BYU alum Riley Adamson doesn’t think of his healthcare startup as simply a way to make money. He views it as a way to change lives.
“I’m pretty passionate about empowering people who don’t have power or don’t have a voice or don’t have the opportunity,” Adamson said.
Adamson began developing CheckUp, a software for healthcare providers to manage and make follow-up calls to patients, after receiving his bachelor’s degree in industrial design from BYU.
He began beta testing the software in November 2015. Now CheckUp is used by 11 healthcare providers and is continuing to bring on more each month.
“We are helping patients on their path to recovery,” Adamson said. “They are having better outcomes because of what CheckUp does.”
Part of Adamson’s motivation is personal. When his father died, Adamson gained a desire to create a better world.
“You can’t really go about just thinking about yourself all day when something that tragic happens to you,” Adamson said. “That’s actually been a pretty critical event that has changed the way I think about other people.”
As time passed, he began developing CheckUp to help patients on their road to recovery.
Adamson said he has learned that being out of his comfort zone brings a greater love and understanding for others.
“The more you get out of your comfort zone, the more you’re willing to understand what people are going through,” Adamson said.
His experiences working with different cultures also fueled his desire to help others. From an internship with Johnson & Johnson in Boston and China, Adamson has taken part in improving healthcare systems across the world.
BYU junior and CheckUp account manager Madeline Skillings said the software lowers patients’ odds of returning to the hospital because it gives healthcare providers a system to follow up on patient care and recovery.
“The most fulfilling thing for me is taking care of people who are sick,” Skillings said. “CheckUp is like a second line of preventative healthcare.”
Through CheckUp, healthcare providers receive vital information about patient recovery, which can improve systems and overall recovery of individuals, according to Campus Founders, a venture capital firm run by BYU and University of Utah students.
BYU alumna and registered nurse Sammy Bassett has been working with CheckUp for six months. She was the first nurse to use the system and described how she has seen CheckUp’s outbound patient call list grow.
“At first we had about five calls a day to make, and now we have over 300 some days,” Bassett said.
Skillings and Bassett agree that CheckUp is more than just a system; it is a way to better the lives of others.
