hi gray Q&A: Heal, Digitizing Primary Care Visits
🔬 Telemedicine is here to stay - here's a company that's taking the lead in doctor house calls
December 13, 2020
Ah welcome back — it’s been a while! Hope your holidays have been off to a warm and festive start. It’s hard to believe that we are just three short weeks away of closing out 2020 *insert sigh of relief*, a year that will go down as one of the most grinding many of us have lived through. But, alas, there does seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel that makes the new year seem promising. With vaccinations in the United Kingdom fully underway, the United States is cautiously stirring for their own turn. And with the F.D.A. having cleared Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use on Friday, it hopefully won’t be much longer of a wait.
So while we patiently wait on, remember to continue wearing those masks and read on for a q&a break with a company that, among others, is poised to benefit from the telemedicine growth this year:
Heal
Heal, the Los Angeles-based telehealth company founded in 2014, offers consumers in-person house and telemedicine calls with licensed doctors, all in a model that cuts costs by 65 percent. From its app or website, Heal allows anybody to schedule a telemedicine call and is either covered by insurance or costs $79 out of pocket. From there, doctors can order labs, write prescriptions, and refer patients to specialists, all from the comfort of their own homes.
Telemedicine may be the biggest breakout star this year: During the first quarter of 2020 alone, the number of telehealth visits increased by 50 percent, compared with the same period in 2019, according to the CDC. Continuing on this trend, the global telemedicine market size can expect to reach about 186 billion by 2026. The growth happened with good reason: digitization of the “doctors visit” is not only convenient, but minimizes the contact to germs and viruses, which proved especially relevant this year.
Heal was recently named a winner among Inc.’s Best in Business 2020 and is now nominated for the Top 50 in Digital Health in the Digital Health Growing Startup to Watch category.
We sat down with Heal CEO and cofounder Nick Desai to chat about how exactly Heal’s services work, its goal to be a primary care provider and allow patients to build a relationship with the same doctor for years to come, and what the future of telemedicine may look like.
Hi Gray: Thanks for chatting. Can you tell me about both the inspiration as well as the consumer demand that drove the creation of Heal?
Nick Desai: We created Heal after a terrifying ordeal of sitting with our sick infant in an ER waiting room for seven hours one Friday night. On our ride home, we realized there has to be a better way to provide timely access to quality care, which is a universal need. In fact, nearly four out of every five visits to the ER are not emergencies — it is just people needing medical care and doctors’ offices being closed.
Our innovation is to bring your family doctor back to your family room — to deliver quality, timely, affordable healthcare in the privacy and safety of your own home. It turns out that in-home primary care (a.k.a. doctor house calls) does not require us to charge the patient more because there is so much waste, inefficiency and bureaucracy in the delivery of health care in a traditional office setting. We automated that entire process with patient and provider friendly innovations that eliminate all the friction in health care and reduce costs by 65 percent. As one example, we provide up front price transparency, so the patient isn't wondering how much will this cost and the doctor isn't in the collections business.
The most exciting part of Heal is that the best place to deliver primary care is in the patient's home. Only the home allows the doctor to see a patient's “Social Determinants of Health,” from fall risks to pill bottles to food insecurities, which allow the doctor to create a more personal, more precise care plan.
HG: How does Heal work from a patient standpoint? Please expand on the specialities offered as well as the physician consultation and touchpoint.
ND: We offer in-person doctor house calls and one-touch video telemedicine on-demand or on your schedule 8 A.M. to 8 P.M., seven days/week, 365 days/year. Care is delivered by licensed, board-certified internal medicine, family medicine and/or pediatric doctors and or caring, qualified nurse practitioners. Patients can book their own appointment in about 60 seconds at Heal.com or by downloading our award-winning mobile apps on iOS or Android. Or patients can just call Heal at 844.644.HEAL anytime.
Patients can build a relationship with a specific Heal doctor to be their personal primary care doctor for scheduled care, and get on-demand care every day of the year. Simpler, follow-up issues can be handled by one-touch video telemedicine. The best health care has to be the easiest to access and that is our goal at Heal.
HG: Very nice, it sounds like a very smooth system. Can you tell me about the company structure itself?
ND: Heal has about 125 engineering, operations, IT, finance, marketing and business development people based at our headquarters in Los Angeles and/or our offices in NYC, Atlanta or San Diego. We have about 150 doctors and nurses and that team is rapidly growing. We currently serve patients throughout California, Georgia, Virginia, New York, Washington State, Washington D.C. and New Jersey with many new markets coming soon.
HG: How would you describe your target audience? Also as a telemedicine brand, how has branding and language guided you?
ND: Heal is your family doctor in your family room. Whether you are 2 years or 92 years old, we deliver quality, proactive primary care in the privacy and comfort of your own home. And we're not a telemedicine brand. We are your primary care doctor that comes to you. Either to your door or on your phone. We recently engaged an amazing marketing agency (The Woo) to define our brand message: “Open your door to better care.”
HG: Where are you at in terms of funding and how are you using these funds raised?
ND: We have raised over $200 million in investment capital, most recently including a $100 million investment from health care giant Humana. Other major investors include former Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer (and current Heal Chairman) Dr. Paul Jacobs, Glenview Capital, Trans-Pacific Technology Fund, IRA Capital, Breyer Capital and numerous others. Capital is used to fund our growth and expansion to achieve our vision to make your primary residence the place you get your primary care for all Americans regardless of age, income or demographic status.
HG: Can you tell me more about the industry/sector that you are in, what does the competition look like? How does Heal stand out compared to other similar brands?
ND: We are the only brand currently offering doctor house calls outside of others who provide limited urgent care. This means you can switch to Heal as your primary care provider and build a relationship with the same doctor for years that will get to know you holistically and all your medical needs. Our doctors can also monitor your health while they are not there and alert you should any issues arise. The technology our platform uses, coupled with our quality of doctors is what truly sets us apart.
… you can switch to Heal as your primary care provider and build a relationship with the same doctor for years that will get to know you holistically …
HG: Telemedicine is quickly on the rise, especially with the pandemic having opened that gate — how are companies like Heal poised to benefit?
ND: The safest way for patients to have a doctor’s appointment, especially if they are worried about catching germs or a virus, is through telemedicine. Many appointments can be successfully done this way and it is especially great for follow up calls, prescription refills and teletherapy for those who need support with their mental health.
HG: How does Heal address the accessibility of health care specifically? How do you make sure patients have around the clock access to a physician?
ND: Many patients, especially seniors can have a difficult time getting to doctors’ appointments. Whether it is a physical mobility issue, having to rely on others for a ride, or public transportation which can be hard to navigate, Heal takes all of those issues away by having the doctor come to you. If a patient needs to follow up with their doctor, they can simply use our app at any time of the day or night or call us and their doctor will be in touch with them as soon as possible.
HG: What are the next growth opportunities for Heal?
ND: Along with seniors, pediatrics is the area where we see a lot of potential for growth. Parents are looking for the peace of mind and convenience Heal can offer that they can’t get from a traditional doctor’s office.
Curious about Heal? Read and interact with them here.
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