Lark Health's Diabetes Management Program Demonstrates Significant Reduction in A1C Levels

Lark DMP users decreased A1c by 1.1 points in pilot study, reducing the probability of diabetes-related complications

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Jul 01, 2019, 07:00 ET

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Lark Health, the leading chronic disease prevention and management platform, today released initial results from a pilot study of its Diabetes Management Program (Lark DMP). After an average of four months, the Lark DMP users reported a significant reduction in A1c levels of 1.1 points, from 8.5 to 7.4 percent.

The Lark DMP, which uses conversational artificial intelligence (AI), rather than live telephonic nurses, was developed with the collaboration of industry and clinical experts, including Dr. Robert Gabbay, chief medical officer at Joslin Diabetes Center, the world's largest diabetes research center. Dr. Gabbay serves as a Senior Clinical Advisor on Lark's Health Committee.

"The preliminary data, and especially the actual decrease in A1c levels seen in this pilot study, indicate that an AI approach to treating diabetes can be extremely effective," said Dr. Gabbay. "To make a dent in the nation's diabetes crisis, we'll need innovative approaches that can work at scale and Lark shows great promise in this regard."

The pilot study looked at adults with a confirmed diagnosis of type 2 diabetes who enrolled in Lark DMP between August 2018 and January 2019. All participants in the study reported a baseline A1c level of at least 6.5 percent. On average, the participants in the study achieved a 1.1 point decrease in their A1c score, reducing the initial population's average from 8.5 percent to 7.4 percent.

The benefits of reducing A1c in patients with type 2 diabetes include better health outcomes and lower medical costs. For example, a reduction of 1 point in A1c resulted in a 43 percent lower rate of diabetes-related complications in the Medicare population, and a 28 percent reduction in the commercially insured population, according to a 2013 study in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy.

Lark's Diabetes Management platform provides direct, one-on-one, personalized health feedback and counseling that is not constrained in the same way as traditional clinical resources. Lark's conversational AI program can scale to serve a broad population and allows each patient to access personalized care anytime, anywhere.

"These early results are extremely promising and demonstrate that conversational AI can improve A1c for those with type 2 diabetes," said Julia Hu, co-founder and CEO of Lark Health. "Our mission is to deliver truly personalized, evidence-based, and effective care to the millions of people managing chronic conditions in the U.S., and, as a truly digital solution, we're well-positioned to deliver on that promise."

The Lark DMP results come during a year of momentum for Lark Health. Lark's clinically validated Diabetes Prevention Program, which is the second largest and fastest growing in the U.S., received CDC Full Recognition earlier this year. In addition, in a year-long study, a population of older adults (ages 50+) showed an average weight loss of 4.3 percent. Lark is serving some of the nation's largest health plans, with nearly 2 million members having used Lark's programs.

About Lark
Lark Health is the leading chronic disease prevention and management platform using proven, AI health coaching to deliver better health outcomes at scale. Lark uses cutting edge AI and connected health monitors, which can be combined with clinical resources, to provide real-time, personalized, 24/7 support and counseling to help users make healthier choices and manage their conditions. Lark's Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), Wellness Program, Diabetes Care Program, and Hypertension Program serve nearly 2 million users, and have demonstrated clinically validated outcomes published in 11 peer-reviewed journals and analyst reports. Lark's DPP, which is the fastest growing and lowest cost DPP, has received CDC Full Recognition. Lark works with some of the largest payers and self-insured employers to help their members live healthier lives. Founded by CEO Julia Hu in 2011, the company was named "Most Innovative Digital Health Product of the Year" by Forrester Research, "Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in the World" alongside Uber and Airbnb, and Apple's "Top 10 Apps of the Year." To learn more, visit www.lark.com.

Contact:
Cameron Jacox
617-583-3401
[email protected]

SOURCE Lark Health