Newtopia VP Natasha Vani On How Telemedicine Helps People Stay Engaged With Their Health - Exclusive

For many people, one of the hardest parts of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is staying motivated. At first, working toward a new health habit is exciting, and there's a huge sense of accomplishment every time you follow through. Soon enough, life gets busy or the novelty wears off and boredom sets in, and the motivation to maintain that habit is gone.

Research has found that apps that track the consistency of a habit or progress toward a goal can increase motivation and help people build habits long term. Natasha Vani, a naturopathic doctor and the VP of Program Development and Operations for Newtopia, has seen firsthand how virtual platforms can help people build and maintain healthy habits. She uses Newtopia, a telehealth platform, with patients who are managing chronic diseases, and Vani has seen their lives and their health change for the better.

In an exclusive interview with Health Digest, Vani explained how telehealth platforms help keep patients engaged with their health and how this impacts chronic diseases.

Vani has been working in the online healthcare industry for almost two decades, long before the general population had even heard of telehealth. She said that telehealth platforms have always provided a level of access that in-person care cannot. People have the flexibility to attend appointments and check in with their medical providers from their computers or phones, anywhere and any time.

The development of wearable devices that provide health data has also increased the value of telehealth platforms for patients. Wearables allow patients to upload health data to the telehealth platform and get recommendations on how to improve their health habits. 

Vani said the result is that "patients feel more empowered and encouraged with a greater sense of control over their health" because they can easily and actively engage with their health through these technologies. This engagement helps keep them motivated to maintain health habits long term.

Vani said that the Newtopia platform puts people in charge of their health, but it also gives them the resources they need to understand their health and engage with positive changes.

"The Newtopia app keeps people engaged with 1 on 1 chat and video call support, the ability to track habits, set personal goals, schedule appointments, and enter and review biometrics," she explained. "It also contains a large content library including video, PDFs and recipes."

Patients using the platform to manage chronic diseases like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes can take control of which health habits they want to work on — like getting more sleep, reducing stress, exercising more, or changing their diet — and track how consistent they're being with these habits. When they're struggling, they can reach out to their Inspiritor, a coach assigned to help them stay on track and make suggestions. Vani said that this combination of patient-guided treatment and professional support leads to long term success.

Newtopia just launched a new engagement platform and brand refresh, which includes a state-of-the-art participant experience and streamlined website. Check out a video demo of their new app.