Tia is a San Francisco based Femtech initiative created to address the many facets of female health. The term “Femtech” may bring to mind images of an obnoxiously pink barbie laptop covered in flower stickers and love hearts… and if that’s your thing, then why not? However, Femtech goes a little deeper than that, and is revolutionizing the world of female health care.
Standing for (need I say it) female technology, Femtech is any technological service, product, or software that is focused on women’s health. The term was coined by Ida Tin, the founder of the period and fertility tracking app, Clue. Other examples of Femtech range from Elvie’s cordless breast pump, to the menstrual blood absorbing “period proof” underwear by Thinx. The Femtech industry is expanding exponentially; the total amount of capital raised by Femtech companies between 2014 and March 2017 was over $1.1 billion, which is predicted to rise to $50 billion by 2025. According to the World Bank, women currently constitute 49.5% of the world’s population, and unless a gender-based catastrophe strikes the planet, it’s unlikely this is demo split will change.
Femtech is not only important in meeting female demand for technology, but also in raising awareness of the inequality in women’s healthcare. Shruthi Parakkal, a consultant at market analysts Frost & Sullivan said to the Guardian that Femtech has “added momentum to healthcare companies across the world, recognizing the need for specialized solutions catering to women’s health.” Let’s face it, women’s bodies are wonderfully nuanced, and their individual needs should not be overlooked.
Tia began its life as a small app with the tagline, “Your personal, private women’s health advisor,” and is blossoming into one of the fiercest startups in the business. The app was released in 2017 by CEO Carolyn Witte and Felicity Yost, Head of Product. The app allows you to track not only your cycle but a whole host of other physical and mental symptoms, such as fatigue and anxiety. The app is displayed to mimic a text conversation with your health adviser. You may only be messaging an automated bot, but emojis and Beyoncé references are still included, as the app is lovingly engineered towards a relatable female experience.
On top of tracking your symptoms, you can also message your trusted bot friend questions like, “Why am I bloated?” She will promptly respond with several messages including information that your real friends may struggle to muster off the top of their heads. Most importantly, her answers are always geared towards women.
The bot’s response to a message regarding bloating explains that women are more likely to experience digestive issues than men because of periods and the way our bodies respond to stress. The app gives women key insight into the complexities of their bodies and can, in turn, help them take control over their own health.
A health app created “by women for women” is still a rarity — even with the rise of Femtech — and Tia’s latest endeavor of opening up IRL clinics is seemingly the first of its kind.
Tia’s philosophy is that it takes one to know one, or in other words, only women should be giving out advice for other people’s vaginas. So many women dread a trip to the gynecologist and let’s face it, the idea of some middle-aged Greg advising you on your vagina while a nurse watches from the corner of the room is awkward to say the least. Tia is quite literally cutting out the middleman by opening the first Tia Clinic in New York in January 2019.
The Tia Clinic seems like a medical dream come true for women who want a healthy body, mind, and relationship with their doctor. New York City has the highest population of young women in the whole of the US and yet according to the 2017 Merritt Hawkins report, “the average wait time for a new patient ‘well-woman exam’ in New York City was 19 days with a gynecologist and 26 days with a primary care provider.” U.S. healthcare also contains the complexities of health insurance and socio-economic inequality that may additionally affect the female experience. The Tia Clinic aims to shake up the status quo of women’s healthcare by creating a clinic tailored towards female needs.
The Tia Clinic will offer a unique blend of modern Western medicine and holistic practice such as naturopathy and meditation classes. They will also further provide primary healthcare and various wellness treatments ranging from fertility testing to flu shots. Long waiting times will be tackled with same day or week appointments, and outside of the clinic patients will be able to text their doctors. Some other features include in-clinic labs, acupuncture, and lest we forget — kombucha on tap.
Tia emphasises their ethos that anybody is able to access the Tia Clinic. Their website states “we believe every person — not just a few — should have access to personalized, best-in-class healthcare… our doors are open to anyone with a uterus — no matter what you look like, what gender you identify with, or who you love.” In accordance with this principle they are also facilitating when it comes to insurance. Tia is “in-network” with six insurance companies, such as Oscar and Aetna. There is also an option on their website to send them a request if you have a different insurance provider. Tia also accepts Medicaid and has special rates for low-income and vulnerable individuals.
Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the Tia Clinic is a feature that they have coined called “cycle-connected care.” Dr. Stephanie McClellan, the Tia Medical Director, defines cycle-connected care as “the notion that the menstrual cycle — not just women’s periods, but our broader cycle and associated physiological and emotional manifestations — is the 5th vital sign.”
In other words, women’s health — both emotionally and physically — is fundamentally related to their menstrual cycle and this should be considered accordingly when diagnosing and treating a patient. This is where longitudinal cycle data comes in. This slightly daunting term simply means the information that can be taken from health tracking apps, such as the Tia app. If the user regularly updates their symptoms on the app then this builds a picture of their overall health over time. Cycle-connected care is the healthcare provided when doctors are able to view the individual patient’s longitudinal data and connect the dots between their various symptoms. This also minimizes the possibility for human error, which can occur when a patient tries to recall their symptoms from memory. In order to achieve this the Tia app and the Tia Clinic are linked. All of the tracking that the patient has done on the Tia app will be accessible to the Tia doctor. This will aid the doctor in creating a fully comprehensive overview of the patient’s health in a way that is unique to the women’s body.
The Tia Clinic aims to offer a revolutionary practice in women’s healthcare. They are switching up the narrative in the female experience and offering an inclusive, truly caring environment in which women can feel fully understood.
For more information on the Tia Clinic and app, visit there website here. The Tia Clinic is scheduled to open in NYC sometime in February of 2019.
Photos (in order of appearance) by He-Myong Woo, @sawftly, and Angie López.