Name: Teladoc Health CEO: Virtual care has 'changed forever' in wake of COVID-19 crisis
Uploaded: 2020-04-01
Duration: 7 min 30 s
Description: The company's business has exploded, but it's also struggling to onboard physicians.

[ MUSIC ] Jason, thank you so much for joining us for this a virtual interview to talk about the impact of the Coronavirus crisis on your company Tella doc health which, for people who don't know you're in the telemedicine business where You have doctors consulting with patients through video conferencing and I understand that your business has been booming up something like 50 % ever since this crisis. How are you managing to meet this explosive demand? Well, I think first and foremost, we're happy to be able to be here for our clients and members. During this crisis, it's it's truly an unprecedented time with respect to demand on the healthcare system. And we're seeing both consumers and employers and health plans turn to us, as well as hospitals and health systems to bring our technology and our physician capacity to bear When the rest of the healthcare system is under strain, We know that there has been a physician shortage long before coronavirus. So how are you going about finding enough physicians to staff your business? Well, it's certainly a challenge. The whole system is under unprecedented strain. You see that on the news every day with hospitals that are overloaded. We're fortunate to have a dedicated group of physicians, and we're, I think we're benefiting from the fact that our culture is one of adaptability and flexibility. So we've rapidly responded to onboard the thousands of physicians far more than we ever expected to have to do in a short amount of time. and the supply side and the demand side both shifted at the same time, which means we have to change some of our models and you know the physician supply may cost more and therefore, we may have to flex and Spend less than other parts of our business to stay focused on our financial goals and meet the demand. Well, let's talk a little bit more about that because the experts are saying that in the coming weeks, there's going to be this exponential exponential surge of COVID- 19 cases and you We hear the Whitehouse it's urging consumers to take advantage of these telemedicine services like Teladoc to get their medical advice. So what are some of the issues that you think you're going to be facing as you want to respond to the surgeon business? Well, we're starting to see some regulatory change. Certainly out of Washington, they've relaxed rules around Medicare's to make Telehealth more available to the Medicare population. Some of the states are following suit and eliminating state licensure requirements. So for example, Governor Cuomo in New York made it such that a physician with a license in any state can practice in New York that helps to make the supply a little bit more fluid. Which overall increases the capacity of the healthcare system. So you're not at all concerned that you're gonna be able to meet this new demand as the number of cases go up? Well, it's a challenge for the whole system. We're not immune from that. I think our technology helps to break down a lot of those geographic barriers and make the supply side more fluid. But it's certainly a challenge for us just like everyone else. And, you know, we're not happy about the fact that what used to be a few minutes to connect you with a physician may now be an hour or two. And we're working diligently with partners all over the healthcare system to address that need. And what we're seeing is that consumers are very understanding of that. They understand the fact that these are not normal times and that the system's under strain, and they're incredibly appreciative of the opportunity to talk to a doctor during the strange time. Well, I like to get your feedback on what you're hearing from the consumers and patients who are taking advantage of this. So then, once this Corona virus goes away, do you think that they're going to stick with this. New paradigm of having video consults with your doctor. I mean, could this be the new normal? I really think it is. I think the role of virtual care has changed forever and the healthcare system. What we're finding is over 60 % of the people who are using our service now have never used virtual care before. So it's being introduced to a whole new population and again they're incredibly appreciative of having this when they're afraid to go to the doctors office, the urgent care center, the emergency room. I was just hearing from one of our physician partners who said that the emergency rooms are seeing half the volume of what they use to see, unfortunately more corona virus cases But people aren't going in for all of the other things that they used to go there for. And now, more and more, they're turning to virtual care. I think that stays the case for the future. Mm- hm, of course, there are limitations to this virtual care because at some point, you may have to actually see a doctor in person, or at certain tests. How do you balance between the online side of the business and the in- person side? I think it's really important that it's an integrated delivery model. So your entry point may be virtual, and then we can seamlessly hand you off to part of the physical delivery system, whether that's for a lab test, or to see someone in person because obviously, we're not suturing lacerations or setting broken bones virtually Well Meanwhile, these are very stressful times. I'm sure that your doctors are working around the clock. How are you leading and motivating them? So our physicians we're finding really are happy to step up during this time of need. It doesn't mean that the delivery system isn't strained and capacity. Has to be found and shifted from, you know, places where they were to places where they're needed now, but they are happy to step up and they recognize that these are truly unprecedented times. And I think the same things that go to motivate our own team members and colleagues are the things that motivate the doctors. Staying true to our values, staying focused on incredibly high quality care, and making sure that the quality of care stays paramount, even when the delivery system's strained. As you well know, Jason, CEOs are often defined by how they respond to crises. How do you want to be identified by your response to the Corona Virus crisis .? I think, it's really important for leaders to step up during challenging times, not shy away from them. To be true to who they are. And, I hope people coming out of this We'll say Jason was true to himself, his values and cared about the people around him, whether that's colleagues or family and recognize the challenges that we're all going through. And demonstrated the leadership to take us through this situation successfully and in the best way possible, such that we can be successful going forward. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

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Teladoc Health CEO: Virtual care has "changed forever" in wake of COVID-19 crisis

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