Last March, Taylor Johnston’s world was turned upside down when her only child suffered kidney failure, necessitating a battery of medical tracking, from sodium, phosphorus and potassium to liquids, blood pressure, weight, temperature, symptoms, medications and more. The complexity of her son’s medical needs led her to seek an app to help manage the many details of his care. There were no such apps at the time.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about how this doesn’t exist,” she said. “I was joining Facebook groups and asking, ‘OK, everybody, what are we using to track all of this?’ Nobody had a good answer. There’s 15 apps for 15 different things, but none of them really do exactly what you need it to do.”
The situation led Johnston to design nutraRX to provide a comprehensive solution for caregivers, care providers and care recipients to manage complex medical situations. The app provides customized nutrition planning, live health tracking and tools for collaboration, making care management easier and improving health results.
“It’s a really great organizational tool for caregivers because the biggest burden emotionally is just trying to remember everything. If you miss one thing, it could put your loved one in a delicate situation,” she said. “In my son’s case, he goes everywhere with what I call his messy little notebook that tracks the 15 pills a day he has to take and the amount of sodium he was taking in if he has a slice of pizza at my mom’s house. What this does is organize everything to one space. It is like your one source of truth.”
The concept won the Delta Innovator contest and entry into a New York-based accelerator, which is helping fund the venture as Jonston recruits investors. She hopes to beta test nutraRX by this spring.
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