Central Coast-founded Amelio Health hopes to streamline the treatment of chronic pain sufferers

I was born in New Zealand and from the age of 8 raised on the Central Coast. We lived with my maternal grandparents in the early years, and my grandmother was a doctor, who trained in the 1930s, and was very innovative in the areas of women's health and antenatal care.

Why did you choose nursing after school?

I wanted to help people. I started working as a registered nurse at Westmead Hospital and was fascinated by the outcomes the acute pain team were getting in post-op oncology patients. I then decided this was the area I wanted to specialise in. I started in a position at Liverpool Hospital Pain Management and Research Centre as a registered nurse and progressed to clinical nurse specialist and then clinical nurse consultant. As the CNC I wanted to learn more and then started my masters degree in Pain Medicine at Newcastle University, with Professor Nikolai Bogduk.

What inspired your tech start up Amelio Health?

In Australia there are 3.2 million people in chronic pain and 80 per cent can't access evidence-based, multidisciplinary pain programs. There is up to 18 months waiting time in the major teaching hospitals, however in the rural and regional areas there is nothing. The National Pain Strategy has made this a priority to provide services to everyone in a timely manner.

Where did you see a gap in the market?

In 2017 I started to work in life insurance, and found that people with chronic pain were the most complex claims and the most disadvantaged in accessing care. There was a lot of conflicting information being given to people on claim with chronic pain and also a poor understanding by case managers, rehabilitation professionals and the greater health community, on how to help people get back to work that were on workers compensation or income protection claim.

What is the Amelio Health platform?

Amelio Health has an App for people with chronic pain that are on claim for workers compensation or income protection. The App provides them with knowledge about their condition and how to best manage it according to that person's values. We look at what they need and how we can help them get their life back. The person is supported by their rehabilitation consultant so their care is tailored to their needs. There is a live health coach available 24 hours a day in the App chatbot for those times when people need help most. We have found that when people have knowledge about their health and how they can best manage things themselves, then they are more likely to make healthy choices and go to their GP with solutions rather than problems. People who are supported well make positive life choices.

How big an issue is chronic pain in Australia?

It cost approximately $139 billion per year (2018 figures; Access Economics, Pain Australia), which is more than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. We have over 1000 deaths per year due to opioids, and the personal suffering is unmeasurable.

What has been the response to treatment for those who suffer?

Each year we see rising costs due to people with chronic pain accessing the health system. We now have a billion dollar industry specifically for failed back surgery syndrome. We must realise that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome is not changing current practice. We need to support GPs with a biopsychosocial model of care that empowers the person in pain, with knowledge and support, so they can go to their GP with a solution, not a problem.

How does Amelio Health change that trend?

With the online learning platforms, both the person in pain and their rehabilitation consultant are working through solutions that are specifically tailored for the individual, based on their values. Education is key to helping people reduce their fears of moving, and planning how they can do the things that have meaning for them in their life. Lack of financial independence is a key component to the psychosocial stressors of people on claim, and so a primary focus is return to work.

Who can use the platform; how does it integrate with the health system?

Due to the structure of Medicare being a fee for service system based on medical procedures, there is limited funding for allied health professionals, so we can only offer it to payers in the insured space at this time. We are currently measuring how this may have an impact on our health system and can present this to the policy makers in the future.

You recently won two Mumpreneur awards?

It's validation and recognition that I have created a product that is meaningful to people, with a sound business model.

What is in the pipeline for Amelio Health?

We've partnered with a rehabilitation company in the UK to roll out the program in the NHS while we scale up in Australia and New Zealand with our partners Recovre, Rehab Management and Active OHS. We're keen to develop an identical platform for mental ill health in the insured space.