Andrew S. Ripps, Bendcare Chairman and CEO: ‘We’re Committed to Improving the Patient Journey and Making the Healthcare System Healthier for All’

“Our mission is to design, deliver, and discover quality in specialty medicine that dictates the formula for safe, cost-effective, and patient-centric outcomes.”

Healthcare organizations play a crucial role in the field of medicine and are established to meet the health needs of targeted populations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a well-functioning health care system requires a financing mechanism, a well-trained and adequately paid workforce, reliable information on which to base decisions and policies, and well-maintained health facilities to deliver quality medicines and technologies.

In light of the foregoing, we’re thrilled to present Bendcare.

Bendcare supports services that empower physicians and remove unpleasant bureaucracy. To develop tools and expertise that deliver infrastructure to manage the business demands of running an office, the company is collaborating with and connecting the stakeholders to redesign an innovative model of specialty care, service, and superlative outcomes information.

Bendcare was established in the year 2015 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, South Florida. The Financial Services and Administrative office is located in Vero Beach, Florida.

In Conversation with Andrew S. Ripps, Bendcare Chairman and CEO

What is the reason behind the genesis of Bendcare? How did you expand your company and its offerings over the years?

The genesis of Bendcare was to fulfill the unmet need for a new approach to specialty care in which the physician and patient co-create their experience and outcome. Our uniquely innovative and disruptive model for specialty care returns the control back to both stakeholders to improve quality and demonstrate cost-effective care. Our company and its offerings have expanded over the years by investing in services, technology, education, and purchase power solutions (S.T.E.P.).

Our primary product line was formulated by Rheumatologists for an aging and active population and is tailored for chronic inflammatory patients. Our very own Columbus technology platform is the largest Rheumatology data repository that integrates algorithms and targeted education through our Bridge technology platform.

‘A well-defined mission and vision is the secret behind the success of many firms.’ What is your company's M&V statement?

Our mission is to Design, Deliver, and Discover quality in specialty medicine that dictates the formula for safe, cost-effective, and patient-centric outcomes. Our vision is to always be at the forefront of the patient journey for specialty care by making healthcare healthier through our delivery of services, technology, education, and purchase power solutions that improve the patient experience, care, and value.

What are your company’s core values, and how are they helping you to succeed?

Authenticity is one of the core values that guide us in all the creations of our services, technology, and strategy. We only launch and deliver products and services if they are authentic and are not “me-too” business offerings. The Bendcare A+ Values are behaviors we live by that define who we are and how we work with others as we create and define the ideal patient journey. Our A+ Values are: Accountable, Authentic, Adaptable, and Appreciative. They help us succeed by confirming an understanding of our commitments, always setting clear expectations, and embodying a culture that creates a lasting impression we can be proud of.

“Earning trust and respect of consumers is through consistent focus on delivering high quality in all of our actions.” How do you interpret this statement?

We believe in the philosophy of ownership and pride in everything we do. We also believe in “doing the right things right.” Be it with a new physician member or with an industry stakeholder, we evaluate their commitment to the patient journey. We set clear goals and foster a culture of obsessive service. Lastly, we’re dedicated to being consistently responsive, transparent, and real in every engagement.

Fostering a culture of feedback is crucial to the success of every organization. How is this true with your company?

We actively solicit and welcome feedback non-defensively among our employees, physician members, partners, and industry stakeholders to uphold our commitment and high expectations. We utilize Microsoft Teams as a secure and unified communications platform to disseminate surveys and organize forums to maintain constant contact and open dialogue among our employees and physician members, and share feedback, ideas, questions, and concerns. One of our actionable behaviors as part of our company values is “having the courage to ask why we’re doing this” if it is not achieving the intended result.

What are the factors that make your company stand out from the competition?

Our company is motivated by the motto “having fun while making a difference.” We’re committed to improving the patient journey and making the healthcare system healthier for all. Empowering our physicians to empower their patients is what drives each of us in our work, and we’re humbled by the success and opportunity to lead.

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic.” What is your opinion on this?

We believe that data is the new currency of healthcare. Therefore, we created Columbus, the largest prospective, real world rheumatologic repository in the world, which captures data from 3,000,000 patients and growing. This data is synchronously refreshed to secure servers daily. We have built AI algorithms to deliver decision support and fill the educational gaps through edutainment. Lastly, we have developed visualization tools to provide comprehensive analytics support for business strategy, compliance, pattern recognition, and research and clinical support for all major rheumatic diseases. This technology allows us to deliver prospective real-world evidence to support real-time course correction and thereby improve patient outcomes.

Where do you see your company a couple of years from now?

We’ll take this infrastructure and pivot to other specialty providers in healthcare.

I’m especially appreciative of being surrounded by a leadership team of subject matter experts and exceptional talent. In particular, having a world class CFO, Yoshi Barreirinhas, enables us to deliver on the high expectations of myself and the physicians we empower.

Andrew S. Ripps: A Serial Entrepreneur

Andrew S. Ripps is a successful start-up entrepreneur with a corporate pedigree and track record of building, launching, and scaling profitable and innovative businesses for companies such as MDVIP, Cybear, HealthMatics, and GlaxoSmithKline. Mr. Ripps understands the balance of designing operating infrastructure, building a high performance leadership team, branding for physicians and consumers, and creating teams aligned to a vision and superlative culture. Two of his most notable accomplishments in his 34 year healthcare career are being recognized as Inc. Magazine’s 30th Fastest-Growing Company twice— first in 2005 with a three-year growth of 1,814% and again in 2019 at Bendcare with a three-year growth of 6,900%.

“We created Columbus, the largest prospective, real world rheumatologic repository in the world, which captures data from 3,000,000 patients and growing. This data is synchronously refreshed to secure servers daily.”