2nd.MD provides direct access to the world’s best doctors for personalized second opinions via video or phone within about three days.
Elevator pitch
When it comes to your health, don’t second guess, do 2nd.MD.
Founders’ story
When Clint Phillips’ — our CEO — daughter, Gabi, suffered from a stroke, the family faced immense hurdles to get answers to their health-related questions. The uncertainty of choosing the right doctor, the many months of waiting for an appointment and the time spent traveling to see specialist after specialist were constant struggles. 2nd.MD was founded to save other families from the confusion and barriers faced by the Phillips’ family. Leading doctors joined forces, as well as innovative investors, to develop 2nd.MD into a driven cause that continues to create more dedicated and passionate care.
Marketing/promotion strategy
Clint Phillips
2nd.MD partners with businesses and employers to provide our expert second opinion services to their employees. We communicate monthly through a variety of channels to stay top of mind with employees, reminding them to use our service when they need us.
Market opportunity
Our target audience consists of the 5 percent of employees that make up 50 percent of healthcare costs for companies. These employees are facing a new diagnosis, possible surgery or change in medication, and are not aware of their options. 2nd.MD allows employees the opportunity to speak with the top specialist for their condition, which provides the most up-to-date treatment options for each individual case. Additional statistics can be provided.
Second opinions result in changed diagnoses in 15 percent to 20 percent of cases and modified treatment recommendations in 60 percent to 70 percent of cases, according to the Institute of Medicine.
Who are your competitors?
Because of the service 2nd.MD provides, we have no direct competitors. Companies, such as Best Doctors and Cleveland Clinic, do offer a similar service; however, they can take six weeks and do not provide direct access to a physician. As a result, the utilization and appeal of 2nd.MD is highly valued.
instaRounds provides the most comprehensive mobile and web platform for physicians to communicate with one another, share call schedules, follow their appointments, allow cross coverage and, for the first time ever, give physicians a mobile patient sign-out application.
Elevator pitch
Imagine a platform in which physicians can communicate in a Twitter-like feed with one another about those patients currently under their care. By real-time updates, critical decision making and care planning can occur seamlessly with the patient benefiting the most.
Product/service description
instaRounds is a mobile and web platform that enables physicians to securely communicate with one another in a patients’ care team, by use of a patent-pending format that allows simple-to-use template interfaces that provides seamless patient sign out. Studies have shown that the most critical time in patient care is during the handoff of the patients from one provider to another; instaRounds nearly eliminates errors in sign out.
Providers can use either a web interface or the more popular mobile app, available on iTunes and Google Play, to communicate with members of their team.
Founder’s story
instaRounds was founded by Kurian Thott, MD, a gynecologic surgeon who felt the void in patient care when it was almost impossible for members in his own practice to communicate securely and HIPAA compliantly. He figured there had to be a better way and when he found none, he created instaRounds. Built on the idea that for patient care to be better, physicians needed to communicate with one another, and instaRounds gives physicians this power.
MedWand Solutions develops and distributes the MedWand solution, a patent-pending telemedicine device that easily connects to a PC or mobile device, like a cell phone or tablet. MedWand contains a set of fundamental, easy-to-use vital sign measurement and examination devices integrated into a single wand about the size of a large electric toothbrush. It includes a pulse oximeter, an otoscope camera for ear examinations with attachments to also allow views of the eyes, throat, or nose, an in-ear thermometer, a digital stethoscope and provision to support optional third party Bluetooth wireless devices, such as glucose meter or blood pressure monitor. In addition enabling remote examinations, MedWand can assemble all measurements and required information into a secure electronic health record, enabling a clinical-quality, interactive, at-home telemedicine experience for both patients and their doctors.
Elevator pitch
With all the advancements we have experienced in technology, routine telemedicine still doesn’t allow examination capabilities for all patients. With MedWand, no matter where the location, patients can experience remote examinations like never before.
Product/service description
MedWand is the first handheld telemedicine device that allows doctors to examine patients and gather important medical vitals, remotely, via secure Internet channels on tablets and personal computers. In the rapidly growing industry of telemedicine, the majority of remote consultations are limited to audio and video without the possibility of direct physician examination. Now, with a MedWand, doctors can listen to a patient’s heart, lungs, and abdomen; look at skin and into ears, nose, and throat with an embedded high-definition video camera; obtain basic vital signs, including blood oxygenation; and even obtain a thre-lead EKG – all remotely, with a single unit that can be cradled into the palm of a hand. In addition, MedWand provides continuous medical vitals monitoring services with alerts when patients may be headed in the wrong direction.
