How consumer tech company Whoop is building for Medicare patients

Historically, Whoop has focused its marketing efforts primarily on performance athletes, leveraging continuous streams of physiological data to provide insights for behavior modification, predominantly targeting a younger, fit audience.

However, in a noteworthy development this year, Whoop has become one of the pioneering consumer wearable companies to gain acceptance into Medicare's ACCESS program. This initiative will allow many traditional Medicare patients aged 65 and older to access Whoop's offerings at no cost. During the STAT Summit in Boston on Wednesday, Chief Medical Officer Ami Bhatt discussed the company’s plans to create tailored experiences and demonstrate meaningful health outcomes for this different demographic.

"Number one on our roadmap — and I think I'm allowed to say this, if I'm not, I'm saying it — is simplification of the app," stated Bhatt, who has previously chaired the FDA’s digital health advisory committee and served as chief innovation officer for the American College of Cardiology. She referenced surveys indicating that even among the Silent Generation, individuals over 80 years old, there is a willingness to share health data with clinicians. "It's not that they're averse to giving data," she noted. "It's about how accessible we can make it for that population to share their data."

Bhatt explained that Whoop, having recently secured $575 million in funding from prominent investors including the Mayo Clinic and the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, is collaborating with the National Council on Aging and AARP. This partnership aims to personalize the product to align with the unique health priorities of older adults. "For each of us, how we feel, how we perform, how we age, we have our own goals," she emphasized. "The key is, we don’t want to dictate what those goals should be."

In contrast, the objectives outlined for the ACCESS program are distinctly defined. A directory of its initial participants was published last month, and through these 55 companies, Medicare patients gain access to chronic condition management services at minimal or no cost. Whoop is focusing on patients with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and prediabetes, with the financial structure aligned to Medicare paying the companies based on real health outcomes achieved. Participants will receive a wearable device, a 12-month subscription to the Whoop app, and access to clinicians who can assist them in interpreting their data and providing guidance.

"The objective is to bring technology closer to the patient without imposing costs on them — the financial responsibility falls on the company," explained Bhatt. "Whoop commits to demonstrating, within 12 months, that we can improve these patients’ health metrics. We aim to provide evidence showing positive health outcomes in the Medicare demographic with these risk factors, illustrating that our technology aids them in taking charge of their health." To receive full compensation under the ACCESS framework, Whoop must prove its efficacy in controlling or improving measures associated with chronic conditions, such as blood pressure, hemoglobin A1C, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

According to Bhatt, her role involves helping the company transition from focusing solely on products categorized within wellness to one that demonstrates measurable health outcomes aligned with clinical practice. This year, Whoop announced features allowing users to discuss their wearable data with healthcare providers, coinciding with the resolution of an FDA warning letter that classified Whoop's blood pressure estimation feature as a medical device rather than a wellness tool.

While Bhatt noted that Whoop achieves high levels of patient engagement — with users averaging eight app checks per day — she pointed out that historical research into continuous glucose monitors for diabetes illustrates that higher engagement does not automatically equate to improved health outcomes.

"In order to effectively foster personalized health on a population scale, it is crucial to focus on outcomes," Bhatt mentioned. "Can we demonstrate a reduction in blood pressure by five millimeters of mercury among users of Whoop — and indeed, we have shown this — thereby validating improved outcomes related to cardiovascular health and stroke risk?"

Moreover, Bhatt acknowledged the limitations of utilizing continuous data within the traditional healthcare framework. As an active physician, she recounted experiences with patients who would bring comprehensive binders of their wearable data to appointments. "This is me: I love this data. And I'd think, 'Oh, God,'" she expressed, reflecting on the challenges of managing such information in a 20-minute consultation.

Ultimately, Bhatt envisions that Whoop could help address these challenges by providing clinicians with contextualized reports. These reports would summarize continuous data alongside key insights from patient journaling and interactions with their Whoop app coach. "When you compile that information into a cohesive report, clinicians will find it invaluable," she concluded. "Now, we can say, 'This is precisely what I needed.'"