Ready Responders and its mobile approach to healthcare have traveled a long way since winning New Orleans Entrepreneur Week’s “Big Idea” competition in 2017. Following that early recognition, major Silicon Valley investors such as Founders Fund — the venture capital firm whose portfolio includes the likes of Facebook and Airbnb — have also backed the company, serving as an encouraging vote of confidence.
According to co-founder and CEO Justin Dangel, Ready Responders offers “the equivalent of a house call within a matter of minutes anywhere in New Orleans,” and the uptake has been strong. The startup treated its first patient in June 2018, and in December alone, treated close to 3,000 people across Greater New Orleans.
The idea for the company was developed by Dangel and co-founder Ben Swig in response to a problem plaguing health systems across the country, that of people calling an ambulance or heading to an emergency room for non-emergent issues, clogging ER capacity and costing health systems and insurers millions annually.
Ready Responders dispatches a trained medical professional to a patient’s home, and includes access to a doctor via video chat. If the patient requires further attention, Ready Responders can refer them to the next point of care. This approach not only reroutes non-emergent cases from emergency channels, it also offers a convenient option to those who might not otherwise access care at all.
“We have great hospitals here in New Orleans and a great EMS service and clinics, but not everyone can get access to care when they need it,” said Dangel. “It turned out there are a lot of people excited to get care at home.”
To reach more patients, Ready Responders has partnered with health insurance payors including UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and Louisiana Health Connections, and developed relationships with healthcare organizations like Ochsner and New Orleans East Hospital.
Today, patients in Greater New Orleans area can access Ready Responders by calling 211. Dangel says access will continue to grow in 2019 as the company expands through partnerships with new payors and hospital systems and launches in three cities outside Louisiana. “We are excited to continue to grow,” said Dangel, “and build what we think is a new paradigm for prehospital care.”
