Amgen and Liva Healthcare Partner for Innovative Digital Tele-Rehabilitation Solution

Amgen and Liva Healthcare, a European market leader in scalable digital health coaching, have announced a new partnership to make cardiac rehabilitation accessible to more patients in the immediate aftermath of a heart attack. Amgen and Liva Healthcare will be supported by a consortium of EU bodies to co-create an innovative digital tele-rehabilitation solution called Rehab+.

André Sode, CEO of Liva Healthcare, tells Pharm Exec how the program will ”future-proof cardiac rehabilitation.”

PharmExec: Tell us about the new partnership with Amgen.

André Sode

We are partnering with Amgen, and a powerful collective of purpose-driven organizations, to help improve the lives of people who have had a heart attack. By combining our technology and the expertise of Amgen and the consortium of partners, we can make cardiac rehabilitation easily accessible to more people, empowering them to stay engaged with their own health and, ultimately, reduce their risk of a next heart attack.

Amgen Europe and Amgen Spain will be program leaders and we will provide the technology platform, including the patient app. Through the app, patients will have regular support from a professional human coach and receive educational content based on their personal needs and situation. Patients can also track their own progress real-time and engage with a support group of peers to keep them motivated.

Why is this program needed? What is the problem it is trying to solve?

Only a third of the one million people who have a heart attack each year in Europe have access to cardiac rehabilitation to reduce their risk of a second heart attack. This program will make cardiac rehabilitation accessible to more patients in the immediate aftermath of a heart attack.

How is the Rehab+ program supporting patients?

Rehab+ is an innovative digital tele-rehabilitation solution. It supports patients for over one year, helping them to transition from a passive, recovery mindset into an active one of self-care. Rehab+ is designed to help individuals assess their lifestyle post-heart attack, set personal objectives to reduce their cardiac risk, and establish long-lasting positive lifestyle changes. Rehab+ supports and equips patients to stay engaged with their own health and to manage their cardiac risk factors as a chronic condition to prevent a next heart attack.

Rehab+ is part of OPTIMISE, an Amgen-led cardiovascular program which aims to transform patient care and demonstrate improvement in outcomes. This is achieved through a wide range of innovative initiatives which support the healthcare community and patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease.

What other partners are involved?

Additional partners include rehabilitation hospitals in Spain, La Paz in Madrid, Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona, Virgen de la Victoria in Malaga and Zuyderland in the Netherlands. Amgen also partnered with regional payors in Spain, Servicio Madrileño de Salud (SERMAS), Servicio Andaluz de Salud (SAS) and Servicio Català de la Salut (Cat Salut), and Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Rehab+ is endorsed by Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC), Netherlands Society of Cardiology (NVVC) and Foro Español de Pacientes (Spanish Patients Forum).

Why are long-lasting lifestyle changes so important for rehabilitation?

The aim of the program is to support and equip patients to stay engaged with their own health, and to adopt and establish long lasting healthier lifestyles. This will ultimately help them to manage their cardiac risk factors as a chronic condition to prevent a next heart attack.