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UpHill enables health teams to improve outcomes and streamline care by applying evidence-based knowledge through stepwise clinical pathways.

UpHill Health

Broadly speaking, all routinely collected data on patient health - outside of controlled clinical trials - are known as Real-World Data (RWD). 

 When we analyze this RWD, we produce real-world evidence (RWE): 

Real-world data have been widely used in research for purposes like tracking drug safety after release and observing patient disease progression over time. With the rapid expansion of healthcare technology—such as electronic systems, biosensors, and mobile and wearable devices—large amounts of RWD are now collected routinely. This wealth of information has immense potential to improve study design and address previously unmet clinical needs.

But could RWD be doing even more? Are there ways to use this information in real-time to improve care rather than only after studies are complete?

Reflecting on UpHill’s participation in the symposium 

, we take a deep dive into how real-world data could be better aligned with the immediate needs of patients, healthcare professionals, and health systems.

To be clear, the value of RWD in assessing a medical product’s benefits in real-world settings is well-documented. The lack of strict eligibility criteria, the ability to track patient behavior in actual healthcare settings, and the potential to support research on high-risk groups - such as pregnant women and children - make it invaluable, especially for research that randomized controlled trials (RCTs) cannot always accommodate.

However, aren’t these approaches working at two very different paces? While RWD may be more cost-effective than an RCT for assessing, for example, the safety of a drug used in heart failure treatment, could this traditional approach fall short of the real impact that the same data could have on managing disease in real-time? Used effectively in day-to-day practice, couldn’t real-world data create a transformative impact on patient care?

Let’s take a step back to address the critical challenge facing healthcare systems worldwide: 

 - driven by an aging population and rising rates of complex chronic diseases - 

while healthcare capacity, regarding available health professionals, remains largely stagnant

. This widening gap leads to familiar issues: long waiting lists for appointments, delays for surgeries, and overcrowded emergency departments.

In this context, healthcare professionals don’t need an overwhelming influx of data that complicates their work;

 they need precise, relevant data to make informed decisions at the right time

. Health systems don’t need to invest in the latest technology for technology’s sake; 

they need to focus on interventions that have demonstrated potential to improve patient outcomes

. And patients don’t need the newest devices on the market; 

they need a healthcare system that’s available when they need it most.

real-world data proves its value when it can influence the course of care for an individual patient while simultaneously streamlining care delivery on a population-wide scale

This journey-based model, fuelled by real-world data, is uniquely equipped to respond to each individual’s unpredictable disease progression, adapting to meet needs as they arise.

A few years ago, while reflecting on the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we observed that the future — and increasingly, the present — 

belongs to hybrid models that blend different types of evidence

. Each of them plays a crucial role: scientific evidence should guide care delivery, serving as a map, while real-world data should drive real-time decisions - much like a GPS, offering real-time guidance based on constantly updated information.

This may sound idealistic, but it’s exactly what 

. Believe it or not, all patients need is a mobile phone.

Disclaimer: This article draws on the presentations by Clara Jasmins and Eduardo Freire Rodrigues at the symposium The Impact of RWE on Clinical Pathways.

Throughout UpHill’s history, there has been a common denominator: each year surpasses what we had planned for. This is a function of our work — our unique collective force —, as it is a function of how humanity really needs what we are building.

These two elements serve as the key contributors that have brought us to this moment when 

we joyously celebrate our Series A funding round

. Following a remarkable year that showcased 

UpHill's capacity to deliver journey-based care that enhances healthcare capacity and elevates patient outcomes

, and launching Liber — an innovative digital service poised to transform the healthcare landscape — we stand ready to embark on the next chapter by scaling our impact through journey-based care.

Our solid journey to increase healthcare access at scale, steered by evidence, and in compliance with industry standards.

UpHill was founded in 2015 with a clear mission: 

to empower people to provide and receive the best care

. This mission has taken several shapes and, fast forward to today, UpHill stands out as

 the most highly invested care orchestration company in the European Union

. A milestone that attests to the robustness, safety, and efficacy of our technology, as well as our clinical knowledge, setting us apart from other players.

UpHill improves lives with care orchestration software that works both for healthcare teams and patients. During a turbulent period, when the healthcare system grappled with significant challenges in meeting population needs, UpHill was established as the “second brain” behind care provision within major institutions.

Together with the pioneering, dedicated, and talented frontline teams, we are successful in designing, implementing, and delivering novel journeys for the most challenging conditions.

The impact of what we have done together is refreshing:

Throughout our journey, we've come to understand that issues impacting healthcare institutions, such as growing demand and insufficient capacity, are often tied to lacking alternatives that enable individuals to avoid using these services for all and every reason. In essence, healthcare systems are marked by uneven participation from both healthcare professionals and patients.

Healthcare professionals shoulder a heavy load, from diagnosing and treating acute illnesses to managing daily administrative tasks, preventing diseases, and overseeing chronic conditions. Conversely, in most cases, patients find themselves detached from their care journey, lacking information, and without the necessary tools to proactively engage in health promotion, prevention, and disease management.

