CARESPAN ANNOUNCES THE EXPANSION OF ITS U.S. MILITARY MEDICAL ASSESSMENT CONTRACT AND A GENERAL BUSINESS UPDATE
VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 31, 2022 /CNW/ – CareSpan Health, Inc. (TSXV: CSPN) (“Company” or “CareSpan”), the provider of the “Clinic-in-the-Cloud” platform addressing the primary care shortage in the U.S., and improving the delivery of chronic, urgent and mental health care, is pleased to announce the expansion of its U.S. military medical assessment contract and provide a business update.
Expansion of U.S. Military Medical Assessments Contract
CareSpan is pleased to announce that American Advanced Practice Network (“American-APN”), a CareSpan professional corporation, has been awarded an additional contract to conduct annual medical examinations for U.S. military reservists in multiple states and locations across the United States (the “Contract”). American-APN, and its sister network, American MedPsych Network (AMPN), have over 80 practitioners using the CareSpan “Clinic-in-the-Cloud”™ solution to deliver primary, chronic, urgent and mental health care to underserved areas in the United States.
CareSpan expects to start conducting medical exams pursuant to the Contract in the coming months. American-APN Nurse Practitioners (“NPs”) will deliver high-quality, and efficient examinations as they help address the large volume of annual medical exams for the U.S. military. In 2020, the Company believes approximately 110,000 such medical exams for reservists were conducted in the U.S. Given the current reach of its American-APN network, the Company expects to be able to service approximately 3,000 medical exams per year with an average billing of US$100 per exam. The Company believes that as additional NPs join its network and expand its reach, it will be in a position to service a greater share of the annual total volume. The Contract is in addition to the veterans disability assessment contract announced pursuant to the Company’s press release dated December 7, 2021.
Melissa Magstadt, CEO of American-APN commented: “This new Contract to conduct annual medical exams for U.S. military reservists expands the scope of CareSpan’s and American-APN’s support for the care of U.S. military personnel and provides another example of how CareSpan enables NPs to address care delivery gaps across the United States. With more than 80 practitioners in our network, and growing, we are focused on continuing to deliver contracts like this to our NPs to allow them to grow their practices and, in turn, help CareSpan and American-APN grow and attract more NPs to join the network.”
Business Update
CareSpan is pleased to provide an update on its’ key performance metrics for year-end 2021. The Company experienced strong operational growth from 2020 to 2021 that was primarily driven by:
An increase in the number of NPs and clinicians joining its network. The number of NPs using CareSpan’s “Clinic-in-the-Cloud” platform grew to 81 providers as of December 31, 2021 compared to 50 providers as at December 31, 2020 (increase of 62%), and compared to 60 providers as at September 30, 2021 (increase of 35%).
A stronger patient visit tally across its provider network during the year. Patient visits were 40,600 in 2021 compared to 24,600 in 2020 – an increase of 65%.
The completion of the Company’s cost restructuring initiatives that were previously announced by press release dated November 29, 2021. CareSpan expects to realize annualized savings of approximately US$1.0 million.
Entered the Florida market with the hiring of a key seasoned advisor to drive the growth and reach of the Company’s provider network and the signing of the Company’s first NPs in Florida to join the network. According to Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), with approximately 30,000 practicing NPs, Florida has more NPs than any other state in the U.S. In March 2020, Florida passed legislation allowing NPs to practice independently with the law coming into effect as of July 2020. According to AANP, there are an additional 25 states that allow NPs to practice independently with California set to join this group in 2023.
Built the operational infrastructure and tested its Remote Patient Monitoring (“RPM”) service. CareSpan is in the process of initiating the enrollment and expects to onboard initial patients in the coming weeks. According to CB Insights: “Tech Trends to Watch in 2022”, the Covid-19 pandemic has expedited the growth and need of this market to $30B in the United States as hospitals and lockdowns have created an immediate demand for chronic and preventative care.
With the infrastructure now in place, CareSpan is excited to focus on building out its RPM capabilities across its provider network. RPM is the use of digital devices that allow clinicians and care providers to capture health and medical data on a continuous basis from their patients remotely and electronically through CareSpan’s platform. Effective use of RPM, as part of a patient’s care plan, allows CareSpan’s NPs and clinicians to provide higher quality of care to their patients and improve health outcomes, while generating additional revenue for their practice. RPM reimbursement is about US$115 per patient per month, with gross margins of about 60%. RPM deployment within individual care plans will be a focus for the Company going forward and CareSpan will focus on building out this revenue channel over the upcoming quarters.
