• WELL and HEALWELL AI have launched the second-generation of WELL AI Decision Support (“WAIDS”), which now features advanced chronic disease screening for diseases like chronic kidney disease, hypertension, and diabetes, enabling patient risk stratification.
• The updated WAIDS tool identifies over one hundred diseases and delivers actionable clinical insights at the point of care, contributing to the management of chronic disease-related costs in Canada, which are estimated to be approximately $190 billion annually and affected 45.1% of all Canadians in 2021.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia and TORONTO, May 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WELL Health Technologies Corp. (TSX: WELL, OTCQX: WHTCF) (“WELL”), a digital health company focused on tech-enabling healthcare providers, and its investee company, HEALWELL AI (TSX: AIDX) (“HEALWELL”), are pleased to announce the launch of the second generation WELL AI Decision Support, (or "WAIDS"). This enhanced version which features advanced chronic disease screening arrives just six months after the initial launch, which was primarily focused on rare disease detection.

The upgraded WAIDS now includes screening capabilities for numerous chronic diseases such as chronic kidney disease, hypertension, and diabetes, enabling risk stratification of patients into high, medium, or low risk categories. This expansion broadens WAIDS's utility in detecting more than one hundred rare and chronic diseases, providing clinically validated insights that identify care gaps and equip clinicians with actionable information at the point of care.

Dr. Michael Frankel, Chief Medical Officer of WELL, commented on the new capabilities, "Adding chronic disease detection is a game-changer for our AI powered physician co-pilot tools. I have personally used this tool in my practice and found it to be of tremendous help and support. The tool compliantly scans my data and provides me with an overview of a number of key diseases as well as insights on which patients could be at higher risk or exposure to such diseases."

The technology behind WAIDS is powered by HEALWELL AI who has been helping physicians save lives for the past four years with its best-in-class rare disease detection capabilities. This launch represents another significant step forward in WELL and HEALWELL's ongoing collaboration to transform healthcare through data science and innovative technology.

"HEALWELL is committed to continuously advancing its data science offerings, and with WAIDS, we aim to serve as a vital co-pilot in the medical community," said Dr. Alexander Dobranowski, CEO of HEALWELL. "The second generation of WAIDS is designed to enhance and support the critical decision-making processes of doctors, ensuring they remain central to patient care. Historically, HEALWELL’s focus has been on screening for rare and ultra rare diseases, but now with the second generation WAIDS we have significantly expanded our capabilities to finding patients with important chronic diseases. This adds tremendous value to patients, practitioners and healthcare systems."

According to a Statistic’s Canada report in 2023 on the Health of Canadians¹, 45.1% of Canadians lived with at least one major chronic disease in 2021. Chronic diseases and the percentage of Canadians who have them include conditions like Diabetes 11%, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease 10%, Heart Disease 8%, and Chronic Kidney Disease 11-13%² . These conditions are also not found alone and increasingly more and more Canadians are being found to have a plurality of these morbidities³. Chronic diseases and related health issues are estimated to cost the Canadian economy $190 billion annually⁴, with $122 billion stemming from indirect income and productivity losses, and $68 billion in direct healthcare costs.

For more information on WELL AI Decision Support, please visit https://decisionsupport.wellhealth.ai/.

Footnotes:

1. https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/about/smr09/smr09_142
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9926383/#:~:text=Chronic%20kidney%20disease%20(CKD)%20is,13%25%20of%20the%20population%20globally.
3. Steffler, M, et al (2021). Trends in prevalence of chronic disease and multimorbidity in Ontario, Canada. CMAJ, 193 (8): E270-7.
4. Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada. 2018 pre-budget submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance August 4, 2017. Retrieved from https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/421/FINA/Brief/BR9073636/br-external/ChronicDiseasePreventionAllianceOfCanada-e.pdf

WELL HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES CORP.

Per: “Hamed Shahbazi”
Hamed Shahbazi
Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and Director 

HEALWELL AI INC.

Dr. Alexander Dobranowski
Chief Executive Officer
HEALWELL AI Inc.

About WELL Health Technologies Corp.

WELL’s mission is to tech-enable healthcare providers. We do this by developing the best technologies, services, and support available, which ensures healthcare providers are empowered to positively impact patient outcomes. WELL’s comprehensive healthcare and digital platform includes extensive front and back-office management software applications that help physicians run and secure their practices. WELL’s solutions enable more than 34,000 healthcare providers between the US and Canada and power the largest owned and operated healthcare ecosystem in Canada with more than 165 clinics supporting primary care, specialized care, and diagnostic services. In the United States WELL’s solutions are focused on specialized markets such as the gastrointestinal market, women’s health, primary care, and mental health. WELL is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “WELL” and on the OTC Exchange under the symbol “WHTCF”. To learn more about WELL, please visit: www.well.company.

About HEALWELL AI

HEALWELL is a healthcare technology company focused on AI and data science for preventative care. Its mission is to improve healthcare and save lives through early identification and detection of disease. Using its own proprietary technology, the Company is developing and commercializing advanced clinical decision support systems that can help healthcare providers detect rare and chronic diseases, improve efficiency of their practice and ultimately help improve patient health outcomes. HEALWELL is executing a strategy centered around developing and acquiring technology and clinical sciences capabilities that complement the Company's road map. HEALWELL is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”) under the symbol “AIDX” and on the OTC Exchange under the symbol “HWAIF”. To learn more about HEALWELL, please visit: https://healwell.ai/

For further information: 

Tyler Baba
Investor Relations, Manager
WELL Health Technologies Corp.
investor@well.company
604-628-7266 

Pardeep S. Sangha
Investor Relations
HEALWELL AI
ir@healwell.ai
604-572-6392