Call9: Tele-EM Platform for Skilled Nursing Facilities

Urgent Matters

Dr. Tim Peck s the CoFounder and CEO of Call9, a technology enabled clinical services startup. In 2016, Call9 became fully operational in two Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs or nursing homes), and treated more than 1,300 patients.

Call9 is an alternative to 911 in SNFs. When a patient in a SNF suffers an acute event, the SNF nurse activates Call9. One of Call9's on-site Clinical Care Specialists (CCSs) then go the the patient's bedside and, within moments, are connected to an Emergency Physician via Call9's HIPAA secure technology platform. The Call9 CCS can then perform diagnostics, take labs, and deliver care under the Physician's direction -- at the patient's beside.

In 2016, its first full year of operation, Call9 received more than 1,300 unique activations and kept patients in their nursing home beds -- as opposed to potentially going to the Emergency Department -- 78% of the time. Call9 has already saved the healthcare system, and the tax payer, millions of dollars -- while delivering comfort to patients and piece of mind to their families. And Call9 is expanding rapidly in 2017.

In late 2016, Call9 signed its first contract with an insurance payor, and since the beginning of 2017, Call9 has signed contracts with three of the five largest insurance payors in New York. This validation of Call9's model will allow it to move into even more SNFs and, most importantly deliver care to even more patients in need.

As CEO, Dr. Peck is responsible for a staff of 30 full-time employees and 40 contract employees. He oversees all aspects of Call9's work from clinical delivery to technology development and maintenance, to business operations and finance. He and Call9's team have positioned the company to go to scale in 2017, potentially delivering life changing and saving treatments to to tens of thousands of patients.

History/Accomplishments

Peck previously held a faculty position at Harvard Medical School and was the Chief Resident in the Emergency Department at Beth Israel Deaconess/Harvard.

While at Beth Israel, Peck repeatedly encountered the challenge of treating patients who would have had superior outcomes had he and his team been able to treat them earlier. After investigating this problem, Peck learned that 1) despite making up only 0.5% of the population, Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF or nursing home) patients make up nearly 20% of ambulance transfers to the ED, and 2) the average time it takes for a SNF patient to see an Emergency Physician is over 60 minutes. Shortly after learning the scope of the problem Peck set out to solve it.

Call9 decreases the time it takes for individuals to see an Emergency Physician to within moments of an acute event. On-site Clinical Care Specialists are connected to Emergency Physicians via Call9’s proprietary platform to deliver hands-on emergency care at the bedside. Peck’s efforts to develop Call9 coalesced when the company went through Y Combinator’s accelerator program. The company now has 80+ employees and is delivering life saving care at facilities across lower New York.

Commitment to Excellence

Peck's commitment to excellence is clear in every aspect of Call9's work. He has overseen the development of best practices for the on-site Clinical Care Specialists and remote physicians including regular QA/QI meetings and consistent upgrades in the diagnostics at the patients bedside, and the tools at the CCSs disposal to deliver superior care to SNF patients.

In the past, a patient with a UTI and fever in a nursing home would almost invariably trigger the SNF staff to call 911. From there, the patient would be transferred via ambulance to a hospital Emergency Department. The patient would then be sent for a CT scan, and, regardless of the results would almost invariably be admitted into the hospital for a multi-day stay. This whole process costs the healthcare system $36,000, while placing unnecessary stress on the patient and their family, and exposing the patient to the threats to wellness that hospitals can sometimes contain.

In nursing homes that have Call9, that same patient causes the nurse to activate the our Clinical Care Specialists who go to the patient's bedside, are connected to an Emergency Physician and can begin administering care immediately. The patient is then sent for an outpatient CT scan, brought back to the nursing home and monitored for 24 hours+ by the CCS until the fever has dissipated. This process costs the healthcare system $2,000, and delivers significant quality of life improvement to both the patient and their family.

Impact on Community

Every day Call9's service delivers value to nursing home patients and their families. By preventing transfers to the hospital patients are able to remain in their adopted homes. Families are able to avoid the alarm of receiving a call telling them their loved ones are in the Emergency Room. And the escalating health challenges associated with lengthy gaps in treatment delivery are also avoided.

Call9 is fully committed to improving the lives of our patients -- the company's mantra is to always put the patient first. We believe that as long as we follow that guidance all else will fall into place for those we serve.