Serdar is the CEO of Albert Health, a voice-based health assistant that enables people to manage their chronic diseases. The company intends to design disease-specific experience and help pharma companies to increase medication adherence in their therapeutic areas. In an interview, Serdar speaks on an array of topics. Excerpts:

Founding of Albert Health

 Says Serdar that chronic diseases are, in fact, a part of all our lives, even if we don’t experience them firsthand. These diseases are health problems that affect individuals throughout their entire lives and require careful attention and care. According to the World Health Organization, chronic diseases are responsible for an average of 86% of deaths and 77% of health expenses. Effective tracking, treatment, and management of chronic diseases help slow down their progression. “Our specific focus is on treatment adherence in chronic diseases. Treatment adherence maximizes treatment effectiveness, while non-adherence is the leading cause of poor treatment outcomes. 50% of individuals with chronic diseases do not adhere to their treatment plans, resulting in the death of 200,000 people annually in Europe alone.” Albert Health assists patients in understanding their chronic disease and help them embrace the treatment adherence required by that chronic condition.

 Post Covid-19 – Challenges galore in healthcare

In the post-pandemic era, healthcare providers should prioritize a holistic approach that combines technological advancements with personalized patient care to create a more resilient and efficient healthcare ecosystem, suggests Serdar. However, he adds that one of the key challenges is to ensure effective population health management. “Healthcare providers need to shift their focus beyond treating illnesses to proactively manage the health of both sick and healthy individuals. This involves allocating more resources to preventive medicine, early intervention, and lifestyle management. Additionally, technology adoption remains a critical factor in realizing the full benefits of healthcare innovations.” It is essential for healthcare providers to   facilitate the seamless integration of technology into clinical workflows and patient experiences. This can be achieved by identifying the most convenient use cases for both doctors and patients and employing user-friendly interfaces, such as voice technology, to enhance engagement and usability.

Albert Health’s platform   for digital natives- Features

Albert is an evidence-based, multi-chronic disease management platform that leverages AI.   With Albert, patients of all ages can easily manage their treatments, granting access to personalized treatment management for users from all socio-economic backgrounds, and helping improve their quality of life by acting as a mediator for lifestyle changes.

The platform offers personalized chronic disease management programs for various chronic conditions, including diabetes, asthma, hypertension, MS, HIV, and cancer. Patients can receive online consultations from healthcare professionals through Albert. They can set medication reminders, access medication prospectuses, and receive alerts about medication interactions. They can also set reminders for tasks like drinking water and measurements. Patients can store their health documents and measurements in one place, effectively track their treatment progress and health status, and share health data with their loved ones and healthcare professionals.

Offering a voice platform that patients can consult anytime, anywhere, Albert’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology, users can verbally ask questions on their minds. Through disease-specific trained language models, Albert understands users’ needs based on their conditions and provides them with the most suitable answers. The entire Albert platform is developed to easily adapt and be configured to meet different disease needs” adds Serdar.

Leadership traits

Curiosity, according to Serdar is one of the driving forces in the entrepreneurship journey. “I also think the traits of order and discipline are must-haves in entrepreneurship. Additionally, the perseverance instilled by discipline encourages both my personal growth and Albert Health’s achievements.

Lessons learnt from the healthcare sector

“From my journey in the healthcare sector, I’ve learned the invaluable importance of being patient centric. This principle underscores the fact that the goal of any healthcare endeavour should be improving the lives of the patients we serve. Alongside this, another critical point is to always consider the health economics aspect.”

 Albert Health – The future ahead

Albert aims to reach more patients suffering from chronic diseases and help them with most reliable and scientifically backed support. We have dedicated ourselves to becoming an essential part of the lives of patients with chronic diseases.”

Since the future of digital health is evidence-based, the firm aims to prove the benefits they provide to patients and health economics through clinical studies. “In this direction, we have committed ourselves to become a global digital health company that offers evidence-based digital therapeutic solutions, that have proven clinical value and economic benefits, and are prescription and reimbursable. Digital Therapeutics (DTx) are evidence-based digital solutions that can prevent, treat, or manage diseases, either alongside traditional treatment methods or as substitutes. We aim for our DTx solutions to be prescribed and reimbursed, just like medication. In addition, we want to support our patients not only digitally but also physically. In the long run, we aspire to open our own clinics to enhance the delivery of healthcare services even more. By collaborating with expert healthcare professionals in our clinics, we aim to provide more comprehensive health services and directly and effectively respond to the needs of our users.