Ep. 287: AI in Action - Allergy Aide

AI is showing up everywhere—from everyday tools to cutting-edge research—and it’s starting to make an impact in the food allergy world, too. So, what happens when technology meets real-life food allergy management?

We’re exploring that intersection with Dr. Greg Puglisi, board-certified allergist and Founder and CEO of Allergy Aide. He’s harnessing the power of AI to support patients in navigating their food allergy journey—and he’s here to share how this innovation could change the way we manage care.

Resources to keep you in the know:

• Allergy Aide Website: please note this is the official website, and the app was under development at the time this podcast was recorded. There is a similar-named app on the market, but it is not associated with Dr. Gregory Puglisi.

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Sponsored by: DBV Technologies

Thanks for listening! FAACT invites you to discover more exciting food allergy resources at FoodAllergyAwareness.org!

Transcript

Caroline: Welcome to FAACT's Roundtable, a podcast dedicated to navigating life with food allergies across the lifespan. Presented in a welcoming format with interviews and open discussions,

each episode will explore a specific topic, leaving you with the facts to know or use.

Information presented via this podcast is educational and not intended to provide individual medical advice.

Please consult with your personal board certified allergist or healthcare providers for advice specific to your situation.

Hi everyone. I'm Caroline Moassessiand I am your host for the FAACT Roundtable podcast.

I am a food allergy parent and advocate and the founder of the Grateful Foodie blog. And I am FAACT's Vice President of Community Relations.

Before we start today, I just want to say thank you to DBV Technologies for being a kind and generous sponsor of FAACT's roundtable podcast.

AI is showing up everywhere, from everyday tools to cutting edge research. And it's starting to make an impact in the food allergy world too.

So what happens when technology meets real life food allergy management?

Today we're exploring that intersection with Dr. Greg Puglisi, board certified allergist and CEO and founder of Allergy Aide. He's harnessing the power of AI to support patients in navigating their food allergy journey.

And he's here to show us how this innovation could change the way we manage care.

Welcome, Dr. Puglisi, to FAACT's Roundtable Podcast. We're absolutely delighted to have you here because you have something very interesting for us to discuss and learn about.

Dr. Puglisi: Well, thank you so much, Caroline. Thanks for having me. And we got a little bit of discussion going just before starting, but I'm looking forward to diving in.

Caroline: Excellent. Well, we're going to go.

So before we get too deep into the conversation,

your work sits at that intersection of medicine and innovation.

So can you share your journey as an allergist and the moment that you realize that AI could play a role in supporting food allergy patients and caregivers?

Dr. Puglisi: Yeah. So I've been in allergy for 20 years now, and over that time I've seen so many barriers to proper and timely treatment of anaphylaxis. And we all know it's a life threatening allergic emergency and it demands very quick and decisive action.

And yet here we are in 2026,

we're living in this digital world and on the heel of like a technological revolution, and we're still using paper action plans. So think about your phone for a second.

It never leaves your side. It becomes literally an extension of yourself. And an action plan should be just like that. You have the same relationship with patients or caregivers, always there,

always current, always accessible.

And paper plans have served us well, but now we have this technology that we hold in our hands that can take that plan and make it so much more powerful, so much more connected, so much more responsive to the needs of our patients and families.

And that's really that moment for me,

maybe not one single patient story, but thinking about this system when I was actually using a business card app, and realizing that technology can be applied here. So allergy aid gives patients, parents, caregivers,

a tool that doesn't just help them navigate a reaction at any time, but it connects them to the whole ecosystem, the providers who can now review and store those plans digitally,

and their child's school or camp or daycare,

who can now have a clear, accessible, smart form that does so much more than a paper could ever do.

Caroline: Well, I remember back in the day printing out the paper plans for my kids and then trying to find some sort of plastic envelope or covering to put it in because they got so beat up.

And then if they got wet and I mean,

and it was year after year after year. So when I heard about you, I was like, well, there we go, the hunt is over.

Dr. Puglisi: It's getting there. Yes, without a doubt.

Caroline: Well, I love that. So now let's focus a little bit on AI for a moment. So AI is actually having a moment right now.

So can you help us cut through the noise on it? What is AI in real terms and then how are you using it to make a difference with your patients?

You kind of teased into it a moment ago.

Dr. Puglisi: Yeah. So it AI is incredible. It's an amazing tool. I think it's core. It's just this super intelligent software that can understand and solve real complex problems. And for allergy aid, it's helping us work faster, smarter.

We were able to build features that go way beyond being an action plan alone. And so I could just give you some core examples of what we're doing. That's really exciting for me and I hope it's really exciting for families.

So one thing is that allergy aid is able to kind of operationalize anaphylaxis guidelines. So we're taking the most updated guidelines and putting that directly into patients and parents hands.

