We are a health tech startup founded by health consumers on a mission to democratize health breakthroughs for every single person. Breakthroughs can be anything from pharmacological and medical breakthroughs, to habit and lifestyle breakthroughs.

As a patient-first organization, we are committed to providing free health information for everyone.

Turnto is made to help everybody with a chronic health condition to stay effortlessly up to date in just 5 minutes.

When we are first diagnosed with a chronic illness - we are not equipped with the information to manage it. There is no magic pamphlet with answers to all the questions we have. We’re often told - ‘there is no cure, good luck, and goodbye’

Your appointment may have come to a close, but you do not. A new journey begins, but there is no map to navigate it. The burden is on us - as patients - to understand how to manage our illnesses.

Despite 1 in 3 adults globally suffering from multiple chronic conditions; medical information and interventions are not easily accessible or readable - let alone the decision-making of what to do.

Research states that it takes an average of 12 years for medical research to translate into medical interventions.

For those of us who live with chronic illnesses today - this is too long.

We want to transform the search experience from years into minutes.

We made Turnto to speed up and democratize medical information for every health condition. We do this by capturing health breakthroughs from consumers and professionals; translating medical literature in real time; and nurturing a collaborative community that actively validates and shares results.

– Jess

I started Turnto after our family was told there were “no treatment options” to help our son living with a rare type of Cerebral Palsy.

So of course - I did what we all do - and turned to good old Doctor Google, and discovered the amazing world of private Facebook groups. I remember finding this blog late one night, of some family trying an orthopaedic suit. I was so desperate to try something - I just ordered this piece of equipment on the spot. Until that day, our son couldn’t sit. We put it on, and he sat for the first time. We took the suit off and he kept being able to sit. That was the moment we knew that there were things we could do to dramatically help our boys’ lives. But it was on us to find them.

And so began this epic quest to find more treatments for our kids. The crazy thing is that we did. The things we were learning were already in the medical literature once I started digging.

But you see, our family story is incredibly common.

You know the ones facing cancer, some random autoimmune condition, or have a family member with a neurological condition. Patients cannot find cutting-edge treatments without becoming full-time researchers.

These are the stories our community has experienced:

“Every single day I log into facebook and scan all the comments. In case someone mentions a new treatment I have never heard of”

“It’s really hard to gauge the credibility of things we find on Facebook and Instagram”

It takes those who care the most about this, to disrupt this ineffective and broken system.

I started Turnto so that we don’t have to go through years of personal research to find a handful of life-changing treatments. We want everybody to have them now.

– Jess

Living with a health condition can feel like you’re alone riding a rollercoaster, but this community that Tim is building with Invisible Condition provides a safe space where anyone can come to feel heard and supported.

A community where people feel comfortable sharing their experiences and lessons learned is an invaluable resource. ‘Invisible conditions’ are particularly hard because sometimes medical professionals don’t have the knowledge to diagnose; sometimes we doubt ourselves because they are not ‘obvious’ like other common health issues; other times it’s the lack of public awareness, the confusion of family or friends; and most of the time it’s the difficulty in articulating what we’re going through. Access to other people’s experiences not only normalizes these conditions but also equips us with language and lessons to use in our own journey.

Support is so essential to have along the way - whether it’s support from friends and family, health providers, or strangers you connect with on the internet! It’s important to have good people by your side as you navigate the daily challenges of living with a chronic health condition.

– Jess and Ally

Firstly, I’d share my tips on managing my boundaries and communication with others - mainly by identifying who needs to know and how much they need to know. I find using quantitative analogies works really well, especially using percentages for energy:

Most people wake up with 100% battery; whereas I would typically wake up with 10% - which means there is much more weight in deciding which tasks I complete that day (e.g. cooking, showering, calling a friend). These are tasks that others often don’t think twice about but require a large portion of my daily energy.

Mentioning widely recognized devices helps too - I find sharing that I often use a wheelchair helps people understand the severity of my illness and helps paint a picture for them of my day-to-day reality.

Secondly, I’d emphasize recognizing that it’s not your fault. I really like the advice of separating me from my illness. Instead of saying ‘I can’t go out today’, I’d say ‘My body can’t do that today’ or ‘My symptoms are preventing that today’. This helps remove the blame from the person and puts it where it belongs, on the illness. When you have an energy-limiting illness, there are a lot of “can’t do’s” that are simply out of your control.

– Ally

To have an open mind, empathize, and just listen.

Everybody has a different role to play - but these common principles apply everywhere.

For clinicians and medical professionals - be open to admitting when you don’t know something, be willing to try new things, and proactively learn about chronic illnesses. There are many resources and charities, that share educational resources on invisible conditions.

For the government - be more empathetic with marginalized communities affected by your policy change or lack of action. The impacts of Long Covid on the economy range from $3.6B - $2.6T/year. The demand is clearly there but very little action has been taken.

For the general public - be kind and listen. I often meet people who respond with their own stories as a way to relate to my illness - however, when these stories are of day-to-day inconveniences, they can come off as dismissive and invalidating of our experiences. It’s enough to simply lend an ear, and affirm that sometimes these things just suck.

– Ally