Personalized surgical care platform with a virtual health coach
Official title: Novel Digital Health Platform with Virtual Health Coach for Improving Perioperative Patient Outcomes and Care Coordination
Funded at Pip Care, INC. · NIH-11263822 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A smartphone app with tailored guidance and a live virtual health coach to help people at higher risk prepare for and recover from surgery.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Pip Care, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | August 26, 2024 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,003,059 |
| NIH project number | 4R42HL174371-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11263822 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults scheduled for major surgery who are at intermediate or high perioperative risk and can use a smartphone app and interact with a virtual health coach are the best candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without upcoming surgery, those at very low surgical risk, or those without smartphone access or interest in digital coaching may not benefit from this platform.
What this research studies
This project builds Pip, an interactive platform that gives you a step-by-step, personalized surgical journey with reminders, education, and a live health coach for questions and motivation. The platform aims to address modifiable risk factors by offering prehabilitation exercises, medication and anemia prompts, symptom tracking, and coordinated task lists tied to your surgical timeline. The team will pilot the tool with surgical patients, focusing on those at intermediate or high perioperative risk, and collect hospital, readmission, complication, and satisfaction data to refine the coaching and workflows. The goal is to make perioperative instructions less confusing and to connect your care team, coaching, and personalized plan in one place.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reduce postoperative complications, shorten hospital stays, and improve patients' recovery experiences.
How similar studies have gone: Related digital coaching and prehabilitation programs have shown promising results in improving preparation and some outcomes, but combining live coaching with integrated perioperative workflows is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Pip Care, INC.
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mahajan, Aman — Pip Care, INC.
- Study coordinator: Mahajan, Aman
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.