So it has a symptom checker that guides caregivers on exactly what to do based on what is selected. It walks users through how to use their specific epinephrine device step by step.

We're also able to incorporate brand new guidelines around when to call 911 that just rolled out last year.

And so previously the directive was to always call 911,

but actually that led to hesitation and treatment. So that updated guidance is now directly built into Allergy Aid. And so we're building things like that. We're building a barcode reader where you can scan your device when you set up your profile, and that product gets flagged for recalls.

We can give you a recall alert. We can give you an alert of when your epinephrine is due to be refilled.

So we'll have all those features. And one of my favorite features, actually, is what kind of helped me get to this point from the beginning,

when was this QR code, which makes the action plan accessible from anywhere, anytime. You're talking about that paper that you're carrying around, right? So now a child can have that code on their bag tag, on a wristband, and any caregiver nearby can just pull it up instantly with no app download required,

no digging out for that paper. You know that you had laminated. Just immediate access where it matters most. And on the provider side, the other thing that AI really does, it helps us generate this smart form that is completed just like a Docusign.

So we get burdened with all these paperwork when it's time for school and camp. And so now we make that review process really easy. And that completed plan is then electronically transmitted to school or camp or daycare.

And those institutions are getting just a much cleaner action plan. They're saving real administrative time.

Actually. Allergy Aide is actually able to send reminders to the parents, like, get your action plan done. And to the providers, like, hey, we need to get this done. So we're able to send those nudges.

And so that kind of organization is also what is going to lead to much better compliance, real clarity for everyone that's caring for that child.

Caroline: So now, for someone tuning in and hearing about Allergy Aid for the first time,

can you walk us through how do they find the app?

Why would they want the app and kind of walk us through someone using the app in the day?

Give us one example.

Dr. Puglisi: So Allergy Aid itself, just to define what it is and what we're doing, it's a digital anaphylaxis action plan platform.

It really just streamlines, organizes, and simplifies the entire action plan process. Because right now, it's a bit of a fragmented and disorganized process to some degree. So there's three nodes.

There's the physician node, there's the parent and patient node, and then there's the school, camp and daycare node. So these are three different platforms that we're working with.

I serve as a medical director for a number of school districts and I've seen even in really well run and organized schools,

it's striking. There's missing plans, there's outdated plans, there's incomplete plans, there's plans that are many times are illegible, you can't read even what's on there.

And school nurses spend enormous energy chasing down parents. And to get those plans submitted on time, they're chasing down providers. When something is missing, we get calls like, hey, this is not stamped or things like that.

So it's an administrative burden that falls on the people who are supposed to be focused on caring for kids. And this is a condition that requires, you know, absolute clarity for any caregivers.

So like a coach, cafeteria, a teacher, camp counselor, they now have clarity in that moment that allergy aid is adopted into your system. So, so for parents, that's exactly what they're, they're giving to those caregivers.

And what allergy aid does is it fixes that at like every point in the chain. So the plan leaves, it lives in a secure portal.

It's never incomplete, it's never illegible, it follows current guidelines. It won't suffer from any kind of informational drift you get with paper hasn't been touched in a number of years.

You know, I've just looked back at one of the schools and it's, you know, they revised their last action plan in 2020.

So, you know, you could have that printed copy as well. And so, you know, you're going to get the most updated tool. So as you mentioned in the beginning, so on the family side, and it's the part that I'm most excited about,

about, is that those parents can share that plan instantly with a babysitter, a camp counselor, grandparent, anyone can scan that QR code. There's no app, no login, you know, just immediate clarity on exactly what to do.

And ultimately that's what this is all about. You know, we say, and we know EPI first, EPI fast. The goal is always like faster recognition,

faster action,

less severe outcomes.

And that's what the technology and AI could and should be doing for, for individuals who need immediate clarity for a condition that's really rapidly progressive and life threatening. And so our goal in allergy aid is we have all these systems.

It's kind of like our goal with Allergy Aide is very much aligned with the mission at fact, for example, we want to raise awareness, we want to reduce reactions, we want to help our food allergy community not just cope with this condition, but feel truly supported and protected every single day.

And that's what we're trying to build, something that will be able to do that for our parents and families.

Caroline: Okay, so if I have the app, I get it, I download it on my phone, I see the action plan on there, would I then go see my doctor, send that to my doctor, have them complete it.

Right. And then once they complete it, and they would, this would all be digitally. Right. So I don't necessarily have to be in at the office.

We don't have to be physically in front of each other. Right. We can do this all digitally.

Dr. Puglisi: That's right. So right now, the app. The app itself is not out, and we're going to be rolling that out in the summer. Hopefully we'll be out sometime in July. So the app is not in the App Store, but it's coming very soon.

