By Talia Lissauer, The Berkshire Eagle
GREAT BARRINGTON — A missed question at a doctor’s appointment sparked Monument Mountain Regional High School sophomore Jonah Sanabria to spend weeks developing an artificial intelligence–powered app designed to help patients better communicate with their doctors.
The app was selected as the winner of the Congressional App Challenge for Massachusetts’ 1st Congressional District. Sanabria’s app, along with the winners of other participating districts, will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for the next year. He will also be invited to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. in the spring for the House of Code celebration to present his app and connect with other coders from around the country.
The app, Health Advocate, is designed to combat doctor-to-patient miscommunication. Before the appointment, it can help the patient organize questions and explain their symptoms and concerns.
During the appointment, the AI listens and not only reminds the patient to ask the prewritten questions but also suggests others based on what was said. After the appointment, it helps to track medication and other goals laid out in the care plan.
“Every day, patients of all ages go to the doctor feeling stressed, confused, scared and uncertain, meaning they often forget what they wanted to say, and they leave without fully understanding what was said or the plan ahead,” Sanabria said. “It’s not because doctors don’t care. It’s because the system is set up in a way that makes relaxed communications really hard.”
Telehealth opportunities have improved access to health care, especially in rural communities like the Berkshires, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal told a class of sophomores Friday, where he awarded Sanabria a certificate.
But, there are still many problems in the health care industry, like the ability to understand health care terminology in the moment in order to ask appropriate questions, he said.
“We should note the irony that the health care battle ensues every day in America, and I think that he came up with a very simple solution, and that was to make it easier for the patient and the doctor to relate to each other,” Neal said.
The annual app challenge started in 2015 and encourages STEM, coding and computer science through hands-on innovation, with each participating representative hosting a competition in their district. More than 85,000 students across all 50 states have participated over the years.
Neal described the app as a “model” for how health care technology should evolve.
“This whole notion of the relationship between a patient and a doctor is a big deal, a big, big deal and we never want patient care to be just a number,” Neal said. “When you have that time with your doctor, you need to have the moment when you can ask them a question and not be afraid to do so.”
After Neal’s remarks, Sanabria gave a presentation on how the app works and thanked his family, friends and school for supporting him. He said he is working to continue developing the software so it can be available on the App Store, which he said is a challenge, but he’s been working to launch it.
“I would like to thank all my teachers and principals for making this happen and really making the school such a good place for me,” Sanabria said. “I’m able to learn so many things, to learn about problem solving, and it really helped to formulate my ideas.”
Sanabria’s mother, Naomi Mersky, started to cry while talking about how proud she is of her son.
“He worked really hard on this and he really challenged himself and brought it to the next level,” Mersky said. “It’s great for his peers to see what can be accomplished when you work really hard and you put yourself out there and take a risk, because this is a risk and it really paid off for him.”
Principal Christopher Barnes and Superintendent Peter Dillon separately said they are thrilled by what Sanabria created and to have a Monument student honored at this level for doing something that could have such a significant impact.
“Jonah is obviously a bright, driven, and self-motivated young man. We are incredibly proud of him, and his initiative and skills with technology,” Barnes said. “That he focused his efforts on health care is also highly impressive. I do have to say that we very much appreciate Jonah bringing Congressman Neal to our school. It’s a great honor.”
