Written by HYER NEWSROOM
.png)
Birdie is the leading home healthcare technology platform aiming to radically transform the lives of older adults. They have just raised $30 million in Series B, to take on Europe and help millions to live longer at home.
When faced with the inefficiencies of the at-home healthcare system, the founders of Birdie knew there had to be a better way to look after our ageing population. So, they created one. The resulting home care software solution was launched in 2017, offering care providers the chance to transform the way they serve the elderly. The Birdie platform champions a more efficient, holistic, and preventative approach to care, with the aim of giving older patients a vastly improved quality of life.
People are living longer than ever before, meaning our population is changing. In 2022, almost one in five people in Britain are aged 65 years and over, compared to just over one in 10 in 1950. But that ever-growing cohort of elderly people is being let down.
Whether you blame it on insufficient funding, inefficient processes, resource issues or staffing difficulties, the fact of the matter is that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for people to lead happy and healthy lives in their later years. And this isn’t a problem that’s going to go away: in fact, Max Parmentier, Co-Founder, and CEO of Birdie predicts that the situation “will become untenable from a healthcare standpoint – it's just going to become too costly”.
Also feeding into this care crisis are the outdated processes and infrastructure of our healthcare system. After all, it was designed a century ago and has always been focused on one-off afflictions, which was the primary concern in the 20th century. Now, though, more people need long-term treatment for chronic, incurable conditions. And, crucially, they need it in the comfort of their own homes – not in already crowded hospitals designed for short-term care.
Interview with Max Parmentier, CEO & Co-Founder at Birdie
Birdie has big ambitions. Big, but necessary. It wants to overhaul the way elderly patients receive their care at home and help give them a more positive, personalised experience with a preventative approach. By looking at care in a holistic way, it aims to leverage lifestyle factors – everything from exercise to social activities – as well as optimising medical treatment to keep people healthier and happier in their later lives. And it plans to do it all with an app.
We say ‘plans to’, but this is all already happening. Right now, huge numbers of care workers are using Birdie’s app, day in, day out, to record visits, create schedules and find invaluable medical information for each of their vulnerable clients. Birdie supports millions of care visits for over 35,000 care recipients by care professionals every month.
Designed to help care providers manage all aspects of their at-home services and act as a centralised hub of records, this platform is an extremely comprehensive tool. From documenting risk assessments and raising concerns, to planning home visits and outlining medication needs, carers can take care of all their admin in one place, saving themselves time on paperwork and diverting that attention back to their patients. This makes care more informed, personalised, and more efficient.
Behind the scenes, Birdie aggregates all the data it collects on patients to give it clinical value and make it a practical resource for informing care needs. For instance, the software can identify patterns and trends, and even start to make predictions, alerting carers when there’s a high likelihood of an incident occurring.
This powerful app flips the care delivery process on its head, allowing care providers to intervene earlier and prevent harmful developments, instead of constantly firefighting. Not only does this improve the working conditions of the carer (in an industry that has historically struggled to attract employees), but it also means patients receive a vastly improved service and have a higher chance of staying healthy and maintaining some level of independence.
Equally important, the family app has the tools to connect with everyone that needs to be in the know, and provides peace of mind for relatives by keeping them up to date with the latest wellbeing information on their loved ones. From physical wellbeing and daily mood to medications and food intake, the instant communication the Birdie app provides means that they’ll know what’s going on exactly as it happens. We all have ageing family members who may need support from care professionals.
Knowing what’s being done, with pictures, visit notes and any concerns in real time, offers tremendous reassurance and peace of mind that your loved ones are being taken care of, while keeping them at home and independent for longer. Birdie is there for them, supporting them along the way, making things better for everybody - the patient, the family and the wider society.
“We call it a new climate change, this wave of older people needing health care. It’s completely under the radar because nobody wants to acknowledge it...
I say let's tackle this question, let's bring solutions, let's change the journey”
Max Parmentier – CEO & Co-Founder
The tangible difference this app can make to people’s wellbeing shouldn’t be underestimated. In many cases, the kind of care it allows could add years – decades, even – to lives but, just as importantly, it can help enrich that time for the patient, too.
The idea of ageing can be scary. Whether we’re concerned for our grandparents, ourselves or even our children, this forward-thinking tech company is offering hope for our winter years. Because age is no more than a number – and we all want to tot up the highest tally we can, while enjoying the process.
Max Parmentier on building a truly impactful company in the 21st Century
About Hyer Newsroom
Hyer is the place to discover the latest news, stories & careers from impact-first companies across the planet, in the most digestible way - giving a creative voice for impact.
Companies that do good matter - let’s tell their stories.
.png)