After serving as an active duty military physician, our next guest harnessed her passion and dedication for advancing telehealth and has emerged as the leading entrepreneur moving the industry forward in profound ways. Dr. Laura Purdy, co founder of MD integrations joins us to discuss how she and her team have built a telemedicine technology company that serves as an all in one solution for every constituent they serve. As our team addresses the discrepancies in health care, Dr. Purdy shares how her platform supports companies and clinics in the virtual care space with its best in class telemedicine portal integrated with a physician only Clinical Network. Join us to learn from Dr. Purdy as she and her team continue to shape the future of telehealth and strive for higher quality and more accessible health care across the nation. Let's go. Welcome to passionate pioneers with Mike Maselli, where we highlight and speak with the innovators, the game changers and the pioneers who are deeply passionate and relentless in solving the problems our world is facing today. This is your opportunity to connect with and learn from these leaders and to support them on their mission. Perhaps they will soon be hearing your story as well. This is passionate pioneers with Mike Maselli. I look forward to having you on this journey with us. Dr. Berty Hello. Hello. Hello, and welcome to Our Podcast. It is so exciting to meet up with you today.
Hi, Mike, thank you so much for having me today. I'm happy to be here. Thank you. Well, given
your service in the United States Army for 14 years across a spectrum of clinical settings where you develop a love for telehealth and your deep passion and belief that virtual care is the future of medicine, really looking forward to this exciting and important conversation. But before we dive in a bit of housekeeping, well listen to any of our episodes, please take a moment to subscribe to the podcast, you will automatically receive episode updates in your podcast player. Simply search passionate pioneers with like selling Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. And lastly, please visit the bottom of the Episode notes to connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and clubhouse. In order for the conversations occurring on this podcast. by Laura, it's almost time for our community learn how you and the MD integrations team have built a telemedicine technology company connecting virtual healthcare providers with patients using a best in class telemedicine portal integrated with a physician only clinical network. But first, what's the one piece of advice that you would give to others who are passionate about reimagining the health of our world.
My one piece of advice is you have a choice. Even if you feel like you don't have a choice you do, you're not stuck, you're not trapped. And you have a choice in deciding to be a part of the solution. And I encourage you all to be bold enough to get in there and make those changes
your fire out the gates, Dr. Laura pretty bring it I love it. And what I also love too, I'm sure I've already got to know you a little bit. I think what I'm about to say is true, but I'm gonna throw it out there. You have a choice every single day. Every day, we have an opportunity to rise, we have a choice. It's pretty binary you can get after or you don't have to. It's up to you. Absolutely. I love it. So did you have that mindset while you were serving in the military force? Where did that mindset the take shape take form for you. Now, especially as an entrepreneur, building MD integrations
in the military, you do not have a choice to shoot. So I truly have lived the life where I had no choice. And a decade and a half is a long time to be in the military. And one of the things that I would dream about is what would I do if I had a choice. And so even when I got into telehealth, which I was still in the military, I did all of the paperwork, I had all of the signatures and full permission to do that. So let me just say that right there, I have permission, I still didn't have much of a choice. And so on that side of the fence, I was scheming and plotting and planning and dreaming about what I would do when I had a choice. And so when I talk to founders, or potential founders or doctors or folks who want to get into the innovation in healthcare industry, one of the biggest things that I hear that they're getting in their own way, is that they feel like they don't have a choice and I say, Oh, yes you do. Who's stopping you? Not the federal government? I don't think you have a choice.
I love it and we're gonna be able to unpack all those choices that you and the MD integrationist team make on the daily to continue to push virtual and telehealth forward in our nation. It's so desperately needed. We've seen it completely exposed with the pandemic. I can't wait to unpack this conversation after we get back From thanking our community champion sponsor, located in Denver, Colorado is nationally ranked River North District catalyst is a healthcare innovation campus that brings together stakeholders from across the industry to accelerate innovation and drive real lasting change our nation desperately needs. From established organizations to startups, from accelerators, to advocacy organizations and from medical schools to global companies. Everyone at catalyst works side by side to create, develop, refine and bring to market cutting edge innovations that will fundamentally transform healthcare as we know it. with industry leaders like Medical Group Management Association, all of medical solutions, you see health serious MD and many others calling catalyst home along with innovative pioneers visiting from across the nation. Catalyst continually fosters their foundational belief that collaboration and partnerships will move the healthcare industry forward to virtually tour catalyst and claim your space on campus or host an upcoming event, visit catalyst Health Tech comm or visit the top of the Episode notes and click on their link. Or we are back with Dr. Laura Purdy co founder of MD integrations Laura, thank you for bringing the heat out the gates on this episode, you do have choices. I agree 100%. Every day we wake up and in front of us there's a choice to make. And I think I'm hanging out with somebody that loves to make choices to move the healthcare industry forward, we're going to talk about all of that we're going to talk about how MD integrations came to be in the first place. Give us a little bit that founders journey where you guys are at today, of course, where you see things heading lots changing, can't wait to see and hear, you know, hear where you see things heading for for the industry. And and of course for MD integrations, how we can help. And then we'll get you out of here so you can get back to continue to build a company. But first, Laura, take us back, give us a little bit of that journey, how this all come to be in the first place.