Founders’ story
The MedWand telemedicine device was conceived by former Pebble Beach house doctor Samir Qamar, a family physician and founder of MedLion Direct Primary Care, one of the nation’s leading direct primary care companies. It was after being dissatisfied with current limitations of telemedicine that Dr. Qamar came up with the idea to build a compact telemedicine device capable of remote patient exams. After an extensive search, Dr. Qamar approached engineer Robert Rose, founder of Cypher Scientific engineering, formerly of Red Digital Cinema, who agreed to join the project. Together, on a mission to advance telemedicine, Dr. Qamar and Mr. Rose created the MedWand.
Marketing/promotion strategy
MedWand appeals to the entire telemedicine industry. Having already been approached by branches of the U.S. military and many large telemedicine companies worldwide, MedWand will soon be helping hospitals, accountable care organizations, and companies control healthcare costs by allowing real-time examinations to telemedicine services. A major computer manufacturer has offered to be a launch partner for MedWand, and MedWand is ripe for international distribution. Eventually, the MedWand will be distributed directly to patients and their families worldwide.
Caring in Place helps family members become family caregivers for their aging loved ones. Based on the loved one’s health conditions, family members are taught what to do, when to do it and how to care for their aging loved ones. All instructions are doctor recommended and often include audio, video, images and text.
Elevator pitch
Caring in Place helps family members learn to become family caregivers for their aging loved ones. Through intelligent checklists, caregivers are taught what to do, when to do it and how to care for their seniors.
Product/service description
Caring in Place is a technology platform designed to help family members learn how to become family caregivers for their aging loved ones. Through an iPhone app, and a web portal (Android to be launched in the next few weeks), families are provided caregiving instructions based on the health conditions of their aging loved one. The platform also enables caregivers to coordinate care with other family members, friends, neighbors and even paid caregivers.
Founders’ story
Co-founders Josh Fotheringham and James Jarman met in 1996 while attending the University of Utah. Although they went separate ways with their careers, they knew that at some point they would join forces. In 2010, a friend running a skilled nursing facility in California asked for assistance with his facility. After several improvement attempts associated with Medicare billing, Josh and James began studying and interacting with family caregivers. Quickly they identified with the difficulty of caregiving and decided to help. Leveraging their backgrounds in technology, marketing and business, they started Caring in Place. In 2013 they received their first external investment from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and also participated in a four-month healthcare accelerator program called Healthbox. Today they are building partnerships across the healthcare ecosystem to find new and improved ways to help family members in their role as family caregivers.
Tonic was founded by a collaboration of scientists, consumer marketing experts, user interface designers and software programmers to finally solve the crippling challenges of medical data collection, including poor response rates, low patient engagement, high cost and limited ability to personalize care based on a patient’s answers.
So we went out and built a medical data collection platform for clinicians, providers and researchers collecting and using patient information everywhere.
Elevator Pitch
Tonic Health is the world’s best patient data collection platform: fully customizable, super fun and friendly, and accessible anywhere, it solves all the major data collection headaches for hospitals and health systems everywhere.
Product/Service Description
Tonic is the world’s best patient data collection platform: we integrate extreme patient engagement, robust CRM capabilities and real-time predictive analytics to dramatically improve the process of gathering, analyzing and using patient data.
Used by 10 of the Top 15 largest health systems in America, Tonic provides a Disney-like experience to a wide range of data collection needs, including patient intake, patient screening and risk assessments, patient satisfaction, patient-reported outcomes, patient education and much more.
Founder’s Story
Prior to co-founding Tonic, I (Sterling Lanier) founded a company called Chatter (www.chatterinc.com), which is a leading market research firm that works primarily with Fortune 500 brands. During a pro-bono project I was doing for a breast cancer research program at UCSF, I realized the way that most healthcare professionals were collecting and analyzing data was woefully behind the best practices used in the corporate world. Engagement was pitiful, turnaround times were glacial and patient care was suffering.
So I teamed up with my co-founder Boris Glants (who is the technical brains behind our success) and we set out to flip the whole system on its head.
2nd.MD provides direct access to the world’s best doctors for personalized second opinions via video or phone within about three days.
