News Feature | June 15, 2016

Partnership Helps Improve Virtual Patient Aftercare

Christine Kern

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Nurses Use Information To Improve Patient Outcomes

On-demand telehealth program helps meet the needs of gastric patients.

A new Digital Health Platform is powering a personalized support program to help patients meet long-term weight loss goals thanks to a partnership between Zillion and Apollo Endosurgery. Zillion announced its digital health technology platform has been chosen by Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. to power the ORBERA Coach program, an on-demand telehealth program providing virtual aftercare support tailored to meet the needs of patients who undergo the FDA-approved ORBERA Gastric Balloon, an incision-less, non-surgical weight loss procedure.

Through the program, ORBERA balloon procedure patients can access an individually tailored, 12-month program designed to support the patient in developing sustainable, healthy habits that can be maintained well beyond the device’s lifetime. Among the available resources are a team of experts, via live video conferencing, including registered dieticians, psychologists, and exercise physiologists.

“Apollo’s mission has always been to develop safe, effective, and innovative solutions for weight loss and provide patients with the support they need to be successful with long-term weight loss,” said Todd Newton, chief executive officer of Apollo Endosurgery. “With ORBERA Coach, patients now have 24/7 access to tools that can assist them along their weight loss journey and keep them focused on reaching and maintaining their fitness and nutrition goals.”

Using Zillion’s platform, patients can engage in anytime/anywhere face-to-face live video conference in a number of formats, track weight loss, journal their progress, and access a library for wellness and healthy eating.

Last August, Apollo Endosurgery announced it received FDA pre-market approval for its weight-loss focused ORBERA intragastric balloon. The balloon device is inserted non-surgically in obsess patients with body mass indices ranging between 30 and 40, and then is inflated to fill space in the stomach. To date, more than 220,000 of the ORBERA balloons have been distributed in over 80 countries with approximately 230 published papers documenting its clinical results.