With A Free Next-Generation Provider Solution, Carie Health Is Reinventing The Concierge Care Experience For All Patients, Across The Country

The evolution of mobile technologies are finally playing a significant role in the U.S. healthcare system. As the system continues to undergo rapid transformation, federal deregulations are opening the doors for true innovation and challenging physicians with a whole new set of increasing patient expectations.

The U.S. healthcare industry is ripe for disruption: Physicians are increasingly pressed for time, patients have an average 29 day wait to see their physicians and healthcare expenditure is skyrocketing to 20% of America’s GDP, the highest in the world, while many indicators show worse outcomes than those in the U.K., Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Germany, Canada, and France.

“On a per capita basis, Americans spend 77% more on healthcare than other high-income countries. As a percentage of GDP, healthcare constitutes 1/6 of the U.S. economy, but it constitutes less than 1/8 of the economies of similar nations,” says American Council on Science & Health.

The simplest solution to the majority of the pain-points in the health system is telemedicine, or as it more accurately described today, virtual care. The global telemedicine market is expected to double from $25 billion in 2015 to nearly $58 billion in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.85%. In the U.S., adoption of telemedicine technology has grown from 54.5% in 2014 to 61.3% in 2016, and nearly 80% of patients are now willing to try telehealth and telemedicine solutions. To describe the magnitude of the transition, by 2024, virtual physician visits will surpass in-office visits, and by 2025, there will be an estimated 1.15 billion virtual physicians’ visits each year.

Today, the vast bulk of this growth has been as a direct result of the major payers, insurance carriers and third-party administrators (TPA’s) disintermediating the physician’s and specialist’s income streams through the provision of telehealth services through massive call-center style physician panels. In this article we are pleased to celebrate one organization that is bravely taking an opposite approach, bringing patients and their own existing providers closer together with the use of simple clean technologies.

Founded in 2016 by California native Matt Wanderer, CarieHealth, or “Carie” as she is affectionately known in healthcare circles, is a revolutionary virtual care company addressing the nation’s unmet demand for high quality, affordable healthcare. Pioneering the personalized mobile healthcare model, Carie provides excellent healthcare, accessible to all Americans with affordable transparent pricing, while making it free and easy for physicians to get on-board and make the successful transition join in the growth of the telehealth industry and the wave of revenue associated with it.

Based on the company’s four core values - Transparency, Honesty, Directness, and Simplicity, Carie makes doctor visits easier and more convenient through its groundbreaking technologies that provide physicians with residual income. More than just a simple HIPAA compliant “Facetime”, the company delivers a total telehealth solution that extends the physician’s reach, reduces after-hours support, and improves patient retention. With the company’s patient onboarding tools, a personalized patient site, and optional digital marketing support, patients can consult with their primary care physician, specialist or any healthcare provider anytime, anywhere.

“People always want to compare us with other telehealth providers, who, while well-intentioned, offer limited actual utility to the doctor or patient. To be more accurate I encourage my friends and family to think of us as America’s first full-service virtual-care health system, we are not competing with Teledoc, we are preparing to compete with Keiser and UnitedHealth,” says Matt Wanderer, Founder, and CEO of Carie Health.

The Story Behind the Picture

Back in 2010, while earning his MBA with The NYU Stern School of Business, The London School of Economics and HEC Paris, Matt had an unforgettable opportunity to travel to India and study with the leadership team at Apollo Hospitals. During his visit, Matt saw first-hand the power of mobile healthcare and was introduced to a concept that would forever shape his vision for the future of healthcare delivery.

Matt witnessed that Apollo could treat patients in remote villages up to 1000 miles away by the use of mobile care units, satellite link, and remote video technology. Remotely, a surgeon could safely perform hundreds of minor medical procedures a day - all at a fraction of the cost of an in-person procedure. This practice of virtual healthcare in India has opened the doors to people who would otherwise never receive the help they needed. It was the “a-ha” moment that galvanized the idea, which grew into Carie as a holistic remedy to the ever-increasing healthcare challenges such as access, cost, and convenience.

After returning from India, Matt dove straight into the world of health technology, founding the nation’s leading personalized medicine company, RestoreHealth. By 2014, the company had become the 8th fastest growing private company in America. Still, despite its success, Matt was not able to shake the vision calling from India and still yearned for an opportunity to take on the full set of challenges that plague the healthcare delivery systems in the US.

In 2016, after a couple of years of studying the market to validate the concept, Matt turned his dream into reality and invested to launch his own unique vision with the founding of EpicMD. Over the course of its first two years in business, the growing team learned that the mission was much bigger, grander and much more complicated than its original name supported. The company had realized that it wasn’t just the MD who needed tools; it was the RD, the DO, the DC and the NP. So, in June 2018, the company underwent a full brand refresh as Carie Health, to encompass its singular focus to forever change the delivery of Care.

