Summary:
UMass Chan Medical School and Curai Health are partnering to provide virtual care for participants in a study comparing the accuracy of at-home COVID-19 and flu tests to lab-based PCR tests.
Takeaways:
- Study participants who test positive for COVID-19 or the flu can access free virtual care visits through Curai Health.
- The study, funded by the NIH, evaluates the performance of rapid antigen tests versus PCR tests for detecting COVID-19.
- Curai Health integrates AI with clinical expertise to enhance virtual care, improving access to treatment for patients self-isolating at home.
UMass Chan Medical School is partnering with Curai Health to provide virtual care to participants enrolled in a study investigating how at-home antigen and molecular tests compare to lab-based PCR tests in detecting the current variants of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A/B viruses.
Adult study participants who test positive for COVID-19 or the flu can access free virtual care visits with Curai. Participants will be able to seek medical care for COVID-19 or the flu, as well as receive care for other medical needs.
“The pandemic brought profound changes in all of our expectations for at-home testing and virtual care, and yet there’s still a lot of confusion about what you should do if you test positive for COVID-19,” says Neal Khosla, CEO and cofounder of Curai Health. “We’re proud to partner with UMass Chan to provide participants with the convenient, high-quality care they need to recover at home.”
Virtual Care Study Zeroing in on At-Home Testing Performance
The UMass Self-Testing for Our Protection from COVID-19 (STOP COVID-19) Research Study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, aims to advance the understanding of how rapid antigen tests perform in comparison to PCR tests in detecting COVID-19 after the onset of symptoms. Study participants enroll for up to 16 weeks and perform home-based antigen tests as well as collections for PCR tests once they develop symptoms. Participants log their symptoms in a virtual diary, complete questionnaires, and provide information about their experience through an app called MyDataHelps supported by Care Evolution, LLC. Researchers also track participants’ symptoms with wearable data sensors to detect the virus.
“Improving at-home testing for COVID-19 is an important first step, but it needs to be paired with getting clinical care because these respiratory viruses still cause significant disease and deaths. Rapid access to a clinician that can prescribe the appropriate treatment is necessary but often hard for patients, especially if they are self-isolating,” says Apurv Soni, MD, PhD’21, assistant professor of medicine and co-director of the Program in Digital Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School. Dr. Soni is the study’s principal investigator. “With Curai, our participants will have the option to either seek care on their own or instantaneously receive quality virtual care from the safety and convenience of their home.”
As a provider deploying machine learning into clinical workflows, Curai partners with health plans and health systems to keep patients engaged in their care over time, improving health outcomes and reducing costs. Since its founding in 2017, Curai Health has delivered on-demand, affordable, and high-quality virtual primary and urgent care. Curai Health uses AI to superpower patient care teams that are led by dedicated, specially trained, licensed clinicians, according to the company. By combining the expertise of clinicians with the efficiencies of artificial intelligence, Curai Health delivers a level of care beyond what’s humanly possible.
Featured Image: Tatiana Dyuvbanova | Dreamstime.com
