Season 2 - Episode 1: Revolutionizing Research in Long-Term Care with Study Buddy

Andie Cartwright

Welcome to Season 2 of the Better Living Through Data Podcast! I’m Andie, and of course, it wouldn't be a show without Anthony!! Today, we’re diving straight into something, well, pretty close to my marketing heart—making sense of a black box.....a mystery, if you will. And no, I’m not talking about one of my old escape rooms here, although there’s actually a funny connection. Anthony, we've talked about how mysterious and siloed long-term care data can be. Like, almost impenetrable unless you had a magic decoder.

Anthony Pero

Absolutely, Andie. For so long, LTC data’s been locked away. Highly regulated and perceived assuper fragmented—you kinda feel like you need a PhD just to get a report out of it. Not to mention, even when you get access, it’s sometimes just these fragmented, episodic snapshots, not a full picture at all. It’s really hard to get longitudinal insights or understand real patient journeys enough for research or care improvement.

Andie Cartwright

Yeah, that’s exactly it. I remember back when I owned an escape room company, the number one complaint was, “There just aren’t enough clues! How are we supposed to solve this?” But everything changed the moment we pointed out all the clues in different formats. Suddenly, the puzzles started making sense. You could actually see the big picture. And that sort of makes me think about how our newest software offering - Study Buddy - is approaching LTC data.

Anthony Pero

That’s actually a great analogy, Andie. Study Buddy has basically turned on all the lights. It lets researchers see 50-plus data points per patient, per day, which is wild. We’re talking about coverage across literally 15 million patients, age 65 and up, going back over a decade. And this isn’t just, like, one random blood pressure reading, it’s more than 50 patient observations—think diagnostics, medication orders, mood, diet, vitals, daily activities, you name it. And with the average long-term stay being over 800 days, that’s an immense trove of data.

Andie Cartwright

Yeah, and what blows my mind is how Study Buddy brings together all this detail from such a highly regulated, closed environment. I mean, prior to now? Long-term care was sort of, well, invisible. We’re finally getting that abundance of “clues", giving researchers a real shot at understanding vulnerable populations on a level that was pretty much impossible before, and faster than EVER! You know, there’s another angle here that I think researchers will really appreciate—especially academic medical researchers. Before you even get to a funded study, there’s that whole pre‑award phase. You’ve got a great idea, but you still need to prove feasibility, justify your cohort, and show reviewers that the data actually exists to answer the question you’re proposing. Historically, that part alone could take weeks or months.

Anthony Pero

Exactly. And that’s where Study Buddy is kind of a game‑changer. Researchers can take early‑stage questions—something broad or even a little fuzzy—and start stress‑testing it against real long‑term care data in minutes. You can see whether a population is large enough, whether key variables are actually captured, and whether the signal is even worth pursuing before you sink time or money into a full proposal.

Andie Cartwright

Right, it’s like—before you walk into the escape room and lock the door, in this sense, Study Buddy lets you confirm the clues are actually there. You can refine your hypothesis, narrow your scope, and go back to your grant with way more confidence that the study is both feasible and meaningful.

Anthony Pero

And the outputs matter too. Study Buddy can generate early table shells, population counts, and exploratory summaries that are directly usable in grant submissions. That means reviewers aren’t just seeing a good idea—they’re seeing the right end points and evidence that the study design is grounded in real, longitudinal data from day one.

Andie Cartwright

Which, honestly, is huge. Moving from “I think this question matters” to “Here’s why this question is fundable”—that’s a massive leap. And Study Buddy helps researchers make that leap faster, without needing to be an LTC data expert or wait on an analyst backlog.

Anthony Pero

Exactly. So instead of looking for the needle in the haystack, Study Buddy gives you the whole puzzle, piece by piece, every day, for years. That’s never really happened in this space before.

Andie Cartwright

So once you’ve got all these pieces in place—this super granular, longitudinal data—now the real magic can happen, right? What really sets Study Buddy apart is, it’s not just about collecting, but turning that raw, chaotic info into actionable insight. Anthony, you’re way more of a data guy than me. Walk us through it.

Anthony Pero

Alright, so here’s the deal: Study Buddy isn’t pulling just, like, monthly check-ins. It’s capturing charting data multiple times a day for every patient, every single day. When you power that with AI tools, suddenly you’re able to analyze prescribing patterns in ways that just weren’t possible before. For example, the system can spot subtle trends—say, how a medication impacts one subpopulation differently than another, or whether outcomes change by gender or based on things like social determinants or even facility size.

