The telehealth boom is here to stay. As health professionals still strongly urge patients to avoid face to face meetings with their doctors, the telehealth platform has emerged as a major platform for millions. “Due to the rise in the COVID-19 pandemic, the US telehealth market is expected to witness over 80% YOY growth in 2020,” says Research and Markets.
Additional funding could provide a considerable boost to the industry as well.
In fact, U.S. Sen. John Boozman and other lawmakers are asking Congress to include funding in the next COVID-19 relief package to help expand telehealth services, reports the Times Record.
In a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the Senator is asking for $2 billion in additional funding. “The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically increased the need to expand telehealth. It is imperative that Congress act to ensure our front-line responders have the tools they need to combat this deadly virus.” With hopeful support, and considerable demand from patients,
some of the top companies leading the charge include CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (CSE:DOC)(OTCQB:DOCRF), Telus (TSX:T)(NYSE:TU), Teladoc Health Inc. (NYSE:TDOC), WELL Health Technologies Corp. (OTC:WLYYF)(TSX:WELL), and Livongo Health Inc. (NASDAQ:LVGO).
CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (CSE:DOC)(OTCQB:DOCRF) BREAKING NEWS: CloudMD Software & Services Inc, a telemedicine company revolutionizing the delivery of healthcare to patients, just announced its Board of Directors has appointed industry veteran, Mark Kohler as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Kohler has over 33 years of experience as an entrepreneur, investor, financial executive, and board member at leading healthcare, technology, and financial services organizations in North America. With extensive experience as a C-Level financial executive at both private and publicly listed growth organizations, he is best known as a keen supporter of healthcare technology companies, digital health and virtual care adoption while he has also been focused on M&A, good corporate governance, and shareholder engagement.
He is currently also the Chairman and CEO of Exelerate Capital Corp. (TSXV:XCAP), a well funded CPC with the mandate to acquire technology businesses, and data privacy and cyber security organizations, that enable the build out of an “Information Supply Chain™” for the healthcare sector in North America.
Mr. Kohler is known to be an innovator in his roles with Boards in North America, including as the Executive Chairman at QHR Corporation (TSXV:QHR) where he led the Board and management through its profitable and strategic transformation that resulted in the sale of the company to Loblaw Companies Limited for approx. $170 million. He was also the Chairman of the Board for Community Trust, one of Canada’s leading OSFI - federally regulated Trust Companies (since sold to Questrade), where he led the design of the Bank’s Enterprise Risk Management Framework, and the adoption of its leading Corporate Governance practices. Most recently, he was the Audit Committee Chairman at Versapay Corporation (TSXV:VPY), which was sold at a significant gain to a U.S. based private equity fund in February 2020, for approximately $126 million.
He is also an avid supporter of not-for-profit activities, which includes being a Member of the World Health Innovation Network (“WIN”), and a Health-Leader in Residence at this non-profit collaborative that focuses on sourcing innovative and scalable technology models that enhance delivery of care and supply chains in health systems, around the world.
Dr. Essam Hamza, CEO of CloudMD commented, “On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, we are thrilled Mark accepted the appointment and would like to welcome him as our new Chairman. Mark’s extensive experience across healthcare, financial services, and technology will be extremely valuable as CloudMD continues to identify potential M&A opportunities and execute on our growth strategy. Mark’s leadership combined with his well-regarded reputation and strong network will help guide CloudMD and navigate our path of revolutionizing the delivery of healthcare and becoming a leader in the telemedicine space.”
“I am very pleased to be able to take on this leadership role and dedicate more of my efforts to the CloudMD success story. I look forward to contributing as a senior resource to our CEO, Dr. Hamza and to the rest of the Board, as we pursue additional growth opportunities and continue to be responsible allocators of capital on behalf of our shareholders,” commented Mark Kohler.
Mr. Kohler is a Certified Corporate Director having obtained his ICD.D designation from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and holds Chartered Professional Accountant, and Chartered Accountant, designations. He also obtained his Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from Queen’s University at Kingston, where he was awarded the D.I. McLeod Scholarship and Edyth Whyte Prize for highest standing in Economics at the University.
