1. What is the LifePath Patient app and who should use it?

The LifePath Patient App is to be used by persons who have already been clinically diagnosed with an illness by a Clinician. It may only be used if it is prescribed for use by your doctor Clinician.  The app is meant to help your Clinician keep watch over your condition and symptoms and to receive updates about your health, without you having to call or speak with each other daily. 

2. How does the app work?

You first need to set up as a user in the app and the LifePath Remote Patient Monitoring Platform.  Once you are set up as a user, on a daily basis, you will answer a few questions on the app, about your symptoms. This may occur once or twice every day. You will also use one or more third-party medical devices such as a digital thermometer, glucometer or blood pressure monitor, each of which will have been cleared by the FDA for commercial use in the USA.  You will use these devices to take measurements of your vital signs on a daily or weekly basis. The readings from these instruments will automatically be sent to your doctor. Along with using instruments, you may also need to fill in the information on the app, relating to any symptoms or adverse events you may have experienced.

The information collected from the medical devices along with your symptoms will help your doctor determine whether your condition has changed. It will also assist them in deciding whether they need clarifications or whether medical intervention is needed. In these circumstances, your doctor may call you.

3. How will using the app help me?

Based on the information collected and sent to your doctor, they will be able to see how you are doing, health-wise, without the need for calls or conversations between the two of you. Phone calls can be time-consuming, and your Clinician may be preoccupied with more urgent cases.

The questions you answer in the app are like the ones that you would be asked if your doctor were to speak with you. Thus, the app may allow your doctor to make a quick, general assessment of your symptoms and condition. You will be reassured that, even if you have not spoken with your doctor, they have access to information on how you are doing.

4. When can I start using the app?

You may start using the app as soon as you are set up as a user. However, this does not mean that your Clinician will see your information as soon as you provide it. Given the many demands on their time, your doctor may focus attention on patients with more urgent needs or those requiring closer medical supervision. Your data will, however, be available to your physician, on-demand, at any time.

5. How do I set up the app?

You must first set up as a user on the LifePath Platform by downloading the LifePath Patient App on your Android phone or tablet. Your Clinician will also download a copy of a Clinician App, which will be used by him/her to view your vital signs and condition and to connect with you. Thereafter, either you or your Clinician will send out an invitation to the other, to connect using the LifePath Platform.

To set up your user profile, you need to enter your age, contact details and medically-relevant data which may help your doctor to make clinical decisions. All information you provide is held in strict confidence and will not be available to anyone unless you expressly permit it.

6. Will the doctor use the information I provide, to make diagnoses or provide treatment?

The app is not a diagnostic tool. It is intended to provide physicians with information relating to people who have already been diagnosed with an illness. The app is not a substitute for your physician’s clinical judgment. You should not expect your doctor to rely only on the app to make medical decisions or to provide treatment.

Remember that the data your doctor receives from you is based entirely on the answers or instrument readings you have provided. People’s answers can be subjective and will vary from person to person. The information may also have been wrongly entered.

If there is an urgent need, you must call and speak with your doctor directly. If you believe that the situation is life-threatening, do not wait to speak with your physician: you MUST call Emergency Services or go to the nearest hospital immediately.

7. How can I be sure that the doctor will see my information?

The app provides your doctor with information about your health status and condition, which may not, otherwise, be available to them unless you make physical visits, phone calls or communicate with them via email. However, there is no guarantee that a Clinician will see every patient’s information or that they will take action at the right time.

8. Is there a fee to use the Patient App?

No. Elastic Care is offering the LifePath Platform and its use to patients, free of charge. Please note, however, that any consultations you have with your Clinician via this app may require you to pay fees to your Clinician for use of their services. All financial transactions will be only between your health care professional and you or a third-party payer such as an insurance company.

9. What do I do if I have technical difficulties or have questions or concerns?

Elastic Care staff is available 24/7 to help you with technical difficulties. Please contact us by email at support@elasticcare.com. Although our employees may be working from home at this time, they will do their best to deal with your questions or concerns. 

You may also refer to the patient’s user manual which you can find at the Elastic Care website.  

Please note that Elastic Care provides support only for difficulties or issues relating to the use of the patient app. We do not provide any medical advice, information, diagnosis or treatment, you should refer all questions relating to medical matters to your Clinician.

10. How do I know that my information will remain private?

This is a legitimate concern. The information you provide is stored, in encrypted form, in data centers certified as compliant with required privacy and healthcare information legislation. Elastic Care takes privacy very seriously. There are very strict national regulations relating to the retention and distribution of personal information and we are required to demonstrate compliance with privacy regulations via regular third-party audits. No one, other than you and your Clinician have has access to your data. If you stop using the app, all personal information will be expunged within seven days of your last use of the app.

11. What do I do if the device I received is not usable, is damaged or is lost?

There are two ways in which you can get and use medical equipment and instruments from Elastic Care. The first is to buy the device outright. Alternatively, you may choose to rent the device from Elastic Care on payment of a small monthly fee.

In each of these cases, you are responsible for the proper use, upkeep and safe storage of the device.  If you have rented a medical device from Elastic Care you will pay Elastic Care a small monthly fee. If the device stop working due to damage or is lost the cost of the device will be adjusted against your rental deposit.

Any instruments which are non-functional when you receive them, or cease to function for reasons not related to misuse or damage, may be returned to us at no charge and will be promptly replaced. You must let us know if the device is non-functional for these reasons, immediately.

12. Do I need to return the rented devices if I no longer need to use them?

Yes. You will need to return the medical devices rented by you. They must be clean, undamaged and in proper working shape and condition at the end of the period for which they were rented to you. The devices must be returned to Elastic Care in the original boxes in which you received them.

To return the devices to us, simply use the pre-paid mailing packages that were provided to you when you first signed up and received the medical devices. Elastic care will pay all return charges.