MedArrive CEO Dan Trigub on hybrid telehealth models

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This week’s Making Rounds spotlights Dan Trigub, the CEO and co-founder of MedArrive, which connects payers like Medicaid and healthcare providers to a network of field agents like emergency medical technicians (EMTs) for in-home clinical care. Payers and physicians can request a MedArrive visit for a patient, and a field provider will perform diagnostic tests, health assessments, post-acute care, and other health services in the patient’s home. That data is then sent to the physician through an electronic health record.

Trigub spoke about what sets MedArrive apart from other home health providers, and the importance of using telehealth in combination with in-person care to treat Medicaid patients.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How is MedArrive different from other home health providers?

There are lots of companies out there that people have heard of, like DispatchHealth or Ready Responders or others, many of which started with let’s build a beautiful app, throw it in the app store, and push a button, and get on-demand healthcare.

I can tell you for a fact that our Medicaid population is not going to download an app and try to get on-demand healthcare, let alone be able to afford that concierge medicine. And I think lots of companies have tried to be the, quote, unquote, “Uber of healthcare,” but it’s very difficult to do—very expensive. And so we set out on a mission on day one to partner with Medicaid plans primarily, and build a solution that really served their populations, that can drive down costs, but also provide better health outcomes, most importantly. And so I think that’s a key differentiator for us at MedArrive.

What’s the best change you’ve made or seen at a place you’ve worked?

At MedArrive, we make it really mandatory for all employees to do ride-alongs, where we go into the homes in some of the poorest communities you can possibly imagine. And frankly, there are a lot of people in the US who live in these communities, and they don’t have anybody going into their homes and providing these valuable services. I’ve done dozens and dozens myself. We truly see how they live. I’ve walked into the home of a double-amputee diabetic who hoarded floor-to-ceiling books that I had to navigate with our new provider. I think, from our software engineer all the way to our marketing person to our legal team, everyone will really need to experience this firsthand.

What healthcare trend are you most optimistic about and why?

Value-based care. It’s been talked about for a very long time, and unfortunately, most healthcare is still fee-for-service. [Value-based care] actually encourages preventative care and early interventions—especially when providers take on a risk—and incentives are aligned to really lower cost, and most importantly, drive the best health outcomes.

What healthcare trend are you least optimistic about and why?

Telehealth in general. We saw a rapid acceleration of telehealth services because of Covid. But it’s definitely here to stay. And I think there’s certainly value to telehealth, especially for certain populations, for certain use cases. But I think those who have the most critical needs and who frankly drive the highest costs for health plans, telehealth really isn’t a viable solution. It’s really more through a hybrid model where you have hands-on touch—that humanity in healthcare. You need to have that, and in combination with telehealth, I think it can be very powerful.

But I also think we need to be careful and not just think that telehealth is a silver bullet, and by itself, will just solve people’s problems. Like I said, I’ve been on many of these visits to these homes and it’s much more powerful when you have somebody physically standing next to the patient.