LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Heal, the market-leader in doctor house calls, today announced the results of its 2019 first-time patient user survey. Having delivered more than 110K house calls since February 2015, Heal shared a voluntary survey with more than 6K patients who used Heal for the first time in 2018. Findings from the survey reveal substantial reduction in ER and Urgent Care overuse and pointed to a corresponding increase in timely care delivery. Highlights of those results include:
- 55.78 percent of first-time Heal users admit they would have gone to urgent care or an emergency room if Heal was not available
- 37.4 percent would have waited an extended period of time to see their doctor or would have passed on seeking treatment at all if Heal was not available
- 1.96 percent would have tried a telemedicine service if Heal was not available
According to a study in 2016 from the Health Care Cost Institute, the national median cost of emergency room visits for patients was nearly $1,917, while some states, such as California, range $2,268 or higher. As an ever-increasing number of patients choose Heal over avoidable trips to the ER or Urgent Care, Heal has delivered over $65 million in healthcare cost savings to patients and insurance companies.
However, cost savings isn’t the only benefit Heal patients are claiming to experience. In a recently published academic paper, authored by the famed Dr. Eric Topol and his team, “Characteristics of the modern-day physician house call,” Dr. Topol et al “independently performed a retrospective observational analysis on data collected on Heal house calls made to 13,849 patients over 1 year from August 2016 to July 2017.” It was concluded, among other findings, “The opportunity cost associated with an outpatient visit is significant; the mean time associated with ambulatory medical visits is 121 minutes, including 37 minutes of travel and 84 minutes at the clinic, of which face-to-face physician time is only approximately 20 minutes.” Heal spends more than 300 percent longer with patients than the national average of seven minutes of face-to-face time with a doctor, resulting in higher patient satisfaction and better outcomes.
When it comes to patient satisfaction, Heal’s first-time user study also demonstrated a significantly higher satisfaction with doctor house calls and a willingness to recommend the service to others. Ninety-nine percent of the first-time Heal patients noted that they would use Heal again with one-third saying they never want to go to a doctor’s office again. Also, the survey results align with Heal’s Q4 2018 Patient Net Promoter Score, which reached an all-time high of +83.
More specifically, Heal’s first-time patient survey also concluded:
- 99 percent of Heal patients would use Heal again
- 76 percent would be very likely to recommend Heal to a friend
- 83 percent rated the Heal experience as much better than urgent care
- 32.87 percent of Heal patients never want to visit a doctor’s office again
“We’re pleased to see that our vision for delivering great care, with convenience and ease, continues to flourish,” said Dr. Renee Dua, Chief Medical Officer at Heal. “It is Heal’s mission to serve patients of all ages, genders, and economic statuses, especially those who have difficulties getting to a doctor’s office, particularly seniors and new moms, who need ongoing medical care from world-class physicians. We are focused on building this company with a continuous aim to satisfy the three P’s involved: payors, practitioners, and patients.”
“Just as Amazon did to retail and Netflix did to entertainment, the patient satisfaction and the objective results we are delivering point to a disruption in the way people will get their healthcare in the US,” said Nick Desai, CEO of Heal. “With our approach to providing un-rushed, accessible care to people of all economic backgrounds and age groups, the primary care doctor will be primary again, and that healthy will happen at home.”
“Heal is succeeding at our goal of making it easier for patients to receive care and doctors to deliver high-quality primary care and to do so at a lower cost,” Desai continues. “In 2018 alone, Heal doctors were able to identify 16,000 previously unknown chronic conditions in patients they visited. This is something only at-home access and unrushed, unhurried appointments can and will continue to do. Heal doctors treat the patient in their home and can witness important contextual and environmental factors like mold or allergens, as well as view medications, food pantries, and stress factors, that enable them to guide a more personal, more effective plan of treatment for the patient. When doctors can perform preventive care in such a thorough manner, we can reduce costs for patients, providers and payors, improve outcomes, and empower patients to spend more time being well, and less time getting well.”
Patients also share what they love about Heal:
“I love Heal because I have young children and I don’t have to pack them up to go to the doctor’s office and wait in a germ-filled waiting room. The doctors come to you,” says Emily Rynders, a Heal patient in Orange County, CA. “I also like how it costs the same as going to the doctor’s office. With that in mind, why wouldn’t you want to have a doctor come to you if it’s going to be the same price and even cheaper than urgent care? I recommend Heal to everyone I know because it’s convenient and the care happens in the comfort of my home.”
“I found Heal when I was searching for good doctors in my area after my doctor’s practice turned to a concierge membership model, charging upwards of $2,500 a month. Heal was covered by my insurance, so it was a win-win,” explains Thania Guardino, a Heal Patient in Los Angeles, CA. “I look for anything to make life easier and to help me with my busy lifestyle, and Heal fits the bill. I really value my experience with their doctor because they are at the forefront of tech and what the trends are in consumer healthcare. You can tell the doctor really loved what they do, and as a well-versed patient, we spoke the same language. We were able to have a real conversation about my health.”
ABOUT HEAL:
Heal is bringing technology innovation to re-humanize the practice of medicine in a way that is fulfilling for doctors and patients alike. We believe in making healthcare a more personal and convenient experience by creating a more efficient doctor’s office in your home, that inevitably improves healthcare outcomes. Through the touch of an app or a click on our site, a highly-vetted, qualified medical doctor will arrive at your door, twelve hours a day, 365 days a year.
Heal is in-network with all major PPO insurance companies in California, as well as Medicare, and will soon be in-network with insurers across the country. Heal investors include Fidelity ContraFund, Jim Breyer, the Ellison Family, Lionel Richie, and others. For more information, please visit http://www.heal.com/. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