Since returning from India six years ago, Matt has been listed five times in the top ranks of the INC 500 for hyper-growth companies he has founded and invested in. However, Carie looks like it may be poised to make them look like an excellent set of high stakes warm up exercises to lead what just may be a full-out American consumer revolution.

For a hard-driving healthcare technological company, Carie has a unique soft side, and a deep commitment to providing a solution that can deliver for all, even those who can’t afford to pay for care. As a homage to the origins of the company and in recognition of the lack of affordable care in the U.S. and abroad, Carie spends a big piece of its marketing efforts celebrating the company’s “Share the Care” program. Under the policies of Share the Care, each paid membership automatically creates a digital token that is later gifted to those in need providing a free virtual care consultation with a US board certified doctor. So far the program has found impressive utility following the 2017 hurricanes in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico.

“Low income is not poor - it’s average. Look around our country; people are poor. A lot of people need help. Look around the world “Poor” is normal. Wealth is not. Nearly 50% of the world lives on less than $2.50 a dollar a day. Don’t let the “Jones” define your happiness, keeping up with others is a sure-fire recipe for disappointment,” says Matt.

A New Approach to Healthcare Delivery

Carie is an innovative platform that was built to create a new and improved healthcare experience between a provider and their patients; one that elevates the relationship by reducing barriers of time, cost, and inconvenience. It instantly connects patients with trusted Doctors (or with a local Doctor) who offers a complete care solution, both in-office and virtually.

With the unique set of tools and a proprietary platform, Carie’s virtual healthcare technology has a clear opportunity to grow and scale within the telehealth market. The company’s marketing team executes a seamless Marketing Plan, designed to focus on three high-level audiences - Providers, Patients, and Partners. With the automated marketing tools and conversion focused assets, the team achieves KPI’s and targeted conversion metrics. Also, assistance from the national team of Virtual Care Partners helps facilitate and funnel leads through the corporate marketing machine.

The Challenges in Automation Marketing

At Carie Health, the cornerstone of Provider, Patient and Partner conversion is a word of mouth growth along with a series of Marketing Automation Campaigns that primarily runs through a set of strategic journeys designed to guide the specific audience. Obstacles and challenges always come as add-ons for every company, irrespective of the industry and Carie Health is no exception. On the provider side, a major challenge for Carie Health in Automation Marketing is persuading all providers to sign a Software License Agreement that confirms their place on the platform and motivates them to upload their Patient Census. And on the patient side, getting potential members to upgrade from a free account to a paid account is a challenge.

Testimonials: Trusted By Patients Everywhere. Loved By Doctors Alike.

“My 4AM visit with the doctor was awesome! My 6-year-old daughter had a bad cough with fever and the doctor called back in 20 minutes. He was very alert being that it was that time in the morning. Thank you for providing great care!”

- John Everett, Phoenix AZ

“I’m a professional singer and had to leave mid-performance because I was violently ill. I couldn’t reach my doctor on a Sunday. Thankfully, I remembered Carie. I requested a video consultation and within 20 minutes the doctor diagnosed me with acute sinusitis and bronchitis.”

- Jane Roberts, Atlanta GA

“My experience with the doctor was great! He really cared about my well-being and was very helpful. He spent more time with me than my PCP does.”

- Margot Jones, Miami FL

Holding Head High

What sets Carie Health Apart?Matt Wanderer gives a simple formula:

“Our recipe is simple and wildly revolutionary at the same time; at Carie Health we provide the Doctor with a totally free solution so they can stay connected with their own patients in the modern digital world as well as maintain and even improve the core doctor-patient relationship, which is one of the last indicators left where America still leads the world. That is the foundation of a great care in any setting. We know that great service is recognized with a 5 Star review and that is why we focus intensely on our services and doctors.

We have the greatest doctors on earth, and they are here together with a simple mission: To deliver the world’s greatest care; care that creates raving fans that tell a friend just how great your healthcare service was and takes the time to give you (us) a 5 Star Review!!!

We enable physicians to offer more convenience and also to become part of a growing, caring, national provider network that is totally free to try and on average pays double what the big-box telehealth guys think is fair. With our platform, we allow physicians to deliver incredible virtual as well as brick and mortar convenience many of whom go above and beyond by moving into a more concierge-style service promise.”

Greet the Chief

Matt Wanderer, Founder & CEO: Matt’s vision for Carie began in 2010 during a business school module in India where he saw virtual healthcare helping people who would otherwise never receive the care they needed. Prior to founding Carie, Matt was a co-founder at Alterra Capital Group and Evergift.org. He served as Founder & CEO of RestoreHealth and serves on the Board of Directors at ServRX with both of his healthcare companies earning top spots in the INC. earning top spots in the INC. 500 Fastest Growing Companies of 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Matt earned his MBA at the NYU Stern School of Business, the London School of Economics and HEC Paris.

“In collaboration with the brightest minds, in both the healthcare and technology industries, we came together to map how healthcare could be optimally delivered by learning from other industries and building a new healthcare delivery model.”