Having a chronic disease does not mean that we are powerless in achieving our best states of health. In fact, maximizing our personal well-being may be well within our control! More resources are becoming available to help patients overcome their chronic symptoms. One of these valuable resources is Vida’s personalized coaching platform: an app that aims to help patients overcome chronic health conditions and achieve health-related goals.
If you are familiar with my work as DrBonnie360/Your Autoimmunity Connection, you know that this emphasis on maximizing well-being, personalizing care, and eliminating chronic disease is right up my alley. When I recently visited San Francisco, I had to take up the opportunity to meet with Bryan Chen, PhD, the Head of Business Development & Strategy at Vida, so I could learn more.
What is the vision of Vida?
Bryan brought the Vida vision to life for me, articulating the company’s mission. The strive to ensure that patients can “manage, prevent, and overcome their chronic conditions via health coaching, digital therapeutics, and other programs.”
When asked what makes Vida unique, Bryan highlighted the holistic nature of their approach. If most companies can be considered “vertical”, tackling one problem at a time, then Vida is “horizontal”. Instead, they combinedata, technology, and human empathy to assess the big picture of why a condition exists and provide actions steps for how a patient can respond.
What is Vida’s approach to personalized coaching?
Vida acknowledges that one size does not fit all when it comes to healthcare, so their approach is compatible with personalization. Throughout Bryan’s time with Vida, he has realized that it “makes a big difference when you feel a connection with your coach”.
Patients begin by completing a questionnaire that specifies personal health goals, coaching style preferences, and availability. Based on these responses, patients are given options to select their own virtual health coach. The Vida coaching programs are physician-designed and maintain a one-to-one ratio of coach to client. Hundreds of certified health coaches are available through Vida. This allows a wide range of expertise from general wellness to chronic conditions, diet adjustment, and more.
The next step is to schedule a health consultation by phone or video with the chosen coach. Bryan reminded me that their role is to offer expert health advice. Furthermore, they are to check up on progress, and keep motivation levels high, in between a patient’s doctor appointments.
Aside from 1:1 coaching, how does Vida help patients transform their health?
Patients work with their health coaches to create daily and weekly action plans towards achieving their health goals. They can then track their routines and progress on the Vida app, which connects with most other health & fitness trackers as well. Bryan emphasized that “outcomes are what matter”, so it is important for patients to be able to track their own progress.
My meeting with Bryan ended on a personal note when I asked him what sparked his interest in joining the Vida team. His reason was that Vida’s “emphasis is on prevention, better management, and overcoming existing chronic conditions when possible.” Vida represents an “opportunity to empower individuals to improve their health.”
From managing diabetes to reducing stress and anxiety, losing weight, getting fit, or quitting smoking, Vida has already helped many patients. For example, it’s helped alleviate symptoms, lessen reliance on medications, and achieve their larger health goals. This could be the action component many patients have been long awaiting!
Looking ahead: the power of personalized coaching
The positive power of personalized coaching continues to spread. Digital coaching apps have had a significant impact on the wellbeing of patients worldwide. Recent research studies have demonstrated that engagement with health coaches through other platforms also resulted in enhanced quality of life for teens with juvenile arthritis. Furthermore, it reduced flares and improved medical adherence for adult rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Try it for yourself!
If interested, download the Vida app from the Apple or Google app store and enter the invite code DRBONNIE for a free 1-month trial. We don’t make any money if you use the code. We hope that it works for you and would love to hear all of your feedback about personalized health coaching, whether good or bad!
Have you tried digital coaching apps? What worked (or didn’t) for you?