That's exactly the way it can be. You can download the app and then send it to your provider. That provider would fill it out digitally, and then it comes right back to you.

And then you could share that with your school. The model that we have right now in certain camps and in school districts is to have the camper school district invite the parent and the parent then when they get that invite, then they could fill out their plan.

You know, get the app, download the app, get that plan, and bring it to their position. So it really streamlines that whole process from end to end is what we're doing.

Caroline: Okay, good. And then now let's say I have your app in my hand. Once it comes out and my loved one has an allergic reaction, I can then pull up that app.

And will it walk me through the steps if I need it? Hopefully not. Hopefully. I've practiced with my epinephrine, but if I. I panic because it happens. Right. And I've spoken to friends who blanked out with epinephrine in their hand.

So if I blank out, I can pull that app up and it's going to guide me through,

Is that what you're saying?

Dr. Puglisi: That's exactly it. That's exactly it. So you have a symptom checker that will take you right through you just check the symptoms that you're having or that your child may be having, and it will tell you exactly what to do from that symptom checker.

And so it's very, very clear. I mean, I think that you're right.

Sometimes it's very obvious when to give, you know, but there's those times when it's just not as obvious, and it's like, huh, you know, I'm really just not sure. This is starting to accelerate, and I'm not really sure.

And it's those times when we know the earlier that we give, the better the outcome. The goal here is just to get that epinephrine in as early as possible. I think that a lot of people wait too long and that's when they get into trouble.

And so the goal here is to just have something that serves as an education tool,

but also serves at the time that it's needed to just do what it's supposed to do.

Caroline: Going back to the app and the work that you're doing, how do the HIPAA laws play into that?

Dr. Puglisi: We really have covered that. You know, we have a legal team, and my development team really kind of ensure that we have that airtight. We have. We're. We're compliant with HIPAA, FERPA, New York State Law 2d.

HIPAA goes both ways, too. It goes from I am sending my plan over to somebody. So as a physician, I'm sending it over into allergy aid. So HIPAA is kind of very, very important to us.

We understand that we would never be able to roll out into camps or school district or be in a live environment without that being airtight. So, yeah, we're making sure that we have all that in place, and it is.

Caroline: Now, how does that apply to colleges? My daughter graduated last year, and I know FERPA applied and she was able to give me access to different things. Does this work the same way for a college as it would K12?

Dr. Puglisi: It does work through colleges. The difference is K through 12.

An action plan is a requirement. Every school in the country requires action plans.

At least public schools require action plans for children. Colleges, you don't have to have an action plan. So a college student would have their own action plan. They would have an allergy and action plan that they can go through and look at and understand when and how to use it.

Doesn't need to be on file at the college itself, but for schools for K through 12, it does.

So the school would be inviting the parent to have that form filled out, and that's how that would work.

So from the FERPA standpoint, or from the. At least in New York, for the New York State regulations that we have here that apply to many other states, you know, all those things would be applicable to Those K through 12 excellent.

Caroline: And just staying on college for a minute just because literally that's the world I just left with my daughter.

So if someone was like me, their college student has the app,

they would just share it with their friends.

And their friends could just hit that QR code and then when they hit that QR code, then does that stay on their phones? Could a roommate have that action plan just living on their phone so in case there is an emergency.

Dr. Puglisi: So really important. And thanks for bringing that up. So with hipaa, one of the things that we built is when that QR code is scanned, it is de identified because it's very important.

We don't want just anybody to scan a QR code now have that private health information on their phone or anything like that. So what you would be getting is a de identified action plan.

You would just see the allergens and the action plan, it's all by itself and that's what you'd be seeing.

Caroline: Okay, that's good. That works. So this sounds really exciting. So now looking at this big fantastic project that is happening right now,

what do you think and what excites you the most about the future of AI in food allergy care? And then also, is there anything that you think parents and caregivers should be hopeful about?

Like what should we be excited about in the future? Future and looking towards?

Dr. Puglisi: I mean, I think that AI is absolutely transforming medicine in ways we're only beginning to understand. And it's,

you know, it's already happening. So as a physician,

it's making me more efficient. So for example, like our computers can just listen to us, there's ambient AI,

it can just listen to our patient encounter, generate a comprehensive clinical note. And that alone is giving us practitioners, you know, some time back to spend on, you know, that we've used to spend on all this documentation.

And so it's all also crawling through our EMRs in real time. It's flagging conditions we might want to address, it's connecting us to clinicians more easily. So that day to day practice of medicine is already kind of changing on the research side.

I think that AI is really going to help us understand so many aspects of medicine. I think it's just super exciting to see what it can do. I think it's accelerating the development of new therapies and identifying biological targets and treatments that we haven't imagined yet.

