Cleveland Clinic Expands Access to Care for Patients with Chronic Digestive Diseases

Cleveland Clinic Expands Access to Care for Patients with Chronic Digestive Diseases

Multidisciplinary care model now includes behavioral health content on virtual care platform

Friday, October 18, 2024, CLEVELAND and BOSTON: To expand access to care for patients, Cleveland Clinic has added Ayble Health, an AI-enabled digital care platform, to its multidisciplinary care model for the treatment of chronic digestive diseases. Cleveland Clinic and Ayble Health co-developed care pathways and behavioral health content that is now available on the virtual care platform.  

The Ayble Health care platform includes the following:

• Brain-gut programs, including guided audio content on mindfulness, hypnosis, meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy, and breathing techniques.
• Personalized nutrition support to find and remove trigger foods, a food barcode scanner and a comprehensive groceries database.
•  AI-powered wellness tools to help manage and track symptom progress, and a virtual care team that coordinates with Cleveland Clinic providers.

Once a patient enrolls in Ayble Health, a personalized care plan is recommended following a virtual visit and questionnaire. Individuals can go at their own pace and also connect with Ayble Health’s virtual care team to help with education and goal setting. Patients continue to consult their Cleveland Clinic providers as needed for evaluation and treatment.

Miguel Regueiro, M.D., Chief of Cleveland Clinic’s Digestive Disease Institute, said, “Cleveland Clinic’s patient-centered approach goes beyond the disease itself to provide care for the whole person, which can include behavioral health and nutrition support for patients with chronic digestive diseases.”

Dr. Regueiro’s primary clinical and research interest is inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). His focus on patient-centered care and population-health for chronic diseases led to a new model of healthcare delivery called medical home for IBD, which has been expanded to treat other gastrointestinal conditions.  

“The addition of an AI-enabled virtual care platform to Cleveland Clinic’s medical home model expands access to behavioral health tools and personalized nutrition support for patients with chronic digestive diseases,” said Dr. Regueiro.

Sam Jactel, CEO and Founder of Ayble Health, said: “We are thrilled to work with Cleveland Clinic’s Digestive Disease Institute to expand access to multidisciplinary gastrointestinal care for patients. The combination of Ayble Health’s award-winning virtual care platform with Cleveland Clinic’s medical home model of gastrointestinal care is the kind of holistic, evidence-based, comprehensive care I wish I had access to when I was diagnosed with IBD 10 years ago.”

“Research has shown that people's worry about symptoms, stress, anxiety and thoughts can exacerbate symptoms of chronic digestive diseases. The changes that patients need to make to manage their condition are hard,” said Stephen Lupe, Psy.D., gastrointestinal psychologist and Director of Behavioral Medicine in Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition.

Dr. Lupe worked with Ayble Health to develop the behavioral health content and care pathways available on the virtual platform, including recorded audio and written content that guide patients through hypnosis, relaxation, exercises consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, as well as mindfulness meditations.

 “Whether in-person or virtually, I work with my patients on developing strategies and behavioral skills to help improve their quality of life and decrease the symptoms of digestive diseases, including anxiety and worry about symptoms,” said Dr. Lupe. “There is no one-size-fits-all approach to the treatment of chronic digestive diseases, so we developed a program that can adapt based on an individual’s needs.”

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), 61% of Americans report experiencing a gastrointestinal issue at least once per week, but access to specialists is limited. A shortage of 1,600-2,000 gastroenterologists is predicted by 2025, and fewer than 150 gastrointestinal-specialized psychologists are practicing today for 70-90 million  patients with gastrointestinal issues.

Ayble Health was built on 20 years of research, including 14 peer-reviewed studies published with academic partners in leading GI journals; it is accredited by the American Nutrition Association and the Validation Institute. Based on peer-reviewed studies, Ayble Health reports that the majority of individuals who use the platform experience symptom reduction.

About Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. Cleveland Clinic is consistently recognized in the U.S. and throughout the world for its expertise and care. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 81,000 employees worldwide are more than 5,743 salaried physicians and researchers, and 20,160 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,690-bed health system that includes a 173-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 23 hospitals, 276 outpatient facilities, including locations in northeast Ohio; Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2023, there were 13.7 million outpatient encounters, 323,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 301,000 surgeries and procedures throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 132 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at twitter.com/CleClinicNews. News and resources available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.

Editor’s Note: Cleveland Clinic News Service is available to provide broadcast-quality interviews and B-roll upon request.

About Ayble Health

Ayble Health is a virtual care platform empowering patients with chronic GI conditions to improve their symptoms and live fuller lives. Ayble’s award-winning care platform includes unlimited access to a GI-specialized multidisciplinary care team, a suite of AI-powered nutrition and psychology programs, and curated wellness tools to drive sustainable symptom improvement for patients across the entire spectrum of acuity. Ayble combines the world's largest GI behavioral health database with its proprietary machine-learning algorithms to build personalized, predictive care plans for every patient. The platform is built on 20 years of research, including publications in Gastroenterology, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, and Clinical & Translational Gastroenterology, and is accredited by the American Nutrition Association and the Validation Institute. Patients can find Ayble through their physician partners, employers, insurers, or directly online. Visit www.ayblehealth.com to learn more. News and resources available at: https://www.ayblehealth.com/newsroom.

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