The founders of TouchPointCare have worked on both the acute care side as well as the chronic care side of healthcare. Over the past several years, they have become more sensitive to the unique issues and challenges associated with chronic care. Realizing the current health system was not designed or well suited to meet the needs of those with chronic care issues - something else could be done to help improve the care and the ability to stay connected.

In 2002, Anderson had the opportunity to be involved with a web-based and interactive chronic care self management project funded through a large grant from the Centers for Disease Control. Unfortunately, it wasn't successful. It was not successful because of any inadequacy of the software, it was not successful because the only option people had to "connect" with the system was to go "online". Despite the fact that the software had wonderful features, it wasn't accessible to the populations we were trying to reach.

A tool was needed that didn't sacrifice on its effectiveness, but also emphasized accessibility. The decision to start TouchPointCare was based on this premise of focusing not just on the technology, but on how the patient or client interacted with this technology. Technology often scares people, and it need not be so.

The desire was to make the patient interface or connection as comfortable as possible, hence the focus on the telephone as the primary forum for data collection. People everywhere have a phone and feel comfortable in using it. Many are not aware how sophisticated a telephone is or can be, which is fine....We wanted to utilize the power of the telephone, link it to a robust and flexible data collection software, and combine the power of the internet with the simplicity of the phone.

There are also two major trends being targeted: 1, the aging of America and the increasing needs older Americans will face, and 2, the desire of older Americans to want to age in place versus entering a retirement facility. People want care to come to them, on their own terms. We wanted to support this. Philosophically, we want people to take responsibility for their own care, and manage their own health. . It is a natural evolution to have providers seek to care for people while they are in their own homes.

TouchPointCare enhances existing providers. It does not replace them or compete with them and instead enables and equips existing providers with a new powerful tool that keeps them in touch with their patients and clients. Providers use TouchPointCare to increase the frequency with which they "connect" with their patients or a client, increasing access to care, but at the same time use it to reduce costs and improve efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. To date, most of the telehealth alternatives on the market are cost prohibitive for most providers and clearly out of the reach for individuals who live with chronic care issues. TouchPointCare offers a telehealth solution available to everyone and makes remote care management and monitoring a standard of care for all providers.