MedCall Advisors is using its technological capabilities to provide an alternative way to diagnose sleep disorders.
Cornelius-based MedCall, a telehealth firm, and its medical group this month launched a sleep medicine practice in about 20 states. Patients have access to video appointments, at-home sleep studies and treatments for conditions such as sleep apnea. The services are on track for availability in all states in the late summer, CEO Randy Baker said.
MedCall is partnering with Ectosense, which designed an at-home sleep apnea test using a small device secured on the finger. Baker said sleep apnea is one of the most undiagnosed disorders in the United States. Testing for it has been inconvenient — staying overnight in a clinic for monitoring, plus bulky equipment to transport.
The Ectosense product, called NightOwl, tracks and uploads data while the patient sleeps at home for physicians to monitor the results remotely. MedCall typically orders the disposable devices, although Ectosense does make rechargeable ones.
MedCall physicians first conduct a virtual screening and consult before determining whether a sleep test is appropriate. Post-test, the physicians can write prescriptions for continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machines. They can also refer patients to other specialists if needed.
"Right now, it's actually exceeding our expectations as far as the demand," Baker said. "All we're really doing is we're leveraging our technology platform and pivoting into these additional specialty areas."
A sleep-related consult and testing package costs about $189, he said.
MedCall, launched in 2015, started with a focus on workers' compensation. Injured workers are connected with emergency physicians before traveling to the emergency department. MedCall can also contact the employer and insurance firm to start the paperwork. That business hit a plateau with Covid-19 as workers were asked to stay home, Baker said.
MedCall then pivoted to Covid-19 testing, a new model that helped the company reach its projected annual revenue for 2020 in August of that year, Baker said. It has since expanded into other at-home testing, including for urinary tract infections. Baker said MedCall is now looking into possible partnerships with allergists and behavioral health specialists. It may also license out its platform to providers in the future.
Baker said he founded MedCall to focus on the clinical side of care. There are plenty of technology companies trying to practice medicine, he said, but not as many health-care providers using technology for care.
"Telemedicine now is here to stay," Baker said. "Your family doctor or your OB/GYN or your allergist — those doctors before were not participating in telemedicine. ... Now almost every medical practice in America offers a telemedicine business."
MedCall uses a fee-for-service model that addresses acute symptoms. That allows employers to only pay for the services their employees use, Baker said. The company tries to keep patients out of the emergency department and urgent care facilities if they don't need to be there. He is, however, a proponent for more value-based health care in general.
Workers' compensation is still the main part of MedCall's business. That demand has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels and is logging month-over-month growth, Baker said. Covid-19 testing has slowed, with MedCall shipping 1,000 to 1,500 tests per month. That's compared to the 20,000 tests it was contracted to ship out last August. Baker said he thinks at-home testing for other conditions will continue to see a growing demand.
