Hippo Technologies Experiences Global Growth and Innovation in 2023
2023 was an incredible year for global growth and innovation here at Hippo Technologies. We always find great benefit in looking back as we move forward, so that’s what we’ll do in this blog post. But, before we dive in, we want to say a huge “thank you” to our talented team of individuals that work tirelessly to make healthcare more accessible for people across the globe. We’d also like to express our sincere gratitude to our partners for their unwavering support of our mission and goals. Their dedication and commitment have been instrumental in our shared success throughout the year.
While there were many great moments in our year, we’re focusing on eight of our biggest wins and partnerships: our team’s visit to Dubai for the Arab Health Exhibition and platform training; working to get Hippo headsets to surgeons in Ukraine; our partnership with dialysis centers in Guatemala; the launch of HVC 2.0 with advanced features; our partnership with Dr Alton R. Johnson Jr and the Michigan RISE program; our partnership with Southern Cross Care (NSW & ACT) based in Australia (big shout-out to our partner Down Under, RealTime AR); and our recent collaboration with The Carpenter Health Network.
Hippo Virtual Care™ is Helping to Pioneer Virtual Wound Care in Australia
A new trial with Australia-based Southern Cross Care (NSW & ACT) highlights the power of virtual care to remove barriers to remote aging populations, specifically around wound care. Due to a shortage of general practitioners in some regional areas, SCC and other providers can find it challenging for GPs and other specialists to visit regional facilities and assess residents. Hippo’s next-generation virtual care platform could be a solution to this gap in accessing care, especially in Australia’s regional and remote communities where 60% of SCC’s services are located.
Richal Ghimire, facility manager of SCC’s Thornton Park facility, said the Hippo Virtual Care headset is “easy to wear” and “very positive and beneficial.” “The headset enabled timely, real-time, and detailed consultations with an internal wound specialist, resulting in quick wound healing and comfort for the resident,” said Richal. “This form of virtual care holds immense potential for clinical care and education and efficiency. It carries numerous benefits, including minimizing delay in delivering care via prompt review, maintaining compliance via education and training, and saving money via reduced traveling and increased productivity – which is a huge support for regional homes.”
SCC will deploy the Hippo Virtual Care (HVC) platform in their residential aged care homes across NSW & ACT and will begin training staff in early 2024 on the 40 Assisted Reality headsets they have acquired in collaboration with Hippo’s certified reseller, RealTime AR.
Read more about our partnership here.
Carpenter Health Network Deploys Hippo Virtual Care in LTACs, Rehabilitation Centers and Nursing Homes
A partnership with Carpenter Health Network will allow medical directors to work with remote and onsite nurse practitioners in various facilities in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Carpenter Health plans to utilize the HVC platform in their long-term acute care hospitals (LTACs), rehabilitation centers, and nursing homes. In 2024, there are plans to expand the services to include wound care and hospice care.
Dr. Alton R. Johnson, Jr. Utlizes Hippo Virtual Care to Improve Workflows for Podiatric Wound Care to Aid with Active Learning of Medical Students and Residents in the University of Michigan Medical School RISE Program
In 2023, Dr. Johnson, a Clinical Assistant Professor, Podiatrist, Podiatric Surgeon, and Wound Care Specialist at the University of Michigan Medical School, developed and implemented scalable utilization of AR using HVC to enhance medical training education and patient care experiences through his work as a RISE innovator. The goal of RISE is to “facilitate greater system-wide awareness of education innovation activities, resources, and funding opportunities and establish pathways that support Innovators from the pilot phase through implementation of their innovation into standard practice.” This heightened awareness and support will foster new ideas in teaching and learning, influencing current methods, expanding to other locations and learner demographics, and ultimately bringing about changes in practice and health outcomes at Michigan Medicine and beyond.
The project Dr. Johnson is working on is about creating “workflows” for podiatric and wound care-related pathologies, procedures, and surgeries to aid with active learning of medical students and residents. According to Dr. Johnson, “The feedback from users and patients has been overwhelmingly positive so far, mainly in the areas of accuracy, focused evaluation, and patient assessment.”
