What You Should Know:
– Charles Barkley Foundation forms a partnership with health IT company SynsoMed to combat health disparities for Black Americans impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
– Launches Save Our Selves (S.O.S) Council, comprised of Black influencers, technologists, healthcare professionals, and policymakers concerned about the health of Black Americans.
SynsorMed, a Birmingham, AL-based provider of remote patient monitoring (RPM) and chronic care management (CCM) solutions for healthcare organizations has announced a partnership with the Charles Barkley Foundation to combat health disparities for Black Americans impacted by COVID-19. Together, they are launching the Save Our Selves (S.O.S) Council, comprised of Black influencers, technologists, healthcare professionals, and policymakers concerned about the health of Black Americans.
S.O.S. Council Initiatives
The SOS Council is focused on two core initiatives:
– Healthcare provider matching service for black consumers who may want to visit with a doctor remotely
– Nationwide online mobile survey to research information on the health and economic status of the Black community. The goal is for people to complete the survey as well as share it. A phase 2 effort in August will use this information to provide much-needed resources to black communities.
“This is the first nationwide survey that will collect true, accurate information regarding Black Americans’ health status, so that health care resources can be directed where they’re needed most. The survey is quick, and it asks general questions to find out if a person is categorized as an essential worker, was able to see a doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic, and if they’d like access to a doctor,” said SynsorMed CEO Theodore Harvey.
COVID-19 Impact on People of Color
“The number of COVID-19 cases is still rising,” Harvey says, “And Blacks are being adversely affected, but we can do something if we act now.”
The Racial Data Dashboard of the COVID Tracking Project indicates the death rate for Black Americans from COVID-19 is twice that of other racial groups. Additionally, in states including Georgia and South Carolina, 50% of all deaths from COVID-19 are of Black Americans. The pandemic, economic anxieties, and police brutality have devastated the black community in recent months. Additionally, recent data projections forecast a rise in COVID-19 cases in the next several weeks.
‘I believe in this effort and believe it can make a difference,” says Charles Barkley.
SynsorMed Background
Founded in 2014 by Theo Havey and Amin Holmes, SynsorMed is a digital health platform that encourages patient engagement and compliance. The SynsorMed platform is a device-agnostic RPM platform. Each paired monitoring device has a Bluetooth sensor that transmits readings directly to the cloud through the SynsorMed app on a patient’s smartphone.
SynsorMed enables patients to measure key medical data from the privacy of their home and securely upload that data to their physician through the company’s proprietary, cloud-based app, thereby avoiding the need to schedule appointments for routine check-ups. Physicians using the SynsorMed platform have access to more robust patient data and can review patient records in real-time through an online portal and dashboard, which provides those physicians with an additional available appointment time to serve other patients – leading to increased practice revenues.
To participate in the S.O.S. survey, visit https://sos.synsormed.com/
