Revolutionary adherence: the TOM app in the focus of the healthcare sector

In the world of healthcare, adherence to therapies and medication is increasingly becoming a key concern. In an exclusive interview, Sven Beichler, CEO of the TOM app, explains its innovative solution that helps patients with chronic diseases to increase their adherence to treatment. With a unique combination of user engagement, data protection and a wide range of functions, the TOM app stands out as a pioneer in its field.

How would you explain your solution in three sentences to a professional colleague from the health sector?

"The TOM app supports patients with chronic illnesses in their therapy and medication intake. TOM is characterized by a very high usage rate at world-class level, a long usage time of 300 days on average and consistent user anonymity by design. A wide range of functions, such as a medication cabinet, reminder algorithms, health report with measurements, activities, mood diary and more, increase long-term therapy adherence to over 80%."

What problem motivated you to start the company?

"Due to the personal life situation of one of the founders, the topic of adherence has always been in the foreground and is still the motivation to offer the best possible digital solution for all people who have to take medication regularly. The previous solutions (apps) were not sufficient. There is no shortage of apps in the world today, but there is a shortage of commitment. Only when the patient is 100% at the center of attention will an app be used intensively and in the long term. And only through such engagement will long-term behavioral changes lead to greater adherence to treatment. TOM has achieved this and is one of the most successful therapy and medication solutions today."

How do you convince a pharmaceutical company, a health insurance company or another potential client to set up a pilot project with you?

"Thanks to the 100% anonymity of the TOM app and its long-term use by patients with chronic illnesses, we offer unique opportunities for pilot projects. Our app enables market research, patient surveys and brand awareness by targeting specific therapy and patient groups anonymously within hours. A response rate of over 80% in surveys underlines the high engagement rate of our users. With over one billion anonymous, patient-generated therapy data, we open up new insights into disease patterns and drug groups. Our analyses of user behavior over months and years provide valuable insights for research, pharma and insurance companies. In addition, our adherence programs show that insurance customers significantly increase their adherence to therapy over 6 months and maintain a high adherence rate of over 85% even after one year. These results prove that the TOM app is an effective platform for promoting positive behavior change and provide a solid foundation for successful pilot projects with pharmaceutical companies, health insurers and insurance companies."

Who are your current customer (groups) and who do you want your potential customers to be?

"The TOM app is used worldwide by patients who regularly take their medication. Nevertheless, the main markets are currently in Germany, Switzerland and France. Our customers from the pharmaceutical industry, health insurance companies and pharmacies currently come from Germany and Switzerland. We are also conducting various studies with the scientific community and improving the digital patient pathway from the doctor to the pharmacy and the patient's private environment."

Where do you see yourself in 3 years and how can 5-HT support you?

"Over the next three years, we will be able to expand our core areas (data insights, data research and treatment adherence) into other countries such as France and the UK, massively increase our user numbers (organically) and offer data dashboards on all topics relating to the patient pathway - with patient-generated insights. 5-HT has already helped us to make TOM better known to potential customers and will hopefully continue to support us in the future with its large network."

You participated in the Insuring Digital Health in October 2023. What is your impression of the event and what have you gained (so far) from participating?

"It was a great honor for us, not only but also as a Swiss company, to be selected and to participate in this great event. The direct talks and the pitch proved to be very helpful in subsequent discussions. In the end, we were able to conduct a successful pilot with a German insurance company. The insights we gained from this are still helping us today in further negotiations."