Say Hello To IKONA Health 2.021
It’s time you knew what we’ve been working on.
If you have been following IKONA’s story these last few years, you know that our company and brand have long stood for the possibilities of seeing patient education differently. We first focused on using the power of immersive storytelling to help patients navigate uncertainty, much like I had faced years earlier as a patient in the VA. The “O” in “IKONA” was represented by an eye-shaped venn diagram to underscore the untapped potential of visual media. Even our company name, ikona, stands for the image of a better tomorrow. For three years that remained our unshakeable lens for seeing the challenge in front of us; that was, until March, 2020.
In January I wrote this article on the difficult decisions we faced in the early weeks of the pandemic. No topic was off limits: my vision, our mission, our value proposition — and despite the weight of it all, those tough discussions were the best thing we ever did. Call it a catalyst, call it luck, call it what you will: 2020 was the crucible we never asked for but always needed to fulfill our potential.
From the ashes of that crucible arose a symbol we continue to earn every day. Our new logo illustrates our team’s DNA, approach, and true potential:
Optimizing Kidney Education.
We believe the keys to unlocking the full potential of patient education in kidney care are present in learning science and storytelling, which is why we spend so much time talking about what they are, how they work, and how kidney care professionals can implement these frameworks in their education workflows. In short, the educational content patients and providers are used to is not the issue: it’s the delivery of that content that needs work.
But there’s a third side of the optimization triangle that’s equally important, especially once optimal delivery is in place, and that’s measurement. At the heart of learning science and storytelling are novel ways of instilling knowledge and eliciting emotional responses. Without ways to properly measure those novel interactions, their unique value remains ephemeral.
When we talk about optimizing kidney education, we really mean the deliberate combination of content, delivery and measurement in ways that provide patients with what they need to know, how and when they need to know it. Done right, this approach will help us tackle barriers to health literacy that continue to prevent tens of millions of people from understanding and using health information that can change their lives for the better.
Taking it a step further.
For those asking, “Where does virtual reality fit in?” I could answer you by simply changing one word in your question: when does it fit in? Once we determined the framework upon which to build a truly transformative patient education solution, tools like virtual and augmented reality became logical extensions of our delivery plans.
Remember, a critical aspect of our three-step framework deals with delivering content at the right time and in the right format. For virtual reality, those learning tasks involve fears, familiarization, motor skills or behavior. There are several immediate opportunities within kidney care where these challenges are widespread and well suited for an immersive learning tool.
In other cases, such as when patients first learn about kidney disease and available treatment options, other learning tools are better for the learning task at hand. All too often we see common barriers get in the way of effective patient education: low baseline awareness among frontline staff, providers’ lack of time to spend with patients, and low health literacy among patients. And all of this is beside the fact we are dealing with a complex disease that is poorly understood by nearly all of those affected by it.
Millions of patients. Billions of paths.
The truth of the matter is this: there are an estimated 37 million Americans with kidney disease today, and just 10% are aware they have it. With 1 in 3 US adults at risk of developing kidney disease, we need better education tools for those navigating the complex, difficult road ahead. Patients will face all kinds of decisions on that journey, including which foods to eat and whether they want to pursue a transplant, home dialysis or conservative care.
As companies across the kidney care ecosystem continue to improve early detection and management of chronic kidney disease through individual treatment recommendations, the need for an individual learning plan is clear.
IKONA is prepared for what comes next. We are leading the way with our patient-first, human-led approach to patient education, powered by learning science and technology. Stay tuned, we have several exciting updates and partnerships to announce that will be instrumental in helping us acheive our mission of launching 10 million personalized kidney education journeys over the next decade.
— Tim
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About IKONA Health:
IKONA offers a smarter way for kidney care providers to deliver effective and measurable learning experiences to their patients and staff. Our platform uses learning science, storytelling and immersive technology to address education and training challenges, improve health literacy and ensure smarter, confident treatment decisions in kidney care.
