RamaOnHealthcare June 8, 2024
How AI-Powered ‘Digital Twins’ Are Providing an Off-Ramp from GLP-1s
Today, RamaOnHealthcare is speaking with Dr. Lisa Shah, Chief Medical Officer of Twin Health. Twin uses one-of-a-kind digital twin AI and a compassionate care team to reverse and prevent chronic metabolic diseases. The Whole Body Digital Twin™ technology is proven to help members achieve remission of type 2 diabetes and eliminate medications. Twin Health recently announced that it is extending its AI-powered digital twin technology to address the challenges of obesity and weight loss.
Dr. Lisa Shah, Chief Medical Officer of Twin Health
RamaOnHealthcare (ROH): Where did ‘digital twin’ technology originate and how are you applying it to metabolic health?
Dr. Shah (LS): Digital twin AI was developed by NASA to safely send rockets into space. It’s been used in engineering for decades to understand and build complex systems through the combination of continuous sensor data and deep digital simulations. At Twin Health, we applied the same technology to the most complex system – the human body – to reverse metabolic disease. The digital twin AI provides personalized guidance, driven by lab work and real-time measures of blood glucose and activity, to help members heal their metabolism. The results are quick wins that members can feel as well as sustainable health improvements: more energy, weight loss, lower A1c and less reliance on medications like GLP-1s.
Digital twin AI was developed by NASA to safely send rockets into space.
ROH: How does digital twin AI reverse type 2 diabetes and eliminate the need for GLP-1s?
LS: Digital twin AI addresses the root causes of metabolic dysfunction– which disrupts the body’s ability to turn nutrients into energy and get rid of waste. No two peoples’ metabolisms and behaviors are exactly alike. This uniqueness has never been accounted for in chronic metabolic disease management.
Digital Twin AI creates a dynamic replica, or twin, of each member’s metabolism and preferences from thousands of data points collected daily, in real-time. The digital twin AI generates easy-to-follow prompts on a smartphone-based app that are deeply individualized and achievable for each member through nutrition, sleep, activity, and stress. For example, members can go into the app and see how their breakfast impacted their blood sugar. A licensed clinical care team supports this journey to heal – not just “manage” – by providing behavioral support and encouragement when it matters most.
Digital Twin AI creates a dynamic replica, or twin, of each member’s metabolism and preferences from thousands of data points collected daily, in real-time.
Our members are achieving transformative improvements in health: losing weight, reducing blood sugar, reversing diabetes, and getting off medications. Most importantly they feel better, citing increased energy, mood, strength, and happiness.
Our members are achieving transformative improvements in health….
ROH: What are some of the results that Twin Health users have been seeing?
LS: Our precision program, tailored to meet the needs and preferences of each unique member, delivers life-changing results:
- In our first clinical trial, 84% of members saw diabetes remission in 6 months
- *Members with a starting BMI of 30 or higher lost an average of 13 pounds after 6 months on Twin
- *After 6 months on Twin, a majority of members are coming off their diabetes medications
- *61.3% of members on the program for more than 6 months have eliminated GLP-1s
- *And 61% of members on the program for more than 6 months have eliminated all high-cost meds
*Average results from a 2023 assessment of Twin Health’s commercially insured population.
After 6 months on Twin, a majority of members are coming off their diabetes medications.
We deliver results beyond the clinical—improving overall quality of life in measurable ways. Twin members report experiencing:
- An overall boost in mood and energy
- Increased strength and flexibility
- Better, more restorative sleep
- Improved mental clarity and concentration
- An enhanced sense of well-being
Members love Twin. Our program has a net promoter score (NPS) of >80, with 98% of members engaging with the app 5+ days per week.
Over 93% of our members interact with Twin every day, while 95% engage with our unique Twin features, such as Insights and Week in Review, on a weekly basis.
ROH: How is Twin Health’s platform different from all the other digital diabetes tools out there?
LS: A recent report revealed that most popular digital diabetes tools “fail to deliver meaningful benefits.” Their results weren’t surprising. In the last few decades, digital health solutions have been created by the dozens to manage diabetes and other metabolic diseases. Most don’t work over time because they aren’t personalized at a level that deeply engages members. These platforms fundamentally fail to engage people in the dimensions unique to their lifestyle. Because they’re generalized across entire populations, they’re incapable of providing minute-to-minute behavioral and lifestyle insights members can use to improve their metabolic health.
Twin Health is built on an entirely different approach. Over the past 5 years, we’ve developed a patented Whole Body Digital Twin™ platform like those proven in aerospace, automotive and energy, to predict and test the behavior of complex systems. We were not included in this report, but our results speak for themselves and are validated by an independent clinical trial profiled by the American Diabetes Association. A second clinical trial is underway in the U.S. using our platform product.
ROH: How does Twin Health’s new Healthy Weight program address the challenges of obesity and weight loss?
LS: Losing weight is really challenging. The introduction of GLP-1s created an even more complicated and expensive landscape. While these medications certainly have a role to play, they aren’t a cure-all. They’re expensive and people must stay on them to sustain the results – coming off of them often leads to rapid return of the weight lost.
Our Healthy Weight approach helps members sustain a healthy weight without high-cost drugs by keeping members off high-cost prescriptions or helping them sustain results when they come off their medications.
Healthy Weight is unique in helping people heal themselves through a much deeper understanding of their body’s metabolism, and the satisfaction of achieving small, attainable, and meaningful wins throughout the day. Members feel the benefits of increased muscle strength, energy, and blood glucose improvement and stabilization. The digital twin AI and clinical team provide precise steps to medication elimination, avoidance of rebound weight gain when a drug such as a GLP-1 is eliminated and continued healthy weight loss and improved strength.
What’s unique about this solution is we don’t focus on calories or carbs. Ours is a holistic solution that focuses on nutrition, activity and sleep recommendations unique to you.
ROH: How does an employer or health plan deploy and pay for Twin Health?
LS: Twin is offered through employers and health plans and is funded by savings from reduced reliance on GLP-1s and other costly health interventions along with savings from improvements in clinical outcomes. There is no cost to the user.
About Lisa Shah, M.D., Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Lisa Shah is the chief medical officer of Twin Health. Prior to joining Twin, Lisa served as CMO for Advantia Health, Chief Innovation Officer for Sound Physicians, and SVP of clinical operations and network for Evolent Health. Lisa graduated from Duke University with a B.A. in English and completed medical school at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. At the University of Chicago, she completed her residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, a post-residency health services research fellowship, and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy.
Find out more about Twin Health here: https://usa.twinhealth.com/