Columbus, OH. Last year, Zach wrote about Pager, a service developed by a co-founder of Uber that can deliver a doctor to your door in 2 hours or less. Since then, we’ve seen this trend continue to gain momentum. Doctors Making Housecalls (DMH), FirstLine, and Heal have since joined the space. Although they currently have limited service areas (Heal & FirstLine are in the Los Angeles area; Pager – New York City, and DMH – Charlotte), they are receiving significant funding and are quickly expanding into other cities like Boston and San Francisco.
According to FirstLine, there are two early-adopter patient groups: millennials, aged 18-27 that don’t have a primary care doctor. And moms and caregivers aged 28 to 40, who may have a regular primary care doctor, but value the convenience. For Pager, the primary user is wealthy Manhattanites, but hopes to appeal to a broader audience when they begin accepting insurance.
On the doctor-side, the services leverage independently contracted physicians, much like drivers in the Uber model. Steven Jacobs of Streetfight Magazine notes that “a bevy of part-time suppliers also means [Pager] needs to manage a larger and less-dedicated pool of providers. To ensure availability, the company guarantees doctors a minimum amount of revenue per hour that they are on-call for the service.”
The current cost of the services vary slightly. Heal and Pager charge flat fees per visit. Heal is a $99 flat fee for a doctor visit for children or adults. Pager visits are $50 for first-time and $200 per visit afterwards (but only $25 if it can be treated over the phone). FirstLine is a subscription model. Patients pay a one-time initiation fee of $25 and after that, the service costs $15 per month, which includes access to phone, video chat, and text message consultations, available between 8 am and 10 pm.
About the Author:
As Managing Director of Innovation and Insights for Syneos Health Communications, Leigh is responsible for building and scaling a global team of healthcare experts who together help life science leaders better understand the complex lives, influences and expectations of their customers. Specifically, they uncover actionable insights that fuel empathy and creativity; lead co-creation events that let marketers learn from peers, trends, and new possibilities; and help clients identify the most valuable and useful new customer experiences to create.
Leigh has worked with Fortune 1000 companies to craft their digital, mobile, social and CRM strategies for nearly 20 years.She’s worked for category-leading agencies in retail, public affairs, B2B technology, and higher education. Prior to moving to Syneos Health Communications, she held several leadership roles at our largest agency, GSW. There, she founded an innovation practice fueled by the zeitgeist and spearheaded digital and innovation thinking across the business.
Leigh has taken a special interest in complex healthcare products that can change lives in meaningful ways. She was recently a strategic lead on the 3rd largest launch in pharmaceutical history: Tecfidera. Before that she had keys roles with Eli Lilly Oncology, Abbott Nutrition, Amgen Cardiovascular, and Eli Lilly Diabetes.
A critical part of Leigh’s work is trends and new ideas. Every year, she convenes a group of trend watchers from across our global network to identify the shifts most critical to healthcare marketers. This year, she led over 250 experts to experts to focus on the most important changes in the commercial, consumer, marketing, digital and healthcare landscapes. (See reports at trends.health)
Leigh is a sought-after writer and speaker. Recognized as one of the most inspiring people in the pharmaceutical industry by PharmaVoice and Top 10 Innovation Catalysts of 2017 by MM&M, Leigh also was recognized as a Rising Star by the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) for her overt passion, industry thought leadership and significant contributions in new business, strategy and mentoring.
