The Problem
Rural residence is associated with a 40% higher preventable hospitalization rate and a 23% higher mortality rate, compared to urban residence.
Access to primary care does not appear to drive rural-urban health outcome disparities.
While access to primary care is an issue in Rural America, lack of access to specialists is the primary driver of higher mortality and preventable hospitalization rates among rural patients.
Even larger outcome disparities are seen among rural and urban patients with cardiovascular diseases, explained by disparities in access to specialists such as cardiologists.
Unfortunately, current barriers to access for Cardiology include physician shortages, long wait times and imaging backlogs and it has been projected that by 2025 we will face a deficit of 7,080 Cardiologists nationwide.
The Problem
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. One person dies every 34 seconds in the U.S. from Cardiovascular Disease.
In Rural and Underserved Southern Communities, we see Major Cardiovascular Disease at 3-5 times the rates of other regions.
Studies continue to suggest that both COVID-19 survivors and those vaccinated for the virus experience some type of heart damage, even if they did not have any underlying heart disease prior to contracting the virus or receiving the vaccine.
It's no surprise, then, that while heart death rates were on the decline from 2010-2019, in 2020 about 7 years of progress in declining heart death rates was lost among men and 3 years of progress was lost among women in the United States.
The Solution
Catch Mobile Health is dedicated to increasing and enhancing access to Specialists in Rural and Underserved Southern Communities, starting with Cardiology.
We are leveraging technological advances in cardiac imaging, delivery modalities, and diagnostic data analysis to promote the importance of a preventive approach to Heart Health and make Cardiology more accessible and more efficient than ever.
By educating and engaging our Rural and Underserved Southern Communities on conditions that trigger recommendation for evaluation by a Cardiologist, we enable those community members to catch more, earlier.
When those community members meet appropriate criteria, we conduct an advanced cardiac assessment which provides our team with a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the patient's heart health risks, even if they are asymptomatic.
Catch’s advanced cardiac assessment goes beyond traditional screenings which may include only:
- Personal and Family Health History
- Body Mass Index
- Glucose and Cholesterol Levels
- Blood Pressure
The Solution
Our advanced cardiac assessments also include:
- electrocardiogram, also known as an ECG or EKG, to measure the heart’s rhythm and electrical function
- echocardiogram, a safe, non-invasive and highly detailed cardiac ultrasound to assess the heart’s structure, function, and blood flow
- consultation with a licensed and experienced cardiologist via a telehealth session or onsite
We are deploying these advanced cardiac assessments via on-site, fixed-mobile, and routed-mobile delivery pathways in Rural and Underserved Southern Communities, that enhance patient experience closer to where patients live and work, removing barriers to access and increasing assessment accuracy and efficiency.
Once assessment is complete, patients have a private consultation with our Board-Certified Cardiologist who reviews and explains our team's findings in plain language that is easy to understand and simple to act on.
To further leverage additional technological advances for Health and Care and enhance access to Specialists in Rural and Underserved Southern Communities, our team is actively exploring partnership and licensing opportunities for remote patient monitoring via wearable devices.
Current Key Partners
Catch’s Medical Director, Dr. Henry Burkholder, M.D. is a board-certified General Pediatrician, Pediatric and Adult Congenital Cardiologist. For the last 10 years, he has also specialized in complex case care for all ages. Dr. Burkholder received his medical degree at Albany Medical College in Albany, New York in 2007 and is Medical Director for the Alvin Community College Pediatric Echocardiogram Program where the country’s top pediatric echocardiogram technicians are being trained. He completed his pediatric residency and his pediatric cardiology fellowship at the University of Texas at Houston Health Science Center, where he also served as Chief Pediatric Cardiology Fellow. Dr. Burkholder is a Houstonian Top Doc and was recently named a Texas Monthly Super Doc.
GE Healthcare has partnered with Catch to equip our medical team with the latest, most advanced Cardiac Assessment imaging equipment, including the GE Vivid E95 (echocardiogram) and GE MAC 7 (electrocardiogram) machines that comprise the core of Catch’s equipment and supplies package. Catch is the first to deploy these equipment packages via mobile medical units (specialty-built RVs & trailers) which enables Catch to deliver advanced Cardiac Imaging capabilities to the Rural and Underserved Southern communities where they are needed most.
Mission Mobile Medical builds quality, custom Mobile Medical Units, on pre-owned Class-A RV Platforms. This unique business models allows them to support and enable Catch to launch and scale with a cost-effective and flexible partner in the Mobile Medical space.
CT Defense has developed everything from aerospace tech to long-distance vehicles for petrochemical giants, to state-operated mobile medical solutions. Catch is partnering with CT Defense to deliver purpose-built medical trailers for use in on-site and fixed-mobile applications.
The Business Model
Catch Mobile Health is dedicated to increasing and enhancing access to Specialists in Rural and Underserved Southern Communities, starting with Cardiology. We educate on and promote the importance of a preventive approach to heart health, and deliver advanced cardiac assessments to those in need in an efficient and convenient manner. This means reduced costs for payors, less uncertainty, less waiting, more assessments, better patient experience, more referrals, better patient outcomes, and fewer deaths.
Catch’s hybrid revenue model is comprised of diversified revenue streams across growth market segments from both public and private payers including Medicaid Managed Care Organizations, Medicare Advantage, Corporate Wellness, Youth Athletics and Faith-Based Group payments. We forecast earned revenues in excess of $3.4MM in the first full year of operations, based on initial annual volume of over 10,000 patient visits.
Catch is launching in Texas and Louisiana in 2023 and will continue to increase market share in priority growth markets in Rural and Underserved Southern Communities.
The Ask
We are seeking seed investment up to $1.35MM which will add to the $1.5MM seed funding capital already invested by founding partners. The seed investment will support the Series A capital campaign, formation of launch partnerships in key target markets and accelerate technology integration projects for the opening of our first Cardiology practice location.
Next Steps
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Credits:
References: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. About Multiple Cause of Death, 1999–2020. CDC WONDER Online Database website. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2022. Accessed September 07, 2022. https://physiciansthrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Physician-Compensation-Report-2022.pdf; https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/pdf/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00838;