i-Belong App Aims to Expand Online MS Patient Communities

Belong.Life has launched an app that allows health professionals to build and manage their own online communities of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

Called i-Belong – Connecting Communities, the app offers to healthcare providers, pharmaceuticals, and patient advocacy and other groups a platform to effectively and efficiently educate and interact with MS patients, as well as those with other disorders.

“I believe the i-Belong platform can completely change and enhance the mode of communication and shared knowledge in the healthcare industry by providing every organization the option to have a self-built and managed patient community, an environment they can be proud of and one that can support their goals,” Eliran Malki, co-founder and CEO of Belong.Life, a patient engagement and research platform developer, said in a press release.

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“The extremely high engagement levels on Belong’s apps have guided our development of i-Belong and will empower the entire ecosystem of care,” Malki added.

Belong.Life launched a free and anonymous social network app for MS patients, called BelongMS, in 2020, and offers a similar app for people with cancer.

The new i-Belong app expands the technology and platform “to tackle industry challenges,” the company states in its release, allowing organizations and professionals “to build new communities using a pay-as-you-grow subscription model” and to promote communication, and tailored patient care and support using fewer resources.

Belong also reports that it is partnering with leading global research organizations to bring patient communities closer to institutions at the forefront of research.

“The i-Belong platform has been essential in building a community for our patients, allowing us to provide optimized care coordination and personalized content and communication when it really matters most,” said Gerald Batist, MD, director of the Segal Cancer Centre at Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, Canada.

“For years we have worked to find a solution to serve our patients more effectively, and i-Belong is allowing us to support each one of them on their unique journey. This is truly a game-changer for the industry,” Batist added.

BelongMS and other Belong.Life’s apps include support groups, where people can share their own personal experiences, as well as access to medical professionals, navigation tools, and clinical trial matching services.

The apps are powered by Belong.Life’s proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to ensure the best support for its users, the company reports.

Belong’s platforms are compliant with the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.