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00:00SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Talk to Your Pharmacist podcast. We're dispensing stories of success from across the continuum of care. I'm your host, Hillary Blackburn. Thanks for joining us to learn from leaders throughout the pharmacy industry.
00:00SPEAKER_01: you
00:20SPEAKER_00: Hey listeners, you've probably been hearing a lot about chat, GBT and other AI tools. Well, you're going to hear a bit more about telehealth and AI from Matt McBride about his company, Mind.
00:37SPEAKER_00: All right. So today we have a special guest on the Talk to Your Pharmacist podcast. Our guest, Matt McBride is the CEO and co-founder of MEND, an enterprise-grade patient engagement and telehealth platform designed to help healthcare organizations. At MEND, Matt is focused on using the power of telemedicine, AI reminders, digital forms, and more to make it easier for patients and providers to communicate. With deep experience in healthcare tech companies, including One Oncology and Varian Medical Systems, Matt understands how medical offices work and how providers can leverage technology to reduce administrative burden, spend more quality time with patients and operate more efficiently. Matt, welcome to the Talk to Your Pharmacist podcast.
01:28SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you for having me. It's great to be here today.
01:32SPEAKER_00: Well, thanks for joining us. And now that our listeners have heard a little bit about your background, maybe you can fill in any gaps from that intro or share a bit about your personal life.
01:44SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely. MEND is a company that really myself and three other friends founded and funded, and we really wanted to make a positive impact in healthcare and really felt like
02:02SPEAKER_01: a lot of modern conveniences that are available to us in other industries, were not yet available to us in healthcare. It's still very much, you know, call your doctor to book an appointment, clipboards to do your forms, you have to go in where, you know, a lot of us are working remotely, maybe we should be able to see our provider remotely. And so we built a software platform that we sell to doctor's offices. So think of it as enabling your doctor now to offer self-scheduling online or make changes to your appointment online, get reminders through text and email, do your forms digitally, make payments, you know, have a mobile payment option, whether that's before the appointment or after, and even a telemedicine. So being able to actually have a visit with your provider in, you know, an audio video format, or maybe even in a messaging format. And then I think another big initiative for us this year is a two-way messaging. So being able to message back and forth with your healthcare organization or your healthcare provider.
03:21SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, we definitely know that there is a lot of paperwork and administrative burden and you know, a lot of our listeners are pharmacists and so, you know, prior authorizations can sometimes be the bane of our existence when patients are coming to the pharmacy and you know, we get that drugs not covered and then we're sending it back to the doctor's office and then they're communicating with the insurance company and it's kind of just very like a lot of triangulation happening. But yes, even you know as a patient, you know that ease of communicating and booking things is is the priority.
04:06SPEAKER_00: you know, needed. I mean, we've got that with, you know, things like a massage or hair or what, you know, any kind of modern conveniences and services. Why wouldn't we have that with our healthcare providers? So I think that's exciting. So I see you've got a background in some other healthcare tech companies. Are you involved on the tech side or did y'all have some some technology founders to help kind of get this rolling?
04:44SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I, I, um, there was, I had founded, uh, you know, I was a co-founder of an edtech company. And I did initially, uh, build all of the technology for, for that company. Um, starting at this company, uh, we started immediately with an engineering team. Um, I'm, I'm, you know, I'm, I'm decent at, uh, um, you know, building technology. Um, but I stayed away from the code, uh, this time. And I think that's, uh, that that's been a wise move. There are definitely people that are much better at it than, than I am. Um, but, uh, uh, yeah, so I, I'm, I'm still sort of the, the, the tech founder. Um, and, uh, another, uh, good friend of mine, co-founder, also one of our largest investors was really sort of the, uh, sales, uh, arm to the, the deal. So I kind of brought the tech, he, he brought the sales, uh, end of it. And, um, you know, but, but funny enough, I mean, we do have, uh, some pharmacies that are, uh, customers. Um, and, uh, I think, uh, there are some opportunities there. Um,
06:02SPEAKER_01: especially when the patient isn't at the pharmacy or at your location. I think that's really when our software becomes powerful, whether you need to get forms completed, you want to have a secure two-way conversation, but do it in a frictionless way, right? Do it in a way where the patient doesn't have to register for a portal or download an app or anything like that. And yeah, so we definitely have a couple of pharmacists that are customers, and I think we have some others in the pipeline as well. Specialty pharmacy is an area where they rarely ever see the patient. The patient is always remote, typically, and so our technology could be powerful in that situation.
