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For patients with chronic illnesses, Mazi Rasulnia sees a lot of what he calls the “6,000-hour problem.” 

Out of roughly 6,000 waking hours each year, those patients see their doctor perhaps one or two hours. The rest of the time, they’re on their own to manage their condition.

“Doctors, pharmacists, nurses — they all mean well, they just don’t have time,” Rasulnia said.

Rasulnia is a three-year Mayfair resident and the co-founder of Pack Health, which he describes as a patient engagement program to help bridge the gap between doctor visits. The goal of Pack Health, which Rasulnia founded with Forest Park resident Will Wright in October 2013, is to “extend the reach of the doctor beyond the clinic” and help patients better manage their own health.

Pack Health, located on 6th Avenue South downtown, starts with a 12-week program, which patients can sign up for directly or through their doctor, insurance provider or employer. The company works with chronic conditions such as cancer, COPD, asthma, diabetes, infectious diseases and mental illness and soon will start an autism program, to help caregivers manage health and prevent wandering. 

“They just want help. They’re overwhelmed. They’re frustrated. They’ve tried a lot of things. But generally what we’re finding is we get a lot of people who joined through support groups, through word of mouth, through Facebook,” Rasulnia said.

For $25 per month, clients are paired with a health advisor who will call, text or email them each week to answer questions and help keep the clients working toward their goals.

“I have members that have had their condition for years and years and years, and they just really don’t know how to deal with it. Having somebody to kind of talk to them is helpful,” said health advisor Kiley Turner. “Having the personal touch is something that’s meaningful.”

Taking a cue from subscription delivery services like Blue Apron and Trunk Club, Pack Health mails each new client a box containing a health contract, pedometer and other items to help them stick to a new health plan. These include refrigerator magnets with healthy food information and a place to write each week’s “tiny goal” to reach.

However, what’s made Pack Health grow to 2,500 clients in less than three years is that each program is customized. Rasulnia said each health advisor helps their client set up individual goals and learn about behaviors that can help or worsen their individual symptoms.

That can include proper nutrition and sleep, exercise, pain management, taking medications properly and understanding what can trigger flares of their symptoms. In some cases, Rasulnia said Pack Health has helped clients reduce their medications — with doctors’ approval — as well as hospital visits, so the clients’ overall healthcare costs decrease.

When needed, Turner said she has spent extra time explaining conditions to members, advising them on questions to ask their doctors and teaching them how to bulk shop to reduce their grocery bill. Turner has clipped and mailed coupons to members and has had clients say they share more with her than they do with their own doctors because they know her better.

“It’s just a function of empathy and time. We’re spending time with people and coaching them and making sure they make the right choices,” Rasulnia said. “We’re trying to do it for less than [the cost of] a haircut.”

After the initial 12-week program, Pack Health members continue for an additional nine months with less frequent check-ins from their health advisor. Turner said she’s still there to answer questions, but the goal is to see if the education and new habits they created will stick.

So far, Rasulnia said Pack Health is seeing results in the form of weight loss, quality of life improvement, lowered blood sugar levels, decreased asthma attacks and less pain and fatigue. He said he enjoys getting calls from doctors who have noticed a difference in their patients’ health.

Though they have members in every state and a few other countries, Rasulnia said Pack Health is trying to keep its success local. They work with UAB and Baptist Health Systems, try to hire local graduates and even have their printing and product manufacturing kept in the state.

“We’re trying to make it, ‘Alabama saved healthcare,’” Rasulnia said.