NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Malini Doddamani
Jefferson Headache Center and Care Tuner Launch Digital Platform to Support Those Living with Headache and Migraine
Roll out of a comprehensive system to deliver integrative programs focused on improving quality of life for the millions who live with headache and migraine.
PHILADELPHIA (September 16, 2020) — The Jefferson Headache Center in partnership with Care Tuner announced today the launch of a first of its kind innovative digital health and wellness platform for those who live with headache and migraine.
Over the past year, the Headache Center, led by Director Dr. Stephen D. Silberstein, Professor, Department of Neurology, and Dr. William B. Young, Professor, Department of Neurology, shared its clinical expertise as well as its medical protocols, in Care Tuner’s design of an integrative program to address a pressing healthcare need for the chronic disease of migraine.
Care Tuner’s digital platform focuses on promoting health and well-being through evidence-based programs, empowering users to integrate preventive strategies through self-management or in coordination with a physician. The platform includes a library of curated articles specific to headache and migraine, a mobile app delivering a personalized plan of physical, emotional and social support, and a line of evidence-based supplements specifically designed for the migraine community.
“Research shows that lifestyle and behavior change strategies are powerful tools when living with migraine,” said Dr. Silberstein. “For some patients, they can be as effective as pharmaceutical treatments, but with few side effects. We have always recommended these strategies, but never had an easy way of delivering them to our patients. Care Tuner is a revolution in migraine care supporting our work with patients through safe and natural programs that are not bound by geography.”
The program uses health psychology and pain neuroscience to provide evidence-based guidance on strategies to empower those living with headache and migraine to proactively engage in self-management in a variety of areas including sleep, nutrition, exercise, self-awareness and social connection. In addition, Care Tuner worked with the specialists at the Headache Center to develop dietary supplements designed based on the latest scientific studies.
Migraine is the third most prevalent chronic disease in the world, and the second most disabling illness. Worldwide, it is estimated that one billion people live with headache and migraine, with 40 million of those in the United States. Currently, there are approximately 600 headache specialists in the United States, allowing for only a small percentage of those with migraine to access top level clinical expertise.
“Supporting people who live with migraine headaches is an important example of how we must use innovation to provide continuous help anywhere,” said Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, president of Thomas Jefferson University and Chief Executive Officer of Jefferson Health. “The way to create this new ecosystem of health assurance is through creative partnerships between Jefferson and innovators like Care Tuner, so that people get support throughout their daily lives.”
Seeing the need for an accessible health and wellness program for the migraine community, William Gadsden, CEO, Care Tuner, started working with the Jefferson Headache Center to develop a public-private partnership to extend the Headache Center’s expertise to a larger audience.
“We couldn’t have achieved this without the collaboration with the Jefferson Headache Center team, whose combined clinical experience and research serve as the backbone of our programs,” said Mr. Gadsden. “We have built Care Tuner to be synergistic with health care providers and to augment the care that they provide to their patients. Through our unique partnership with the leading comprehensive headache center we have democratized access to their healthcare expertise to more people than any ever before.”
Care Tuner’s app is available through the Apple store, with an Android version in the works for December, 2020.
About Jefferson Health
Jefferson Health, home of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, is reimagining healthcare in the greater Philadelphia region and southern New Jersey. Jefferson’s dedicated team of doctors, nurses, health professionals and staff provides a range of primary to highly-specialized care through 14 hospitals (seven are Magnet®-designated by the ANCC for nursing excellence), more than 40 outpatient and urgent care locations, the NCI-designated Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Magee Rehabilitation and the JeffConnect® telemedicine program. For 2020-2021, Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals is ranked among the nation’s best hospitals in nine specialities by U.S. News & World Report. Jefferson Health’s mission is to improve the lives of patients in the communities it is privileged to serve through safe, effective, equitable, compassionate care.
About Care Tuner
Care Tuner is an innovative digital health company focused on revolutionizing care for those living with headache and migraine. Their integrated health and wellness solutions provide digital and mobile access to comprehensive health management strategies delivering a comprehensive toolkit of integrative approaches to improve quality of life with headache and migraine.
