Wellpepper and Sugarpod with Anne Weiler

VFH Episode 6

In this episode, Teri welcomes Anne Weiler, CEO and co-founder of Wellpepper Inc., to discuss her experience with creating a diabetes care plan and winning the Alexa Diabetes Health Challenge with her product, Sugarpod.

Anne Weiler is the CEO and co-founder of Wellpepper, which is a clinically-validated application that improves patient adherence and outcomes for outpatient care plans. She joins me today to talk about voice technology in healthcare and her experience with Wellpepper and Sugarpod.

Key points from Anne

Anne entered the health care space as a result of her personal experience with her mother’s illness and a lack of continuity of care.
Voice technology allows for a strong emotional connection with the user.
People feel more connected through a voice interface.
Wellpepper creates digital interactive patient care plans on a variety of platforms; this empowers patients to manage their own health with the support of their care teams.
Currently the lack of HIPAA compliance is the big obstacle in voice-first health skills.

The Alexa Diabetes Challenge

Sugarpod was Wellpepper’s entry into the Alexa Diabetes Challenge.
Sugarpod is a comprehensive care plan, including a voice powered scale and foot scanner (for diabetic foot ulcers), a mobile care plan, and a voice interaction in the home.
In designing the Sugarpod product, a key question that the team asked themselves repeatedly was “When is voice a better experience for the patient and what they are trying to achieve?”
Sugarpod was the grand prize winner of the Alexa Diabetes Challenge!
Sugarpod will be moving forward with more clinical testing.