SPOKANE, Wash. – According to data from the Society of Women’s Health Research, 6,000 women in the United States enter menopause every day. That’s more than two million a year.
But for women seeking menopausal care, waiting for an appointment, can take months.
“It could take up to nine months to see a specialist for menopause,” CEO and Co-Founder of Blair Health Madge Rumman told NonStop Local.
After a conversation with fellow founder Dr. Lindsay Shirreff, Rumman and Shirreff combined their medical experience with technological expertise, to propose a potential solution.
“We decided that we can, you know, merge her clinical brains with my technology and operating background and together, we launched Blair Health,” Rumman said.
Blair Health was designed to keep the patient in focus and address gaps, starting with diagnosis.
Dr. Elizabeth Newell is an OB/GYN in Spokane who explained there is a high demand for menopause services.
“Menopause can be five, 10 plus years of symptoms that they’re feeling,” Newell explained. “Hot flashes, night sweats, waking up in the morning and not being able to go back to sleep, anxiety, hair thinning, weight gain (are all symptoms).”
And while Newell says she and other OB/GYNs in the area accept as many patients as they can, “There’s only so many.”
But, there are other options,
“There is online services through, you know, other physicians that are board certified or menopause certified as well, that will see them kind of navigate through the symptom because we know there’s a need and it’s not always getting filled by people in town,” Newell said.
Blair Health, is a new online platform looking to help women navigate their symptoms.
The innovation, the founders told NonStop Local, coming from the speed of the platform.
“Our platform is instant,” Rumman said.
Instant diagnosis and Instant treatment options coming in part from a proprietary AI.
“The way that we leverage AI is really more from the operational decision-making flow of the clinician,” Rumman said.
Blair Health’s AI, takes patient’s answers and streamlines the diagnosis and treatment process.
They say the system works, because it relies on clinical knowledge, which is the same process doctor’s use in their offices.
“Menopause isn’t really diagnosed through, you know, blood exams. It’s really based on clinical observation,” Rumman said. “And that’s what the menopause stage assessment is based on.”
Blair health also told NonStop Local they ran extensive testing.
“We tested this at a high traffic menopause clinic in North America,”Rumman said.
As for using Blair’s subscription-based model, its as simple as making an account and answering a few questions to receive that preliminary treatment plan.
But Dr. Shirreff explained all preliminary plans, are always followed up by an appointment with a licensed physician.
“One of our clinicians will help you through the process,” Shirreff said. “There is incredible ease of use.”
In the future, the founders said they hope to expand services on Blair Health to reach more areas of women’s healthcare.
But as for their menopause care, they said they’re looking at making care accessible to all women.
“We designed this for women who are busy, who want to have exceptional clinical care on the go,” Rumman said.