Dr. Johnson said that Hippo’s device and proprietary software has boosted the confidence of the residents and fellows that utilize it for patient workups, which has translated to more meaningful patient care experiences. Learn more about how Hippo Virtual Care is helping Dr. Johnson improve workflows in the RISE program.
Hippo Technologies Launches HVC 2.0 with Enhanced Features
Hippo Technologies launched Hippo Virtual Care 2.0 in 2023 with new and enhanced features, marking a milestone in our product development roadmap. The platform boasts:
- Easy registration and sign-in for users
- Highly-engaged remote collaboration
- Unlimited participants in meetings
- An easy-to-use chat feature
- A ledger that logs meeting details (such as participants and length)
- Cross-platform integration
- Advanced remote control features
- Asynchronous video and photo capture
- New and robust video streaming capability resulting in clear and dependable video
- A cellular connection option that can be utilized in low-bandwidth environments
Due to these features, HVC 2.0 will be universally available to distant and rural communities and will be easier to use as well as more efficient. HVC 2.0 also achieved HIPAA and ISO certifications in 2023. Learn more here.
HVC Improves Nephrology Practices’ Dialysis Centers in Cobán, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
Hippo Virtual Care is continuing the process of being integrated into Nephrology practices in Cobán, Alta Verapaz to improve the quality of life for dialysis patients by enabling more personalized and efficient care management. Virtual Care rounding, with its remote monitoring capabilities, can significantly enhance the supervision and management of dialysis patients, ensuring timely interventions and continuous care. Learn more about how Nephrology practices are utilizing Hippo Virtual Care here.
Hippo Headsets Aid Surgeons in Ukraine
We collaborated with Ukraine Focus, Superhumans Center, RealWear, and Alleanza in Ukraine to get Hippo headsets into the hands of local surgeons to increase their surgical expertise and patient outreach. According to Melinda Haring, “There aren’t enough surgeons in Ukraine who are capable of the type of complex reconstructive surgeries the war is bringing. These Hippo headsets will enable surgeons to increase their surgical expertise and patient outreach.” Many thanks to our wearable computing partner, RealWear, Inc. for donating the headsets.
Hippo Technologies Certifies First Hippo Virtual Care Trainers in Dubai
The Hippo team launched an integrated product and sales training program for the product teams at Alleanza Healthcare MENA and NAFFCO Group in Dubai.
Alleanza is a leading provider of home health, occupational health and patient transport in Dubai, while NAFFCO is the second largest manufacturer of emergency vehicles in the world. The Hippo team provided product and sales training for a group of 16 account executives which included showcasing product capabilities, demonstration training, as well as “train-the-trainer” sessions to develop in-country capabilities for training new staff and customer training teams. The onboarding program also provided sales training with an overview of customer use cases, solution features, and sales management.
Hippo Technologies Attends and Showcases Products at the Arab Health Exhibition
In February, we showcased new capabilities for product delivery and customer service at the Arab Health Exhibition & Congress, which brought together over 4,000 companies exhibiting to more than 130,000 healthcare professionals from 163 countries. It is an opportunity for those within the industry to exhibit the latest innovations, and by bringing together regional and international policymakers, tech innovators and healthcare specialists, it also provides a platform to discuss the sector’s most salient issues.
Our CEO and Co-founder, Dr. Patrick Quinlan, spoke at the event about sustainability, health equity, and innovations in healthcare technology in the MENA region. In an ESG Mena interview, Dr. Quinlan explained, “Our Clinician Extender model goes beyond the current limitations of the “one to one encounter” and creates a flexible “one to many” to replicate the kind of care received at the best healthcare institutions. We cannot affordably build or train fast enough to meet current needs with current methods. Hippo creates a better model and builds the workforce to bring patient care to when, where and how it is needed.“
Read more about Hippo at the Arab Health Exhibition here.
2023 was truly a remarkable year for Hippo Technologies, marked by significant global growth and innovation. As we reflect on the past year, we are filled with gratitude for our exceptional team and dedicated partners, whose unwavering support has been instrumental in our shared success. As we move forward, we are committed to building on these achievements and continuing to lead the way in virtual care and healthcare innovation.