Credit Suisse https://www.credit-suisse.com as part of their Healthcare Disruptive Technologies & Innovations (HCDT&I) Series, hosted David Levin, CEO of RelyMD https://relymd.com for a virtual meeting with investors. RelyMD is a growing digital health company that provides a coordinated telehealth solution to health systems, managed care organizations, and employers.
RelyMD currently works with over 600 organizations consisting of healthcare providers and employer groups. The company also enables healthcare organizations to generate additional revenue without the risk of staffing 24/7. The platform allows RelyMD’s providers as well as their customer’s providers to see patients in real time. The company also integrates with EHR billing services etc.
The company is working not only with their own provider networks, but also with other emergency medicine practices around the country. RelyMD currently operates virtual urgent care and near virtual office visits (e.g. retail).
Mr. Levin notes that RelyMD is also well positioned to take advantage of opportunities by supporting correctional healthcare and ambulance services. Ambulance services are now being paid to treat people on the scene by using telemedicine or with the support of telemedicine. Some of the bigger players in this space are not focused on this particular area for a number of reasons such as complicated set-up, high acuity, visits requiring specific resources etc.
Most of the company’s providers are emergency medicine doctors because often they are shift workers. The average fee that RelyMD pays is $25-35 dollars per consult for virtual urgent care (e.g. pinkeye, sinusitis, etc.) but for more complex cases, the company pays a higher rate, The company also has a compensation model that rewards volume, number of licenses, etc.
Like a lot of other telemedicine providers, in March and April, RelyMD saw a five-fold increase in the number of consults. However, since the end of April, management has seen volumes come down from peak levels, although visit volumes have consistently been at a level almost double relative to pre-COVID.
For the company’s provider clients, while the initial surge is over and they are no longer seeing 70% of their visits via telemedicine, 20-30% of visits are still being conducted by providers via telemedicine.
As for the pricing changes that resulted from the spike in utilization in contracts with employers, Mr. Levin noted that almost all of the company’s employer contracts give the right at renewal to ask for an adjustment to the PEPM, if the annualized utilization reaches a certain threshold. However, Mr. Levin notes that while the clause is in the contract, there is no guarantee that the company will get these adjustments. At the very least, it can start a conversation.
As for payment parity, Mr. Levin mentioned that while most physicians want full payment parity, it is unlikely providers will be reimbursed at the same rate as in-person visits post COVID. He believes that if payers are willing to pay 80-85% of what a physician is paid in-office, physicians will be more receptive.
For more information and to provide feedback, email Jailendra Singh at jailendra.singh@credit-suisse.com or call 212-325-8121.