BELONG Beating Cancer Together - Interview with the developer of a fantastic app

Did you have any prior development or coding experience?

Yes, I have been developing software for the last 35 years — since I was 10. As a big data entrepreneur and patent inventor with a strong technical background, I applied my analytics, machine learning, and NLP expertise to create and grow Belong.Life.

I work closely with Eliran Malki, the co-founder, and CEO of Belong.Life, who is an entrepreneur and business executive with a diverse technical and M&A background. We have an excellent, large team that is devoted to making Belong’s apps the best patient engagement solutions on the planet.

What was the most challenging aspect of developing mobile app?

It’s a huge task to bring value to the patient journey. For all mobile apps, retaining high engagement and retention over time is a key challenge.

Our focus at Belong is to build safe and secure communities and care management solutions that can improve patients’ quality of life. We also believe in educating and motivating patients and helping them manage their treatment journey.

Our slick UI and UX design, coupled with the understanding of our userbase needs, has led Belong to become the top global app for both cancer and MS patients. We have more than one million patients and caregivers around the world who use our apps.

Despite the challenges, it is important to focus on building a community you are proud of!

_BELONG.LIFE

The interviewee, Irad Deutsch is a noted big data entrepreneur and patent inventor with a strong technical background, Irad Deutsch co-founded Belong.Life following the loss of his mother to lung cancer. Applying his skills and expertise in big data analytics, machine learning and NLP, Irad and Belong are transforming the way patients and physicians manage illness journeys, to improve quality of life and treatment outcomes.

Belong.Life is a leading global tech provider of high-engagement patient communities and care platforms, supporting millions of patients worldwide. Among Belong.Life's brands are the world's largest social and professional networks for cancer patients (Belong - Beating Cancer Together) and multiple sclerosis patients (BelongMS), as well as i-Belong, BelongIBD, BelongPSO, CoronApp (select countries), and more. Belong.Life's mission is to improve quality of life and quality of care around the world through technology, engagement, data, and AI.

Name a few of your favorite apps and reason you love them.

I love Uber and Lyft. Simplicity is key to an app’s success.

How long have you been working on this app?

We have been developing the Belong network since our first app, Belong – Beating Cancer Together was founded in 2016. Over the years, we have broadened our impact through additional apps that serve other communities. These include BelongMS for people living with multiple sclerosis, i-Belong for self-managed communities, and BelongIBD (Crohn’s and colitis) and BelongPSO (psoriasis), both available in select countries.

We also have dozens of developers on our team who have worked over the last seven years to develop, perfect and expand the Belong Apps.

What need of the user did you have in mind when developing this app?

When developing our first app, we wanted to ensure user anonymity and access to personalized curated content along with networking capabilities.

Patients with acute diseases often prefer to stay anonymous. However, at the same time, they seek a supportive community. We have built the Belong app from the ground up in a way that patients can securely share their challenges without exposing their identity. We have invested in an AI-based content personalization engine so patients using Belong see data relevant to them at the right stage of their treatment journey.

My vision is for every person who is dealing with an acute disease to have access to a Belong solution.

In what way do you think your app is better than similar apps on the market? Please describe in detail what innovation you think you bring and what you are proud of in your app.

We are the only patient engagement platform that provides true end-to-end solutions. This can be grouped into three areas:

• Patient to patient social communities powered by AI technology: Our app connects you—the patient—with people who are on similar journeys. We use more than 2,000 algorithms to make this happen.

• Access to professionals: Our platform supports access to a large team of leading doctors, nurses, and experts who can provide answers and support during every step of your journey.

• Care and navigation management solutions: We provide folders for organizing documents, treatment reminders, and tasks, as well as access for your family members, caregivers, and more.

What are your future plans and expected features of the coming new versions of this app?

We are entering new markets, like women’s health, wellness, and other chronic and acute diseases. And of course, we are investing significantly into R&D to perfect our various data ingestion tools. Through this, we can continue to provide our users with the most relevant information to help them in their journey.

Assuming new users of your app are reading this page. What do you want to ask them to do (contact you about X, Share the app, etc.)?

I would like new users to tell me how we can improve our platform even more, so we can help them engage more and improve their journeys. Belong was developed for people by people who experienced acute disease firsthand. We put the patient experience front and center!

I encourage users to share the Belong apps with others in need because it is a true lifeline.