06:50SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, I love that you brought up specialty pharmacy because that is something that the patient engagement piece is so important when patients are taking these high cost, very complex medications. And so leveraging technology to be able to send reminders or communicate back and forth is probably a real positive in that scenario. And then, of course, you know, we've got all kinds of pharmacies doing clinical services and, you know, you've got refill reminders and just all different things that, you know, could also help with the patient experience when they go to the pharmacy. So maybe you could tell us a little bit more about what you see as kind of the future of patient engagement. And, you know, we hear a lot about the digital front door and how patients, you know, kind of enter into the your care. What do you what do you see as kind of the future of patient engagement?
08:00SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a great question. I think, you know, AI is definitely going to play some sort of meaningful role, especially as I think more and more healthcare will begin, will really, I guess, the expansion of virtual healthcare, I guess, is a better way to say it that I think there's going to be.
08:28SPEAKER_01: a lot of, a lot more opportunities to get healthcare remotely. And so you're going to see AI potentially playing a role in a number of different ways. There's technology that can get, capture your vitals just through your web camera, whether that's on your computer or your phone. So things like blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability, all sorts of other potential vitals. So I think we'll see that. We'll see language barriers handled, potentially even AI handling the documentation for the provider or the pharmacist during an encounter. So that those, a lot of the administrative burdens can be moved out of their way. So I think we'll definitely see more and more virtual healthcare as part of that, maybe continuum of care. So, one kind of, since we've sort of touched on specialty pharmacy and that a little bit, one example is we've seen telemedicine visits for specialty pharmacy patients to get them on a more affordable prescription or get them on an option that is less expensive or get them in a pharmacy where they have the best rates on that given medication. So I think we're going to see a lot more of that and see virtual care playing more of a role. And I think more and more, as far as the digital front door is concerned, we're going to see organizations offering.
10:27SPEAKER_01: you know, patient self scheduling, you'll do your forms, you know, quickly, easily on your mobile device, you'll make your payments on your mobile device quickly and easily. And then, you know, maybe even see the doctor through your phone as well.
10:42SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
10:43SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it, um...
10:46SPEAKER_00: can certainly reduce some of those trips to the physical office or waiting in the waiting room. Or sometimes you just feel too sick to even make it out to the doctor's office. So a lot of great opportunity with telemedicine for sure. Now of course you all are integrating in AI for a couple different purposes. Do you also see any use of remote patient monitoring currently being fed into your software and how to better keep the providers in the loop with how patient care is going?
11:42SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think we don't necessarily integrate with remote patient monitoring, but that certainly can complement our platform and what we do. So I think that is going to continue to be an important and evolving space, especially for high-risk populations, especially as healthcare continues to move in the direction of value-based care. I think it's going to become more and more prevalent. But there's still some obstacles there, right? I really believe some of the technology and what is emerging and what you can capture through a web camera.
12:39SPEAKER_01: That could be really interesting.
12:42SPEAKER_01: in terms of remote patient monitoring. In most cases with remote patient monitoring, I mean, you still need some sort of device, some sort of equipment, and then you've gotta be able to reliably transmit the data from that device, and then you have to reliably integrate that back potentially to the medical record. Maybe somebody even has to crunch the data. You've gotta have folks reaching out, touching base. So you've gotta be checking in with the person on a regular basis. There's still some friction potentially in that process between managing devices, internet connections, integrations, all these, having staff to contact the person. So how will that evolve with devices that maybe we already have on our wrist or even what might we be able to capture through a webcam or other devices that would be maybe a little bit easier, a little bit more frictionless for patients to do?
13:52SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm. Yeah. So Matt, what, you know, there's been some great acceleration of adoption of some of these technologies with the pandemic and, you know, allowing for more telemedicine. And they've, you know, extended those offerings and things. Have you run into any kind of barriers or any regulatory issues or, you know, maybe even just talking about, you know, early adopters or late adopters? Maybe first talk a little bit about barriers, like just in the regulatory space, and then maybe who have you seen really kind of jump on? Have there been any like specific areas within medicine that have been really, that have really embraced this technology or any laggards that you see? Sure. Is it? Yeah.
14:58SPEAKER_01: Sure.
15:00SPEAKER_01: Sure. Yeah, I mean, behavioral health is by far.
15:05SPEAKER_01: Um, they're, I mean, uh,
15:09SPEAKER_01: It will be rare in a few years to receive any sort of mental health care, I think, in person, unless it's a little bit more intensive, inpatient type of care. So behavioral health, I think it's absolutely exploded. But no, it's actually really timely and a great question to ask about the regulatory environment. While we are still in a public health emergency, there are waivers that allow providers to use non-HIPAA compliant solutions to provide care to patients. So you could use FaceTime if you want, WhatsApp, all of these, maybe you're using Zoom, but it's not a HIPAA compliant version or what have you. You've really been allowed to use whatever you want.