Andie Cartwright

I love that. And what about geography? Haven’t you said before sometimes outcomes look totally different in one part of the country versus another?

Anthony Pero

Yeah, totally. Geography, facility size, staffing variations—these all suddenly become dimensions you can slice almost instantly. There was this use case a little while back where Study Buddy’s real-time tools helped us identify, in minutes not months, that a particular medication actually needed a different protocol for a cohort of patients in a certain region. Previously, ironing that out could’ve taken, I dunno, half a year or more? Instead, we updated guidelines nearly overnight. That’s the power of moving from static, episodic data to continuous, intelligent analysis.

Andie Cartwright

That’s mind-blowing, honestly. It’s like, we’ve gone from “Wait six months for the committee to circle back,” to, “Oh hey, here’s a pattern and a solution, let’s implement it now.” And being able to pinpoint those differences down to gender, SDOH, or whatever else is just… I mean, I sound like a marketer but it actually is revolutionary for these populations.

Anthony Pero

You’re not wrong to market it, though! We’ve lived in a world of averages for so long—where people sorta pretend that everyone’s experience is the same. But we can actually see the exceptions and learn from them. And that’s only possible because of this sort of granular, up-to-the-minute dataset Study Buddy provides.

Andie Cartwright

Yeah, and what excites me is just how fast these evidence cycles are getting. Cutting from months to literal minutes? You can’t overstate how big that is for both care providers and the people they serve.

Andie Cartwright

So, now the data floodgates are open, and AI’s connecting the dots—how does this actually translate for folks in long-term care? I think the patient journey mapping piece is super interesting, especially when you’re trying to avoid the classic pitfalls and, you know, raise the standard across the board.

Anthony Pero

Absolutely. With Study Buddy, mapping out the whole patient journey isn’t theoretical anymore. You can look back and see where outcomes went off the rails or where specific interventions led to better recovery or satisfaction. And for organizations, that means identifying best practices you’d want to replicate—and pitfalls to avoid—in a way that’s tailored by facility, by patient cohort, whatever you need.

Andie Cartwright

And the fact that Study Buddy’s output comes in all these flexible formats means you’re not stuck waiting for your data team to translate a brick of numbers. Researchers and LTC organisations can actually, like, make decisions fast, see what’s working, and adjust in real time. That, to me, feels like the missing link from everything we talked about in our last episode—about just getting that data to people who needed it, in a way they could actually use.

Anthony Pero

Spot on. And it’s more than just speed, it’s also accessibility. Researchers who aren’t data scientists can get actionable answers, and that fast evidence means—we hope—better outcomes. Now, there’s always the looming “what’s next,” right?

Andie Cartwright

Right, so I’m gonna throw a curveball here. Do you think tools like Study Buddy can help close, like, those huge equity gaps we see in LTC? I mean, with all this visibility, are we really set to change things for the most overlooked populations, or is there a risk of just bringing old biases into shiny new tech?

Anthony Pero

That’s the billion-dollar question. I actually think, when you build these systems with equity in mind—and you’re checking the insights for bias, for instance—you do have a shot at closing those gaps. But it’s not automatic. We’ve got to stay vigilant, be timely and deliberate about how these tools are applied. Otherwise, yeah, same problems, just with faster reporting. But I’m optimistic. We’ve already seen early use cases where visibility led to care changes that helped folks who otherwise fell through the cracks.

Andie Cartwright

Yeah, I agree—we’re not just replacing old processes, we’re rewriting them for a better future if we do this right. Anyway, that’s a lot to chew on, and I’m sure we’ll dig even deeper into things like bias and standardization in future episodes. Anthony, thanks for letting me nerd out about escape rooms and data again.

Anthony Pero

It wouldn’t be a Better Living Through Data episode without a classic escape room analogy or two, Andie. Thanks for being at the helm of the ship today. And thanks everyone for listening—whether you’re a research pro or just, you know, data curious, we appreciate you joining us. If you want to learn more about Study Buddy, and sign up for free early access, click the link in the description or from today's LinkedIn post!

Andie Cartwright

We’ll catch you next time on Better Living Through Data. Anthony, always a pleasure! Bye everyone.

Anthony Pero

See you, Andie. Take care everybody.