Written by Natalie Moore on Apr 10, 2014
Philip Eytan on Pager and How Technology is Changing Healthcare
Pager was founded on the mission statement of âproviding access to care for everyone, anytime and anywhere.â The app lets consumers skip the wait and hassle of busy urgent care facilities and emergency rooms. Offering personalized care in the comfort of their home, office or hotel room, right away.
How it Works
The service is currently available to patients in New York (Manhattan and Brooklyn areas) at a total cost of $200. Patients request a house call via the Pager app or by calling a toll-free 800 number.
Doctors are available and on-call from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.. They treat patients with common infections (flu, sinus infections or earaches), acute conditions (allergies, asthma or rashes) and urgent injuries (sprains, strains, bites and cuts).
1. Is Technology at the Heart of the Consumer-Patient Shift?
Yes. Today with the help of the âon-demand economyâ and the rapid rise of smartphones, consumers can decide when and where they need or request care. This is a major shift. This shift means the consumers are willing to pay more to manage their health. We think that pager will be one of many technologies that will help in putting the consumer at the heart of the decision-making process.
The healthcare industry has been functioning so far without attention to consumer needs and requests. Everything has revolved around physician practices, health systems and insurance companies without really paying attention the consumer.
2. Before Pager, House Calls Were a Luxury LImited to the Extremely Wealthy. Is Your Business Model Breaking That Caveat Forever?
The answer is yes. The intention is to make the delivery of healthcare accessible to the masses. Today, our current pricing model is $200 for out-of-pocket (without insurance). Soon, we will be in-network and the cost to patient will be the copay plus a convenience fee. In other words, we will make house calls very affordable.
I want to add that we have a telemedicine component in our service. That means that if the patient doesnât require a visit and can be treated over the phone the charge is only $40.00 and will be reimbursed by their insurance.
3. There is an active dialogue surrounding telemedicine as being significant in the near future. Google is already going in that direction. Pager also makes a powerful argument for house call on-demand becoming the next mmovement in consumer healthcare. Could these different models support one another?
There is no question about the added value of telemedicine. Telemedicine is not only great for certain ailments and medical conditions, but is a great tool in rural areas where access is a challenge.
That being said, telemedicine has its limitations. Today certain ailments cannot be treated over phone (video chat). An in-person interaction is required and this isnât going to change in the near future. Also, one of the other limitations of telemedicine is quality. Pager provides high quality care.
Telemedicine is the first line of defense, and companies like pager provide first line and second line defense. At Pager we use telemedicine for triage and follow-ups. But our core business is and will remain the in-person interaction with a health professional.
What factors made New York the perfect location to launch Pager?
A couple of reasons, first and foremost all three founders (Oscar Salazar, Gaspard de Dreuzy and myself), live in NYC. We also thought that launching in a market like NYC that not only has a high population density, but is also highly competitive and very challenging on the regulatory front would be ideal. The thinking was, âif you can do it there you can do it anywhereâ.
Today we are only in New York, but by September we will be in LA. We are hoping to be in at least 5-10 major U.S. cities by the end of 2016. We have been approached by other countries to partner up there, but have not made the decision yet to pursue international markets. Clearly the long-term vision is to have an international presence.
5. What is the response youâve seen from patients in New York?
The feedback we are receiving from patients in New York is overwhelmingly positive. Patients value the options that Pager is giving them. We noticed that the millennial group is also very driven by convenience.
Having quality medical doctors, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners coming to the patientâs home not only increases patient satisfaction, but also allows them to better plan around their scheudles. A good example is a family with young kids. Having a pediatrician coming to you at any time resolves certain logistical challenges a working couple may have.
6. How is Pager partnering with healthcare providers? Why should hospital executives see the company as a positive changing force?
Pager is teaming up with health systems on the physician side for a couple reasons. First, Pager is not in the business of providing medical care. We see ourselves as a platform to connect patients with health professionals for house calls. Also, we believe that health systems have a better ability to staff the health professionals as we grow and grow fast.
Health systems have a big incentive in partnering with Pager as many healthcare providers believe more than 20% of all care they provide could be delivered in the home. They would reduce the overhead costs that they incur in an urgent care model.
Close to 70% of their costs are associated with operating an urgent care center. Pager offers an âurgent care on wheelsâ solution where all overhead costs are stripped.
Healthcare providers also see us a great acquisition tool for new patients and a way to reduce leakage. All to be proven, of course! Over time Pager will become a great tool to reduce overflow to ERs. Weâve already started seeing that trend with our consumers.
7. What makes you most proud of founding Pager? Only 1 in 5 Americans can easily access a primary care physician. Will pager change that?
One word: ACCESS. The goal is to allow Americans access to care anywhere at anytime. As we grow nationally, Pager will make that access more and more obvious to the American people.
We already see how well Pager is received in New York. We have patients telling us that they would use our service over and over and how it has already reshaped how they see healthcare.
8. In addition to being the President and Co-Founder of Pager, you are on the board for Live Stream and an investor in multiple technology companies. How are these types of businesses changing our world?
This goes back to my previous point about âon-demand economiesâ. Uber is a clear example. Yesterday convenience was only reserved for the rich. Today it is penetrating the general population thanks to new technologies that makes services more affordable.
Smartphones are now the remote control for ordering a car (Uber), shipping a package (Shyp), renting an apartment (Airbnb), ordering a doctor (Pager), food (Seamless), event tickets (SeatGeek), reserving a table in a restaurant (OpenTable), and on and on it goes. Pager is an integral part of an ecosystem of on-demand services that is reshaping the way people live.