16:03SPEAKER_01: And then you've got this omnibus package that was just passed that extends the majority of the telehealth waivers through 2024. So last year there was 151 day extension post a public health emergency for telehealth. Now they've just in the omnibus package extended it for almost two years. We'll see the public health emergency was just renewed. So we'll see when that actually expires. Now when that public health emergency expires, you will then be required to use a HIPAA compliant software of some kind, which would be like a solution like MEND. And so we've definitely seen a lot of organizations that.
16:58SPEAKER_01: did not want to flex on that, that, you know, take the privacy of their patients' information seriously. And just, you know, from day one, even though it was a, we were in public health emergency and the government said you could use whatever you want.
17:14SPEAKER_01: you know, they use secure tools. I suspect there's a lot of organizations that aren't using HIPAA compliant solutions. So, you know, the public health emergency, you know, may, you know, it could potentially end this year, meaning.
17:30SPEAKER_01: there could be a lot of people scrambling to find.
17:33SPEAKER_01: solutions again that are HIPAA compliant.
17:36SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
17:38SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and then just maybe also speaking to the uptake by providers, and have you gotten any feedback from patients on their satisfaction?
17:55SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, our satisfaction rating, we capture ratings at the end of every video visit. I think patients usually are around 98% satisfaction ratings on our platform with telehealth. Providers are usually in the 96 to 97% range. So I think both sides see it as a win. And I think it makes sense. I think healthcare organizations are constantly trying to deal with no-shows and maybe other inefficiencies in the business. And telehealth is proven to be a viable option. In 2022, our average no-show rate for telehealth visits was 7.4%. The national average for no-shows in the US for in-person visits is probably somewhere around 23%. So the healthcare organization can really benefit. I think a lot of the providers like the flexibility and the opportunities that it presents for hybrid care. And then the healthcare organizations and the providers are rewarded with better attendance rates because it's more convenient.
19:23SPEAKER_01: for patients, right? To be able to skip that travel time, to not have to be around other sick people, arrive at a waiting room, wait, go into the exam room, wait some more, see the nurse, wait some more for the provider. Like there's just a lot of benefits and conveniences. So it seems to be something that, all the different research studies I've seen, it definitely seems to be something that both patients, providers, and healthcare organizations wanna lean into and are seeing value from.
19:55SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well that's great. Exciting to see. You know, it's crazy. We have all these big goals with health care, but sometimes it takes a lot of work.
20:10SPEAKER_00: something like a crisis or pandemic to really accelerate that adoption of things. So I'm excited to see where this goes and all of the different things that AI can help with. So Matt, one of the questions that I love to ask all of our guests kind of at the end is what is some advice that you would tell your younger self or for others out there who are just getting started in their career?
20:45SPEAKER_01: Ah, what a big question.
20:51SPEAKER_01: Uh, um...?
20:56SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a tough one.
21:01SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, don't, don't, don't do it. Don't, don't start companies from don't build companies from nothing. It's, it's, it's much harder than, than you think. Uh, no. Um, uh, uh,
21:15SPEAKER_01: No, I think, um...
21:17SPEAKER_01: I think that.
21:19SPEAKER_01: really trying to find things that you're passionate about, things that have purpose to them, right? Like maybe things that you would do for free.
21:35SPEAKER_01: I think you invest a lot of time into your career or ventures or whatever it is. I mean, it's going to be a significant part of your life and the time that you spend in your life during your working years. I think the more you can try to figure out what you're really passionate about, what you're really good at, what you would do for free, what has sort of purpose in it to help maybe help other people, whether just maybe just have an impact in your community, right? Or it doesn't have to be something that is going to change the world or, you know, be something that's super massive, but something maybe that's just going to move us all in a little bit more positive direction. I think the.
22:32SPEAKER_01: I think really sort of knowing that and understanding that more has definitely been helpful.
22:40SPEAKER_01: for me and advice that I've given to other people and I think makes a difference in just getting a lot more fulfillment out of what you do in your working life.
22:54SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm. No, I think that's great. I think you had an awesome answer to that and Yeah, startup life is probably really really hard. I think that there's more entrepreneur focus in Pharmacy curriculum these days, which is great because you really do you have to kind of think like an Entrepreneur and able to do that design thinking and problem-solving so that we do we have these Really complex things like we have we have some really great health care in the US but there's also some really big opportunities to you know update and improve the Seamlessness and so to think you know more entrepreneurially about that is is is good and kudos to those who are brave enough to trudge through and start companies, but yes, we you want to spend your your life There's like important working years doing something that you enjoy So I love that answer Well Matt best of luck to you guys at MEND. How can pharmacists or other listeners learn more about some of the solutions that you all provide Thank you for watching!
24:17SPEAKER_01: Yeah, mend.com, M-E-N-D.com, pretty simple. We have a great resources section there. So lots of informative content. We share a lot of our data and KPIs and other things like that that can be really valuable to people. And we even have some free telehealth that's available through our website. So yeah, just mend.com and we've got lots of informative information there.
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