– Lark Health partners with Minnesota-based HealthPartners to help members better manage their diabetes after a successful pilot program.
– Through the new partnership, more than 650,000 HealthPartners members will have access to Lark’s AI-based Diabetes Management Program at no cost. It’s a big step for members in Minnesota, where 8 percent of adults have been diagnosed with diabetes and the total estimated cost of diabetes estimated at $4.7 billion per year.
– The partnership follows a successful pilot program between the two companies which demonstrated Lark’s effectiveness in helping individuals with diabetes manage their chronic condition.
Lark Health, a Mountain View, CA-based chronic disease prevention and management platform, announced the continuation of a contract with HealthPartners after a successful pilot period.
HealthPartners support and guide members who have diabetes by offering a range of services, including telephonic nurse support, telephonic health coaching, medication management, and cost estimator tools, provider cost and quality evaluation tools, and digital health information. Through the new partnership, more than 650,000 HealthPartners members will have access to Lark’s AI-based Diabetes Management Program at no cost.
Lark uses cutting edge conversational AI and connected health monitors to provide real-time, one-on-one counseling to help members make healthier choices, manage their conditions, and when necessary reach expert nurses and coaches to make changes to medication or handle a significant blood sugar event, for example.
Why It Matters
More than 30 million Americans are affected by diabetes, which is the seventh-leading cause of death and the costliest medical condition in the country. Diabetes costs the nation an estimated $327 billion annually in direct medical costs and indirect costs, such as lost or reduced productivity in the workforce. In Minnesota, nearly 8 percent of adults have been diagnosed with diabetes, with the total estimated cost of diabetes coming in at $4.7 billion dollars per year, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
“Diabetes is an extremely common, costly, and inconvenient challenge facing millions of individuals today,” said Lark CEO and co-founder Julia Hu. “By working with partners like HealthPartners, we can provide more people with personalized care to drive better health outcomes, reduce costs, and help solve this growing health crisis.”
Lark’s A.I for Diabetes Study Shows that Patients Significantly Reduce A1c
This partnership follows a year of momentum for Lark, including becoming the first digital health company to demonstrate clinical results on the effectiveness of its programs across all of Diabetes, Hypertension, and Prediabetes. A study of Lark’s Diabetes Management Program this year found that members achieved a significant reduction in A1c levels of 1.1 points after just four months. A reduction of 1 point in A1c resulted in a 43 percent lower rate of diabetes-related complications according to a study in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy.
Participants in a study of Lark’s Hypertension Management Program saw an average blood pressure reduction of 8.4/6.4 mm Hg at six months. Reducing blood pressure by 5 mm Hg is estimated to reduce the risk of stroke mortality by 14 percent and save health plans $1,037 per member per year, according to a study in the Journal of Hypertension.
