THE BEAM PROJECT

Bringing Evidence to Alternative Medicine

Rationale

Every day, millions of people use Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies. While many patients have reported real benefits, most are considered unproven. Mobile devices have the potential to empower patients and providers to collect data at the point of care. The BEAM project will endeavour to put this data on the blockchain, creating a global resource for evidence-based integrative medicine.

A Global Evidence Resource

Participating CAM providers will use a smartphone app to document the interventions they administer or prescribe. The CAM users who receive these treatments will reply to notifications to rate their symptoms and well-being, creating real-time outcomes data.  This data will enable:

  • Patients to identify the CAM therapies that work best for them
  • Providers to engage in rational prescribing and track their clinical results
  • Researchers, governments, insurers and other stakeholders to identify the most promising therapies

A tool for Patient-Centered Care

The BEAM project will make it possible for anyone to apply a rational prescribing approach to their alternative medicine experience. Patients allocate significant time and money to CAM therapies, often trying dozens of remedies and seeing many providers along the way. A platform that enables patients to document and track their outcomes will help them identify the specific treatments that work best for them. If enough people use the took, it will create a global evidence-based resource that will benefit everyone.

WHAT BEAM WILL DO

Document CAM interventions

Integrative healthcare practitioners will complete a short form in under a minute at the point of care. This will provide important data on the therapies they use.

Collect outcomes data

Patients will reply to notifications asking them to rate how they feel using validated symptom scores. This real-time data will be an accurate record of their progress.

Connect patients and providers

BEAM will link intervention data with symptom progress to support shared decision-making about treatment. A single app will be used to enroll patients and providers, document treatments, monitor compliance and track progress.

Provide personalized evidence

Computerized Adaptive Testing will be used to collect meaningful outcomes data with just a few questions. This data will be collected at baseline and at defined time intervals to assess the value of each intervention for each individual.

Blockchain-based global data network

All data will be stored on a distributed network linked using blockchain technology to ensure HIPAA, GDPR and PIPEDA compliance. Each patient’s individual outcomes will be available to them and their CAM providers. Aggregate outcomes data will be made available for free worldwide.

Create a global outcomes database

Healthcare data must become an instrument of science. Patient-reported outcomes and other data will enable transparent and clear evidence to guide the care of each individual.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN CONTRIBUTING TO THE BEAM PROJECT CONTACT US AT INFO@BEAMPROJECT.CA

About Us

The BEAM Project was created by Dr. Richard Nahas. His clinical experience in integrative pain management has made him a strong advocate for integrative healthcare. He recognized that this will not occur without evidence, and that current gold standards of evidence-based medicine are based on outdated technology and tools. He envisioned a world in which clinical guidelines are supported by a rational prescribing approach. This approach, which he uses in his clinical practice every day, is inclusive and patient-centered. He sees BEAM as a global resource for evidence-based integrative medicine, created by regular people who track their treatment and their progress to guide their healing journey.

Dr. Nahas oversaw the development of early versions of the BEAM app and conducted a pilot study at his Ottawa practice, The Seekers Centre, in fall of 2020. BEAM was used to measure the effectiveness of the Seekers Method, a self-care technique targeting blockages in fascia that he developed to help patients manage their chronic pain.

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“The most important outcome of the BEAM Project is to improve our effectiveness in helping people feel better. That still feels like the best way we can make the world a healthier place — for all of us.”

-Dr. Richard Nahas