Datavu: Industry Update - March 6

Company:

Rupa health defined itself as a healthcare company that is building the digital platform for the next evolution of medicine, root cause medicine.
Basically it enables providers to order, track & get results from 25+ lab companies and 3000+ tests in one place.

Science:

A root cause approach looks at a person’s health holistically and employs advanced, comprehensive diagnostics to understand everything from genetics to diet, stress and cortisol levels to the microbiome, and more.
Rupa is at the forefront of the exploding root cause medicine movement. Major medical journals like JAMA are publishing research on the benefits of root cause medicine, and major hospital groups like the Cleveland Clinic, the University of California System, and the Mayo Clinic have added root cause departments.

The technology:

This is platform which act as a test aggregator marketplace currently and removes some friction at touchpoints like collecting specimen or payment from patients, sending to labs, transferring results back to providers etc.

Future plans

Since RCM is a field about to take off, when/if it does Rupa will be one of the frontrunners.
Rupa will use its distribution to root cause practitioners to create products that will enable more and more patients to access this new approach to healthcare. The new funds will be used to help make root cause medicine more affordable and accessible to all.

Value generated:

It generates value for providers by saving their time (from 15 hours to 15 minutes as per the claim). [1] Rupa health takes care of the entire labwork experience from beginning to end for a comprehensive list of tests. All providers/physicians has to do is select tests from Rupa's one stop shop platform.

Who pays?

Analysis:

Generally providers might not have incentive to order variety of tests and spend more time analyzing the mountain of results data due to fee-for-service model. What Rupa offers is variety of tests, some of which less common than the others. That could be the reason why Rupa health positions itself as a platform for root cause medicine.
This also means there might be a highly skewed distribution of tests orders from Rupa's platform. In order to make the less frequently ordered tests more attractive Rupa could offer comparatively less service fee - which is flat 7% for all tests currently. This was they can build a data cube including results of less common tests and potentially generate another revenue stream.

Company:

Phlebotomist on demand
Founded in 2018, Getlabs aims to become the boots-on-the-ground accompaniment to telehealth.
For example: Imagine you’ve just had a telehealth visit, and your healthcare provider thinks it might be time for a blood test. Instead of trekking to a clinic, Getlabs will come to your home and get the draw done, for an out of pocket “convenience fee” (to use company parlance) starting at $25.

Market:

Lab work is an important part of clinical decision-making. One commonly cited statistic is that some 70% of clinical decisions are based on lab work. Some scientists have pointed out that no one can really find the origin of that number, but it’s been echoed from the Mayo Clinic to CDC website.
In the U.S., there are about 14 billion lab tests ordered every year, per the CDC. And there’s evidence that more lab tests are being ordered each year.
Between 2013 and 2018, spending on U.S. laboratory tests has increased more than 15%

Expected trend:

Some telehealth companies, like Amwell, are beginning to realize that hybrid care models will facilitate telehealth’s bleed into areas like chronic care management, for example. It’s not just Amwell.
There has also been investor speculation that the future of telehealth isn’t virtual only, but a hybrid model that combines virtual appointments with in-home remote patient monitoring, or visits from trained specialists.

The technology:

Rather than having patients book lab visits themselves, Getlabs is aiming to become fully integrated into a telehealth platform by launching its API. That API, he says, would allow for companies to schedule lab tests directly after patients’ virtual sessions.

Future plans

The major goal of this round, says Michelson, is to increase the amount of healthcare workers hired by the platform. This funding will allow the company to bring on more phlebotomists to expand coverage, and pursue more partnerships with emerging telehealth companies looking for an in-person component.

Customer segment:

Telehealth users with chronic conditions (or need of labwork due to any other reason)

Who pays?

Getlabs costs nothing to providers and charges patients a low convenience fee (starting at $25) for collecting their samples and delivering to the laboratory.

Competitors

Analysis

Ideally Rupa health should be able to eat Getlab's lunch since the former is comprehensive end-to-end platform. Right from physicians selecting and ordering the tests, getting the specimens, payments and delivering the results Rupa health does everything. But maybe the devil is in the details - Rupa health provides self-testing kits. As per Getlab's pitch this is where is most error arise.
Getlabs seems to be narrowly focussed. They do no have as many partners as Rupa, but they have the biggest ones (Labcorp, QuestDiagnostics etc).
Getlabs also seems to have different plans on platform vs API. Their preference is integrating seemlessly within existing ecosystem and so they are going down the path of API where as Rupa health is building the platform. So providers basically would have one less thing to worry about when it comes to Getlabs.
There is no definitely better way but the answer for this significantly different approaches might be in founder's backgrounds. Getlabs is founder Kyle Michelson's third startup, and he has fundraising experience with previous companies as well. This could be a reason why Rupa Health seems to offer more comprehensive solution but Getlab's story seems investor friendly.

Datavu