Walgreens Finds Care partners with Music Health to offer music app for dementia patients
Music Health's music wellness app, Vera, is now available through Walgreens Find Care to provide people living with different forms of dementia with convenient and affordable access to personalized music from their computers and smart devices.
Vera is a new app that supports caregivers by offering the person in their care a custom-made “soundtrack of their lives” that can trigger long-lost memories, which may temporarily improve cognitive function, motor function, mood and sleep, while reducing agitation, aggression and other negative symptoms of dementia, the company said.
“We’ve built Vera to know and find the music that means the most and has the biggest impact for each person living with dementia," said Music Health co-founder Stephen Hunt. "It acts as a music detective that rediscovers songs they used to love a long time ago but may have forgotten about, which their caregivers may have never heard of, and their families may not even know of.”
Using AI technology, Vera discovers the soundtrack of someone’s life by combining information about their cultural background (such as where they grew up, their age and first language), with details about their music taste, such as a few favorite artists and genres. A recent study published in Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders found that using music therapy helped improve social engagement among people with dementia and their caregivers. The intervention also lowered caregiver distress.
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Through a strategic, industry-first agreement, Vera users are able to access the entire catalog of Universal Music Group, the world’s leading music-based entertainment company, to develop personalized music stations specifically designed to improve the lives of people living with dementia.
“We are focused on empowering new therapeutic applications of music that improve the lives of people around the world, and we’re thrilled this innovative partnership will provide even more caregivers with access to Music Health’s Vera app and the personalized music selections that resonate with people living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia,” said Michael Nash, UMG’s executive vice president, chief digital officer.
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Walgreens Find Care helps customers access in-person and virtual healthcare expertise from the comfort of their own home. Through this online marketplace, patients can connect with more than 75 local and national providers, offering more than 100 services and treatment for more than 120 conditions. Walgreens Find Care helps patients book appointments for a range of services like urgent care, telehealth, mental health, lab testing, physician house calls, hearing and optical services.