established Across Medical.  

We conducted over 100 interviews across the UK to identify pain points with the aim of iterating our design to address market needs with the features of our product.  

We are embedded in Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS foundation trust, one of the busiest NHS trusts in England and one of the most diverse populations in the world – Lambeth. This enables us to actively collaborate with GPs, specialists, and A&E staff while receiving valuable mentorship from the NHS Spine, a dedicated vertical within the NHS focused on improving healthcare provider access to information. 

 We recognize that our greatest strength lies in our diverse team and our unwavering passion for solving this unmet need. We are determined to continually learn, adapt, and unlock the true potential of Across to help diminish the barriers posed by national borders when it comes to accessing quality healthcare. With support from renowned institutions and the collective efforts of our team, we aim to make a significant impact and empower individuals to have seamless access to their health data across different countries. Together, let's build a future where healthcare knows no boundaries. 

We have developed an initial version of the product and are currently iterating its design based on feedback we receive from key stakeholders. 

Our product is currently in the prototype stage, but based on the secondary data available and keeping our estimates conservative at 1% of the total available market we are estimated to serve approximately 9 million travellers each year. Breaking this down even further while keeping the estimate at 1% of total market size if we consider just medical tourists this would be 140,000 customers. Our team is working actively developing on MVP to commence onboarding of users to better understand their needs. 

We are keen on applying to Solve as a UK-based company seeking to expand our institutional partnerships and networks. Our primary focus is on the healthcare sector, and we believe that Solve's peer network can offer us valuable insights, guidance, and support to accelerate our growth and impact.

As we pursue our development and scaling goals, we recognize that we require significant technical, financial, and strategic resources to develop our product further. Winning the Solve prize would provide us with the necessary resources to invest in the development of our product and improve the healthcare outcomes of the communities we serve.

We are confident that being part of Solve's community will enable us to learn from other members, exchange valuable ideas, and leverage their expertise and resources.

Our tech-driven solution leverages a combination of cloud computing and machine learning algorithms trained of large sets of medical data along with FHIR and API keys to provide users with secure, on-the-go access to life-saving health information. Across meets global standards for health data sharing, enabling patients to grant their selected healthcare provider with complete, on-demand access to their data. Unlike current systems that rely on email or postal delivery, our solution is unique in its scalability to a global level and its ability to facilitate two-way information flow on a secure platform. Our platform allows foreign hospitals to view original data in a read-only format while sending updates on any treatment to the patient's home provider. 

Additionally, we've implemented natural language processing to help foreign hospitals navigate medical nuances and potential communication issues. 

In the next year we aim to onboard over 10,000 travellers from the UK on our platform through digital promotions leveraging travel influencers and social media ads for increased reach. We also plan securing one travel insurance partner through networking and events. Across will help travellers around the globe take journeys with confidence, save them time and costs of care, and ensure they pack just their bags not worries while planning a trip. It will also help healthcare providers worldwide access accurate medical information to help better decision making, remove language barriers associated with treating patients from foreign countries, boost administrative efficiency, and provide a hassle-free experience for all their patients.   

In the next 5 years we aim to enter the European, American, and Asian markets and secure collaborations with leading insurance companies and medical tourism facilities. We will also continue digital promotions and print advertisements to reach people who do not purchase travel insurance but would benefit from our service. We hope to have touched the lives of over 6 million travellers by year 5.  

Across addresses two important goals outlined by the United Nations: ensuring good health and well-being (SDG 3) and reducing inequalities (SDG 10).  

First, let's talk about SDG 3. Across allows travelers to access their health records whenever and wherever they need them. Through our user-friendly app, people can securely retrieve their entire health history, eliminating the need to carry around stacks of physical records. This not only saves time and effort but also ensures that crucial medical information is readily available, especially during emergencies. By putting this power in the hands of individuals, we empower them to take control of their health and well-being. 

But we don't stop there. We believe in continuity of care, regardless of borders. That's why we enable users to share their health information with their home GP. This helps ensure that their healthcare providers have access to complete and up-to-date records, even when they receive treatment in a different country. By closing the loop on care, we facilitate better coordination among healthcare providers, leading to improved healthcare outcomes for patients. 

Now, let's move on to SDG 10, which focuses on reducing inequalities. Across plays a role in leveling the playing field when it comes to accessing healthcare services. Our platform allows travelers to conveniently and affordably access care in other countries. By securely connecting them with their health records, we remove barriers and ensure that individuals receive the care they need, regardless of where they are. 

In addition, Across benefits both home-country hospitals and destination hospitals. For home-country hospitals, our solution provides access to information on international treatments, ensuring that healthcare providers can deliver seamless care and make informed decisions. This reduces the burden on staff who would otherwise need to process emergency data requests, allowing them to allocate their time and resources more efficiently. 

For destination hospitals, Across provides secure access to complete patient information. This enables healthcare providers to make better clinical decisions based on a comprehensive medical history. We also tackle language barriers by translating records, ensuring effective communication between healthcare providers and patients. 