In addition, CloudMD just entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters co-led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Beacon Securities Limited. The underwriters have agreed to purchase, on a bought deal basis pursuant to the filing of a short form prospectus, an aggregate of 18,572,000 units at a price of C$0.70 per unit for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of approximately C$13 million. Each unit shall consist of one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant of the Company. Each Warrant shall be exercisable to acquire one common share of the Company for a period of 24 months from closing of the transaction at an exercise price of C$1.00 per Warrant.
Other related developments from around the markets include:
Telus (TSX:T)(NYSE:TU) announced the expansion of its Home Health Monitoring (HHM) solution so that nurses and other healthcare providers in British Columbia can digitally monitor more patients remotely while they recover from COVID-19. Launched in partnership with the B.C. Ministry of Health and local health authorities, this digital health dashboard enables healthcare providers to track the symptoms and provide medical help for more patients as they recover outside of hospitals in the comfort of their own homes. “As we face the immense challenge of COVID-19, TELUS Health is committed to working alongside BC’s healthcare leaders to expand the use of technology solutions like Home Health Monitoring to support more British Columbians while recovering at home,” said Darren Entwistle, president and CEO, TELUS. “By enabling clinicians to remotely observe the vitals of patients with COVID-19, as well as those who are vulnerable to the virus, and provide necessary interventions early, we can reduce exposure and also help to alleviate the pressure in hospital emergency rooms and clinics.”
Easily accessible through a mobile device, the program sends daily prompts to the patient to report their biometrics such as temperature, physical symptoms and overall health condition. This provides crucial information on the status of a patient’s health to their clinicians who are regularly and remotely monitoring their well-being through a digital dashboard.
Teladoc Health Inc. (NYSE:TDOC) highlights the widespread negative mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the corresponding growing proactive support by employers to help meet the need, and the increased interest and comfort in virtual care options as part of American’s mental health and wellness. The study of 1558 employees (or those recently employed) in the U.S. and Canada, was conducted in mid-April by marketing research and analytics firm, Leger, which was commissioned by global virtual care leaders, Teladoc Health, as a follow up to the company’s 2019 international mental health study conducted last fall by Ipsos MORI. As a result of COVID-19, a significant number of respondents said their mental health has been negatively impacted (47%), with the negative impact on women (52%) far greater than men (42%). Nearly half (49%) between the ages of 18-34 reported being negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, a trend that was similar to Canadian respondents (52%) of the same age, and consistent with findings from the fall study that revealed a greater need among this demographic. Those over the age of 65 – an age group that has been deemed most at risk for the virus – experienced the lowest reported negative impact in the United State (38%) and Canada (37%). Since March 1, Teladoc’s mental health visits for ages 18-30 more than doubled over the prior two months, and members diagnosed with adjustment anxiety disorder has increased by 60%.
WELL Health Technologies Corp. (OTC:WLYYF)(TSX:WELL) will release its Fiscal First Quarter 2020 financial results before market open on Friday, May 15, 2020. The Company will also hold a conference call to discuss its results on the same day at 1:00 pm ET (10:00 am PT). The call will be hosted by Hamed Shahbazi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Eva Fong, Chief Financial Officer and Pardeep S. Sangha, Vice President Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations.
Livongo Health Inc. (NASDAQ:LVGO) announced that executives from the Company will be presenting at the following upcoming investor conferences: Needham Virtual Technology & Media Conference on Tuesday, May 19 at 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time; RBC Capital Markets Global Healthcare Virtual Conference on Tuesday, May 19 at 4:50 p.m. Eastern Time. A live webcast of both presentations, as well as archived recordings, will be available on the Investor Relations section of the company’s website.
Legal Disclaimer / Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Winning Media is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. CloudMD Software & Services Inc. has paid three thousand five hundred dollars for advertising and marketing services to be distributed by Winning Media. Winning Media is only compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation. Winning Media owns ZERO shares of CloudMD Software & Services Inc. Please click here for full disclaimer.
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