This is why in 2023 we invented the next-generation care model: 

Liber provides better care, faster, and at a lower price. Liber members can quickly solve acute health issues by interacting immediately with Liber doctors, and enrolling in disease prevention and health promotion programs. All happens at the pace of a high-tech, premium, and personalized service running on the UpHill platform, which accelerates both members and doctors, building on structured medical knowledge.

As I am writing this, people are still awaiting help for hours long in crowded hospitals and primary care centers. From here across the globe, those in need have to wait years for surgeries, many months for appointments, and too many hours for acute care. This is unbearable. This is why UpHill exists, and this is why we are just getting started: our platform is the care orchestration software for the decades to come.

As we continue to solidify our presence in the Iberian market, 

UpHill is set to expand its footprint by opening offices in new locations such as UK and Spain.

With plans to double our team by the end of the year

we are on the hunt for the most talented people with a drive to change healthcare globally

we are in the business of improving life. 

We believe every patient must be on a well-defined, high-quality care journey.

A journey that augments healthcare workers' capacity, enables people’s self-efficacy, and streamlines healthcare systems coordination.

This is how we will achieve access to high-quality care at scale.

Cancer presents as a multifaceted condition, often demanding diverse interventions from numerous healthcare professionals over prolonged periods of time. In one UK study, it was found that patients, who had been treated for cancer for less than a one-year period, saw 28 doctors on average, and the minimum number of doctors met was 13.

 A value that mirrors the intricacy of these journeys and the diverse array of professionals involved, even only considering medical doctors.

On the other hand, time stands as a critical factor in the journey of an oncology patient: every month delayed in cancer treatment can raise risk of death by around 10%.

 Thus, swift, and precise interventions significantly impact prognosis, intensifiyng the pressure to orchestrate timely and well-coordinated care.

The Agency for Healthcare Reasearch and Quality states that: 

Despite the widely acknowledged importance of care coordination in care delivery, and the progress that has been made, achieving this coordination remains an ongoing challenge, especially within oncology journeys, which can manifest in different scopes:

In fact, research indicates that patients, caregivers, and clinicians are extensively engaged in significant 'invisible work' to facilitate care coordination. This invisible work involves spending time navigating system barriers such as non-interoperable medical record systems, inadequate decision support, suboptimal communication systems, and expanding panel sizes. These barriers hinder effective coordination among the network of health systems, clinicians, patients, and caregivers responsible for coordinating care collectively. The costs and benefits of this unseen effort on the quality of life, productivity, and other outcomes for patients, clinicians, and health systems have not been thoroughly quantified, but they are likely unsustainable.

A lack of coordinated care can lead patients getting "lost" in the system and failing to access appropriate services, as well as more unplanned health utilisation.

Intelligent, automated, and evidence-based care journeys guiding care

, we delved into the significance of bridging the gaps within healthcare systems and outlined the crucial prerequisites for accomplishing this feat. It all begins by delineating comprehensive and multidisciplinary care journeys. These tools function akin to a map, interlinking multiple system points and directing the course of care. Ultimately, this works like a multidisciplinary consensus ensuring that every patient receives precisely the right care at every juncture.

Moreover, care journeys foster coordination among various levels of care and healthcare professionals, bridging the gaps that often lead to disjointed care, facilitating seamless transitions between care settings, ensuring that vital information and treatments are consistently communicated and executed.

 is a stepwise multidisciplinary care plan guiding patient progression through a sequence of milestones translated from guidelines or evidence into personalized contexts, allowing decision support and digital automation of clinical activities, and aiming to standardize care and improve patient’s outcomes and experience.

Hence, we are referring to a care orchestration system that integrates decision support tools and communication with automation capabilities. This system uses automation to handle administrative or repetitive clinical tasks, enabling healthcare providers to amplify their efforts and focus on specialized tasks, catering to the intricacies of complex patient needs.

Furthermore, it establishes an accessible channel for engaging with, monitoring, and providing care to patients during intervals between standard care interactions. This system utilizes gathered information to automatically update the patient's journey status and promptly alert healthcare professionals about any warning signs.

Interoperable and robust technology ensuring patient traceability

When discussing the necessity of care coordination, it is unavoidable to recall the four levels of care integration outlined by the Nuffield Trust.

Once again, despite noteworthy efforts, a report by the European Commission

 highlights that an interoperable Electronic Health Record (EHR) is not widespread in most of the studied systems. Many patients face challenges in accessing and utilizing their data or transferring it between healthcare providers. The prevalence of interoperable systems between regions or entire countries is not substantial.

Moreover, more critical issues persist regarding service and clinical integration. There is a scarcity of integrated, multidisciplinary, and comprehensive care journeys in place, and the referral criteria lack clarity, leading to disconnected care levels. Additionally, accessing structured health information that is compiled and updated in real-time based on each patient's pathway evolution remains a challenge.

That is why stressing the importance of interoperability in care orchestration software is crucial for optimizing healthcare delivery, namely cancer journeys. Interoperability, like HL7, acts as the bridge, facilitating smooth communication and data exchange among diverse healthcare information systems. In an environment where information is spread across various platforms, interoperability ensures that essential patient data moves effortlessly between systems, promoting teamwork among healthcare professionals. This interconnected system not only simplifies procedures but also improves the precision and speed of decision-making, leading to better patient care.

Key benefits of UpHill’s approach to coordinate oncology journeys