To help accelerate the growth of its NP network, CareSpan is pleased to announce the engagement of Bob Whitfield to support the development of the Company’s provider network and practitioner recruitment, particularly in the state of Florida. Given its size and demographic profile, Florida is a strategically important geographical market for CareSpan. Based in Tampa, Florida, Mr. Whitfield brings relevant experience in healthcare operations management, compliance, contract development and management. Mr. Whitfield has already demonstrated his capabilities with the signing of an initial set of Florida based NPs with a strong candidate pipeline. The Company is excited to have him on the team to help drive further growth.
CEO Rembert De Villa commented: “In 2020 and 2021, we focused on laying the foundation and validating our business model. We are now witnessing growth in our performance metrics from these efforts. In 2022, our focus is to aggressively grow our provider network and scale our business with high-quality revenue, continued innovation of our digital platform, and constant improvement in client satisfaction. With additions like Bob Whitfield, and a team of experienced network developers, we will be able to grow our network of NPs that will continue to expand our scope and reach into servicing contracts like that of the U.S. military reservists and enabling them to implement patient care plans that can benefit from the Company’s remote patient monitoring services. These patient care initiatives serve as another pillar for growth and demonstrate CareSpan’s ability to draw the attention of private and public payors and health plans requiring high-quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare services for their members.”
About CareSpan Health
CareSpan is a healthcare technology company that has developed and deployed a unique, proprietary integrated digital care platform, the CareSpan Clinic-in-the Cloud™, that creates unfettered access to care for the underserved. With a patient-centric approach focused on improving health outcomes, CareSpan uses sophisticated digital tools and capabilities to improve patient outcomes in primary care, chronic care, urgent care, and mental health.
In addition to the integrated digital care platform, CareSpan has built and deployed a business support infrastructure for its professional network partners, American-Advanced Practice Network and American-MedPsych Network. American-Advanced Practice Network harnesses the clinical capabilities of Nurse Practitioners to address the shortage in primary and chronic care in the country. American-MedPsych brings together providers to tackle shortages in mental health, as well as primary care.
Clinic-in-the-Cloud is a trademark of CareSpan USA Inc., a subsidiary of CareSpan Health, Inc.
For more information, visit: www.carespanhealth.com
Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer
This news contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) which reflect the current expectations of management of the company’s future growth, results of operations, performance, and business prospects and opportunities, including the statements made above with respect to: (i) CareSpan to start conducting medical exams pursuant to the Contract and delivering high quality examinations; (ii) CareSpan obtaining future opportunities of the same nature as the Contract; (ii) the expectation to conduct 3,000 annual exams at US$100 per exam pursuant to the Contract, and the expectation of this figure to increase as additional NPs join the network; (iii) the number of NPs obtaining the credentials and training necessary to support the engagement described herein; (iv) the Company’s outlook for 2022, including growing its network, generating high-quality revenue, and innovations in its platform; (v) the anticipated growth of practices and obtaining new payor contracts; (vi) Bob Whitfield’s appointment driving future growth of the Company; (vii) the growth of the Company’s RPM service and its ability to generate higher quality care and revenues for the Company; and (viii) the anticipate filing of the financial statements and MD&A of the Company by April 29, 2022. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential for”, “intend” and similar expressions or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although these words may not be present in all forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on management’s assumptions as at the date of the forward-looking statements are provided, including but not limited to the following: the ability of the Company to execute its growth plans and business strategies; the ability of the Company to secure new contracts and assignments; the growth of the NPs within CareSpan’s network; and the ability of the Company to generate meaningful revenue from such assignments and future engagements. Though management believes that its assumptions are reasonable in the circumstances, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from all or any of the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Risk factors that could cause the Company’s actual results, performance, or achievements to differ from the forward-looking statements in this news release include, but may not be limited to: general market and economic risk; any necessary regulatory approvals required (if applicable) for the Company to deliver the services under the Contract; the ability of the Company’s management to execute its strategy; unexpected or adverse regulatory changes in the healthcare space; and the ability of all parties to the Contract to fulfill their obligations under the Contract. These factors should be considered carefully, and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in the news release are based upon what management currently believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure prospective investors that actual results, performance or achievements will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities.
The TSX-V and its Regulation Services Provider have not approved the contents of, nor taken responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of, this press release.
SOURCE CareSpan Health, Inc.