By improving the efficiency of healthcare delivery and enhancing access to information, Across helps hospitals see more patients and potentially increase revenue. This fosters a fairer and more equal healthcare system, where everyone has an opportunity to receive quality care, regardless of their location. 

Across's solution aligns with the United Nations goals by promoting good health and well-being through convenient access to health records, while also reducing inequalities in healthcare access and ensuring continuity of care across borders. We are passionate about making a positive impact on people's lives and believe that our solution can contribute to a healthier and more equitable world

Our theory of change is grounded in a logical framework that links our activities to immediate outputs and longer-term outcomes for our target population. The current problems caused by an inefficient global health information exchange systems lead to several issues. These issues along with the impact Across would have on them are listed below:

Loopholes in treatments abroad – Across ensures that all treatments are captured effectively and available for the home provider to access and use – this leads to informed decisions and better outcomes.

Repeat tests for diagnosis – Across helps reduce the number of tests patients have to undergo by providing access to complete and verified patient history – this helps patients save time and money on their trips.

Language barriers – Across allows providers to access translated versions of medical data to effectively diagnose patients – saves providers time and reduces administrative burden while saving costs and improving patient experience. 

By leveraging cutting-edge technology, our solution enables secure, on-the-go access to life-saving medical data, which leads to faster diagnosis and treatment and ultimately, improved health outcomes for patients. We have conducted third-party research and evaluations to support the strength of our theory of change, and we have also gathered data from interviews with our target population to inform the development and implementation of our solution. Our strong theory of change is supported by evidence that shows a positive correlation between improved access to medical data and improved health outcomes, and we are confident that our solution will have a significant impact on addressing the problem of limited access to medical data. 

The core technology that powers Across is a combination of cloud computing, natural language processing models trained on large sets of medical data, and FHIR-based API keys for privacy and user authentication. The platform leverages the latest cloud computing technology to securely process vast amounts of health data, making it accessible to users around the world. Additionally, natural language processing algorithms are utilized to enable seamless communication by breaking down barriers related to language and other nuances between patients, doctors, and other healthcare providers, ensuring accurate and efficient exchange of information. FHIR-based API keys provide secure and standardised access to health information and allow for easy integration with existing electronic health record systems. With these cutting-edge technologies, Across aims to bridge the gap between healthcare systems around the world and empower patients to take control of their health records.

Across, a startup led by women, boasts a team of talented and vibrant individuals hailing from diverse backgrounds. Our core team consists of 50% women and includes members from Asian, Black, and LGBTQ+ communities. The remarkable diversity within our team has enabled us to approach problems from various perspectives, and our shared experiences have facilitated the identification of key pain points. Our diverse thoughts and cultural backgrounds form the foundation of our innovation, enriching the quality of our work.

As we continue to grow as an organization, we remain committed to maintaining this inclusivity and representation. Our product has a global focus, and it is essential that our team structure reflects this global approach. We are dedicated to ensuring that our team remains diverse, fostering an environment where everyone feels represented and included.

Our product benefits 4 user segments and will run via direct marketing to travellers(B2C) and through insurance companies and hospitals (B2B). Our approach to each of the key beneficiaries is covered in the section below:

B2C - Patients: Across offers an annual access subscription to frequent travellers at a cost of £49.99. We aim to reach this customer segment via digital presence utilising social media and digital promotion as well as print advertisements.

B2B - Insurers: Across can be implemented into insurance policies as an add-on feature, enabling access to data for the duration of the trip. This will save them costs on reimbursements through the avoidance of unnecessary diagnostic tests and procedures. We offer access to Across as an insurance add on with a cost of 1.99 to the end-user and a volume based bulk pricing to the insurance company (£50,000 per month).

B2B - Hospitals: Across helps hospitals that specialize in medical tourism provide better care, build reputation, and gain competitive advantage. They will pay a fee for the service as they are expected to increase profits by saving costs and attracting more medical tourists.

B2B - NHS: Across facilitates continuity of care and up-to-date information for the NHS. They will function as data-partners to Across and not be charged for the service. 

The cost of acquiring each B2C customer would be around £15 and that for B2B would be £1000. The revenue generated from each B2C customer would be £50 per year retained for 3-years on average. While the B2B client would bring in £600,000 per year on a 2-year contract. Keeping our estimates conservative (less than 1% of market size) we plan on onboarding 10000, 20000, and 30000 in year 1,2, and 3 respectively for B2C. For B2B this would be 1,2, and 4 clients in the 3 different years. Unit economics for B2C would be £11.6 and for B2B is estimated at £1200.

Grants - we are currently applying to multiple grants for initial financial support

Support from university: The project is being developed in collaboration with King's College London and has support from the King's network which will help   partnerships and collaborations with key customer segments

Fundraising - We will soon be actively working on raising funds from investors in the UK and Europe for product development and testing.

Revenue generation: Through B2B and B2C routes

Since we are in the early stages of prototype development we currently have no real evidence to demonstrate financial sustainability. We have secured collaborations with NHS Spine for product development and have recently commenced efforts to liase with investors for raising funds. The company has so far bootstrapped to cover initial costs and has almost no capital expenses due to support from King's College London.