Mobile apps have improved everything from grocery delivery to online shopping. So there is good reason to believe that they can do the same for the healthcare industry.
In this video from “The 5” Motley Fool Live, recorded on September 23rd, Fool.com contributors Brian Withers, Toby Bordelon, and Demitri Kalogeropoulos share their wishlist ideas on how mobile apps could improve the health experience, and some of the health companies that are doing it.
Brian Withers: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was on the news again today. This was around his forays into healthcare. It is said to be working with its software and hardware on features that will help detect depression and cognitive decline in its users. That just opened the idea to me. I know Tim Cook said he wanted Apple to be known for its advances in healthcare. He puts a lot of work and concentration on it. Because everyone, almost everyone, carries a mobile device. Today, Apple and Google are reminding us that Google enabled Fitbit to help people lead healthier lives. I would like to ask you guys, is there a cell phone feature or future app in the works that you are excited about from a health perspective, and are there any investment considerations here? Toby, I think I got you first on every single question [laughs] It shouldn’t be set up that way, but I’ll let you go.
Tobias Bordelon: Should I either go first? They are.
Withers: Yeah go first.
Bordelon: I will go. All right, I’ll start with that.
Withers: I just don’t want Demitri to feel bad. [laughs]
Bordelon: Yes, I noticed that too. Like on No. 3 like wait a minute. [laughs] Why do I have to go first.
Withers: Whoever set up the show has to fix that. [laughs]
Bordelon: Someone might need to be fired man [laughs]. I don’t know if it’s actually a work in progress or not. I think it’s probably at some level, but what I mean, I know these things exist, but I want digital insurance cards to be taken to the next level, right? Don’t just show your insurance card in your app, I talk like you have a QR code. The receptionist or nurse will scan it and you’re done checking in, right? As with you, the admission form is automatically filled in with the information provided by the insurance company. You don’t have to register your policy number and all that nonsense. Everything is filled out. You go in, scan, sit down and wait, no need to mess with forms. And then also discharge, right, they can say you wanted to charge the card, I can see your insurance app for the copayment, yes. The prescriptions will then be automatically sent to one of the pharmacies of your choice. Some of this is happening now. But there is always a conversation. Which pharmacy would you like to send it to? I want that to happen automatically or your online pharmacy and they have them delivered to your home the next day. The instructions for unloading are in your app, regardless of which app you are already using. We’re getting there somehow.
I remember the last time I went to the emergency room, it was a few years ago. All the layoffs and payments actually happened on the bed in the emergency room, right? As the guy rolled in his cart, he scanned my tape. Then he said, “All right, credit card.” Boom, “There’s your copayment. It’s being sent to your insurance company. Let’s fire you off, instructions, you’re good to go,” and I don’t have to stop by a desk or anything. I just went out. You’re starting to get a little better at it. But I think there is room for improvement I think. There’s a way to just take all of that stuff and connect it. Well it’s a challenge, it’s a process. They obviously have some regulations that are quite a deterrent when it comes to healthcare privacy laws, and which, in my opinion, doesn’t need updating for the modern environment. But I would like to see all of those pain points go away and go to the doctor and get medical advice faster, smoother, and more automatic.
Withers: So you want yours Amazon One-click ordering experience.
Bordelon: Exactly. I want to see, yes, scan this. Boom. [laughs] Call me when the doctor is finished.
Withers: I would love it. Demitri, what are you thinking here?
Demitri Kalogeropoulos: Yes. We say in a similar way there. OK right. This isn’t exactly a miracle feature I think, but it’s what we’re basically using right now. It’s the old teleconferencing, video conferencing, that really has so much potential in the healthcare industry. A lot is already being distributed, I think the idea is a distributed health model that will allow people to make doctor visits from home. We saw that a lot during the pandemic for reasons of convenience, of course, but also for security reasons.
Great company in this field to be considered Teladoc (NYSE: TDOC) of course tech ticker, TDOC. Their latest earnings report was yet another type of blowout number that has more than doubled year over year compared to what would have been something of a first quarter of the pandemic for them last year, which had soaring visitor numbers. It is the company that enables patients to interact with doctors online, through a smartphone or tablet. You have just raised your outlook for 2021. They plan to have their first year with $ 2 billion in sales this year. Obviously with that demand there are many question marks about what the demand is doing from here and what happens after the pandemic threat subsides. But I think the convenience factor is just so much better than such an improvement over the traditional model of just walking into a crowded waiting room and waiting in the lobby depending on when you show up and put yourself on a list? see a person who is very busy, sometimes chasing after who knows how long. I just think there are so many ways that this can enhance the experience of general wellness visits. Then that could just grow in terms of things like Apple Watches or those other devices that can simultaneously convey other information to the doctor. I think there is plenty of room for this ministry to go into more depth in the next few years.
Withers: Yes, do you know what I need Teladoc for? Great Clips has a great one, you probably aren’t using Great Clips, Demitri. but [laughs] has a great app to paste it into, i want to check in and it goes around the local great clips and says this one has to wait 10 minutes. This one has a zero. I go, I want to check in there and when I leave I’ll be the first and get checked in, maybe Teladoc can work on it. I’ll have them call you Toby when they pay me for ideas.
For me, I love that clinical trials and these digital devices that we have, the watch brands and the phones are becoming ubiquitous. Since I was reporting on Fitbit as a separate company of their own, they often announced research organizations they’d been working with to digitize the clinical trial process, or if you notice your heart rate increasing, write it down. It was more like if the patient remembered it and filled out a form correctly, and it’s just not a really reliable way to get data on a mass scale. Nowadays there are these clinical trials done on tens of thousands of people over extended periods of time that just weren’t possible before. It’s just very exciting for me to drive health research forward. I am in love Veeva systems (NYSE: VEEV) as a game, VEEV. They help life science companies digitize the clinical trial experience, both with apps for running doctors and for patients. Pretty, pretty cool things that happen there.
This article represents the opinion of the author who may disagree with the “official” referral position of a premium advisory service from the Motley Fool. We are colorful! Questioning an investment thesis – even one of our own – helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that will help us get smarter, happier, and richer.
