The DeTECHtive: Examining a Start-Up Determined to Heal the Healthcare Industry

Case #5
Start-Up: MedPilot
Entrepreneur: Matt Buder Shapiro
Industry: Healthcare
What Investigative Work Revealed:

The healthcare industry can prove to be quite confusing to navigate as a patient. There is a current, critical case of miscommunication between patients and healthcare providers in the United States. Such miscommunication can prove to be deleterious for both a person’s financial and mental health. This also has created an intensifying tension between providers and patients. Although there are a variety of businesses working in the field of private patient advocacy, there is one that stands out from all the rest. Enter MedPilot. This start-up is reshaping the industry by helping to solve one of the greatest social problems Americans face—medical debt--with the help of its ingenious software system and services. 

For most private patient advocacy businesses, the aim is to counter financial issues after they are incurred. With MedPilot, the source of the problem is confronted as they construct an environment in which there is a greater transparency between providers and patients. MedPilot offers providers a software system that will assess the financial circumstances of patients while also generating personalized settlement offers to resolve outstanding balances. 

Additionally, MedPilot’s software offers providers with the opportunity to extend discounts and charity care and determines such billing discounts based upon the financial need of individual patients. Thus, MedPilot is able to assist providers in increasing collections and payment velocity while also reducing billing and collection costs and augmenting the satisfaction of their patients. The start-up’s co-founder and CMO, Matt Buder Shapiro, emphasizes how MedPilot offers providers "the ability to interact and engage with their patients to help them better understand some of the reasons that they may not be able to afford their medical bills.” 

The services directed at patients are just as effective. MedPilot is able to target patients by creating consumer-friendly bills which provide explanations removing the vagueness behind insurance statements. Also, the web-based chat tool MedPilot gifts the patients with a direct form of communication with their provider's billing department. Have you ever been on the phone waiting to connect with your provider, exhausted and infuriated by that taunting sound of elevator music? Well, MedPilot has conquered the waiting game and provides patients with a fast avenue for getting answers directly via a computer and/or mobile device.

By listening to Matt Buder Shapiro describe the strides he and his teams have made, it became clear that MedPilot will transform the healthcare industry and alleviate a conflict that is often present between providers and patients. He spoke about how a Times Magazine article by Steven Brill inspired him and his co-founder Jordan Brown to create MedPilot. The article, entitled “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us”, portrayed the dilemma of medical debt. Buder Shapiro describes how he and Brown discussed how something needed to be done. They had the potential to transform the healthcare industry and benefit patients as well as providers including hospitals, private practices, and large and small chains. 

By giving the providers the resources to gauge and interact with their patients to assess why they might be having trouble paying for their medical expenses and to automate the financial assessment process, MedPilot distinguishes itself from other companies. It incentivizes the providers to target the problem and helps patients by making medical bills more understandable and offers feasible financial solutions.

For you aspiring entrepreneurs, Buder Shapiro offers thought-provoking advice. First off, “start talking to customers right away—make sure what you’re building doesn’t just sound cool but is actually relevant to their needs. Get down to the root of the problems and make sure your prospective customers are interested. Then, find the right kind of investors—the sort who believe in the issue you’re solving and understand that it is a rollercoaster, but desire to be a part of the team.” 

Closing this case as TechDay’s Chief DeTECHtive, I declare that MedPilot is a start-up worth watching as this company strives to revolutionize the healthcare industry. 

Keep an eye out for the DeTECHtive’s next investigation, which is being conducted as these words are processed in your mind. More to come