Health care, while important and necessary, is also a very big business. As of January of 2023, Insider Intelligence reports, U.S. national healthcare expenditures are expected to reach $6.2 trillion by 2028 (up from about $4 trillion today), according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In an industry made up of traditional service providers such as insurance companies, hospitals, and other healthcare providers, it is ripe for disruption. One such disruption would be the home health care provided by doctors and nurses and it is already happening at the moment.
A McKinsey report from February 1, 2022 said that up to $265 billion worth of Medicare benefits for Medicare and Medicare Advantage fee recipients could move home by 2025. Why the shift? People 65 and over will make up 20 percent of the US population by 2030. About a decade after that, that number is expected to double and be more than 70 million people. This means that there will be more seniors living across the United States than ever before. And with so many trends as death on the spot, mobility issues for the elderly, and insurance companies subsidizing home doctor visits (lower costs), this shift is only going to accelerate.
In order to better understand what this shift entails, we looked for entrepreneurs creating home care-focused startups and found one… in Rome, Italy. What follows is an interview with one of the founders, Dr. Andrea Guerrero of MedinAction, which is based in Rome but the company already serves all major cities in Italy and Spain and is rapidly expanding to other countries in Europe. MedinAction is a healthcare service provider that provides English speaking doctors and nurses for home/office visits and online medical consultations for expats, international people working abroad, students studying abroad and vacation travelers.
We recently met to discuss the growing trend of home health care services globally. Here are his insights and observations on this rapidly growing market for home and office healthcare services based on that interview.
Bernhard Schroeder: What is MedinAction? How many doctors and nurses do you use? How many patients does your company see per year?
Andrew Warrior: MedinAction is a healthcare service provider employing English speaking doctors and nurses, who via app or website provide on-site and online medical consultation to people who are not normally from the host country. We initially tested the service with a few patients, learned a lot of lessons, and in 2017 MedinAction was officially launched as a startup. Today in our network of providers, we have hundreds of doctors and nurses and we make thousands of patient visits annually.
Schroeder: How does MedinAction work? Where do you provide your services?
warriorWhen you are in a foreign country, it can be difficult to navigate the healthcare and insurance system in the country you are visiting or working in. We can provide a doctor or nurse who usually speaks English within 1-2 hours and will visit the patient either in person or via an online consultation. If, after a medical consultation, we decide that a patient needs a specialist visit or more medical support, we can work with local hospitals to help get the patient the care they need and deserve.
Schroeder: Why and how does a medically trained doctor create an entrepreneurial startup?
warrior: Honestly, I always had an entrepreneurial mindset in high school and during medical school but I didn’t know what to do with it. I have found that one of my biggest interests is solving people’s healthcare problems with the right solutions. Once I started working as a physician, within the hospital system, I felt there was more I could do to help patients. The question I asked myself is instead of helping 15-20 patients a day, how can I help thousands? The answer to that question for me was to find my co-founders, build a prototype of the service and app, and test the business model that became MedinAction.
Schroeder: What types of home/office treatments do you offer?
warriorWe do home and office calls, online consultations, GP and paediatrician services, swab tests (Covid and Strip) and even intramuscular injections and blood tests. If more advanced healthcare is required for a patient, we provide additional services from other clinics or even hospitals.
Schroeder: What was it like working with insurance companies in the early days of the company and has that changed over the past five years?
warriorAt first the insurance companies weren’t sure what we were doing and were reluctant to offer their support. However, once insurance companies realized that what we actually do is provide a higher level of personalized care while reducing the overall medical cost, they began to embrace our business model. Today, we have developed mutual and trusting relationships with insurance companies and this is of great benefit to the patients.
Schroeder: What company values are you also looking for in hiring the doctors and nurses on your team?
warriorWhen we recruit Doctors and Nurses, we are always looking for people who are highly skilled, qualified, and passionate about patient care. They also need good communication skills so that they can quickly build trust with the patient. And finally, they have to commit to a higher standard of patient care, without healthcare bureaucracy, 24/7.
Schroeder: How do you see the growth trend of home health care in the next five years?
warrior: Since we founded MedinAction, the home and office medical services industry has grown very rapidly. In the United States, billions have been raised by startups like ours over the past few years to provide healthcare services in the home or office. In the next five years, this market will grow from a niche to a much larger market. Technology is driving this growth as is population aging around the world. Innovations in telemedicine, the ability to quickly collect and share data, the advent and quality of wireless solutions, the Internet of Things, and mobile phones combine to fuel this segment of the industry.
Schroeder: What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs looking to build better patient services in the healthcare industry?
warriorFirst, you should never forget who your customer is, the patient. Secondly, regardless of technology, people are human beings and deserve the services of kind, caring professionals. Third, this is a fast-growing and evolving market with what appear to be simple human services but delivered through potential technology solutions. So, understand that you need to constantly adjust your technical solutions and capabilities. Finally, with the fast pace of change, you must be flexible, curious, down to earth, constantly learning, reading and listening to other experts. All to deliver an amazing healthcare experience to the patient.
“This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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