And that's going to continue to accelerate as AI gets smarter and smarter. And so the path to a cure for food allergy, for example, I believe runs directly through this type of technology and, you know, from allergy, for allergy itself,

it has a specific role to play in that future. And, you know, that I'm really excited about. There is a reaction diary also.

So if there's a reaction, that patient or caregiver can log that reaction. Real time captures what happened when and what exposure they had and what intervention was used. And right now, the most reliable anaphylaxis data that we have comes from hospital records, which means we're only seeing the most severe end of that spectrum and we're missing kind of everything in between.

So allergy can change that too, because the data that we collect can be used to advance treatment protocols, identify behavior patterns, you know, that, and we can really kind of give researchers and clinicians a much more complete picture of what food allergy actually looks like in the real world.

And that's kind of real world evidence that leads to published research,

better guidelines, and ultimately better outcomes for patients.

Then there's a lot more that we can do in development.

Someday, hopefully, we'll be able to display allergy information in multiple languages. So if that college student is going abroad and they'll be able to travel without struggling with that communication gap, and we can make it into different languages and show it, and maybe they could talk to you and tell you exactly what the allergen is and speak it out loud.

You know, those are things that we can also build in this. And we can incorporate infant guidelines, for example. In the future as well,

we hope to move into asthma action plans, we hope to move into seizure action plans, so really become a digital emergency platform or infrastructure that we currently lack. And so the AI tools available today,

they've allowed me, a practicing allergist like myself,

with a vision to actually build something like this, to build it, you know, and if I had tried to build this platform even five years ago, it would have been a much heavier lift.

And so I'm able to use AI tools that tell me, tell my engineer, hey, this is exactly what I want in here and what they're looking for. And so they're able to develop it much faster in a much more economical way.

And that's what's really cool about AI. That's why this is kind of exciting for me.

Caroline: This is extremely exciting. And just selfishly speaking to you, my daughter just came back from Morocco for a fellowship, and let me tell you, if this was already in place and with other languages,

she'd be all over it.

Dr. Puglisi: Yeah, you know, we're starting with this version one and Then we keep building and building, building. But that's certainly something that we have in mind to build in because we know that that's also a struggle for many.

Food, electric, patients, for sure.

Caroline: This is incredible. And especially the data collection part. So now for people listening,

how do they connect with you? The app is not out there yet. So how do they connect with you? And is there a list where you're giving people information so they can stay connected?

So can you help us just learn how connect with you?

Dr. Puglisi: Right now the website is allergyad.com right now we're in a live environment, so it's not a concept or demo anymore, but we are kind of still in that pilot mode, so it is in a real environment.

We're actually piloting in several camps this summer, and we're learning and iterating every day. And so we're not really live just yet. I want to kind of get. Get it out there to everybody, but I really want to make sure it's right.

So actually, one of the school districts where we're going to be in the school district, which is my own school district, I went to that I grew up in, I grew up in that district.

I'm actually the school that I'm a medical director in as well, and I serve that community in my practice,

and we're launching in that community.

So it's. It's really great to be able to do that. But to connect with me, you know, just right now, we'll make an announcement once that app is available, and then we plan to, like I said, roll out into those schools, into more schools for the 2027, 2028 school year.

And once the app is out, we'll really kind of start to continue to build as we go along.

Caroline: That's wonderful. And listeners, make sure you check the show notes because I will have the link to the current website follow along.

And so, Dr. Puglisi, before we say goodbye today, is there anything else you want our listeners to hear from you?

Dr. Puglisi: You know, I just want to say, first of all, thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited for this,

excited for this moment for Allergy Aide. Like I said, we're live right now. I'm so grateful for those camps and schools that have participated even in that early rollout. And it's really teaching us exactly what we need to know,

that we're really trying to prepare for that national rollout for schools and camps, like I said, in the 27, 28 school year.

And one more thing that's coming very soon is, like I said, that app should be in the App Store sometime in July.

Very big step for us. And then the only other thing I want to really say is I want to just acknowledge all the work that FAACT has done. I mean, you guys are an amazing organization.

What it does for the food allergy community, it's remarkable. I've known Eleanor for quite some time now. I think she started maybe 10 or 15 years ago, something along those lines.

And the advocacy, the awareness, the education, it's really advancing some meaningful change for families. And so I'm grateful for you and Eleanor and for giving me this platform and for introducing algae to this community.

And it means a lot. So thank you, Carolyn. I appreciate that.

Caroline: Thank you for the kind words.

You're very welcome.

Before we say goodbye today,

I just want to take a moment to say thank you to DBV Technologies one more time for being a kind and generous sponsor of FAACT's roundtable podcast.

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