Great, let's do it. So I started working in the telehealth industry several years ago, like I said, before I was in the army had full permission to do what I was doing. And it all started truly because I wanted to send my kids to a Montessori school. And in the military. I don't know if you've heard this or not. But it's not the highest paying industry out there. And so the idea was given to me by a peer that I should try telehealth. So I dove in, I tried telehealth, and instantly, I was shocked that this was where health care was because I was shielded from so much of that working in the dinosaur that was you know, military and probably still is military healthcare. And I was shocked. And I told my husband, probably within a month or two, I could do this forever. And this is going to get better and better and better. And so utilizing tactics such as just being nice to people and saying yes, and offering to take on more responsibilities and helping out people with their problems when they're founding companies. I went from working with one little company having one state license to fast forward three or four years I've done worked with several dozen companies. And now I have almost all 50 licenses waiting on you Alaska and Washington DC. And so, you know, the leap that was from there to here was just a matter of working hard, saying yes, building bridges, increasing networks, helping people with their complex problems. And as a telemedicine physician, if you want to make it a full time job. And if you want to really make that leap away from brick and mortar healthcare into full time virtual care, you really do have to work for several several companies, which means logging into several systems, it means using several different electronic medical records, simultaneously meeting several workloads, because a lot of the companies that are out there, especially startups, which there's nothing wrong with that, but especially startups, they'll be kind of slow, coming up the gate volumes are unpredictable. And so in order to have a sustainable workflow as a physician, you would work for, you know, several dozen companies at once. And so, after doing that, living that life where I would log in to 10 different web portals a day and handle patients from all across the country. I thought with him with my co founder who I met in several different jobs, we kept bumping into each other saying this is crazy. This is crazy. And there are some companies out there that cannot retain physicians. And if you're listening, you know who you are. And I guarantee you it's because your systems are terrible. And you haven't figured out how to value the physician as an internal stakeholder. So being on the inside of so many different companies looking outward going Why is it so hard for companies to figure out how to have a good EMR how to do these things efficiently? Why do I have to take 27 clicks to submit one prescription? That's absurd. That's where MD integrations came from is really identifying points of friction and all these different telehealth companies all across the industry and saying, What if we put the doctors in charge of that, and let companies do what companies do marketing, branding, acquisition, getting investments, building their internal teams working on operations, and all the things that companies can work on, let's let doctors let's let telemedicine physicians, let's let actual experts in this area, take over that, that piece of it and do it for them. And that's where MD integrations came from.
And in a moment and asked you to give that MD integrations, elevator pitch, which I know you've done quite a bit. But Laura, I still want to go back in time a bit. Obviously, march 2020 hits us, the world completely changed and has changed forever since then. COVID-19. Were you already thinking about all of this? Were you already in the mindset you mentioned your your husband said Laura go all in? Was this already happening before the pandemic? And then did it get accelerated because of the pandemic? Take us back there? Give us a little kind of context around everything that has changed for us, you know, year and a half ago, and maybe even before then on how all this kind of stood up and if COVID-19 accelerated it.
That's a fantastic question. So I was doing telemedicine before it was cool, is what I tell people, which means before COVID, really, I was doing telemedicine you're an OG you're an OG, I'm OG, I am an OG telemedicine doctor. So I really do have a good understanding of what it was like before, and what it was like after. And I feel like the industry as a whole really had to struggle before COVID to seem legitimate. So I cannot count the number of times patients would come to me and say, Is this a scam? So many times before COVID? Was this a scam? Are you just gonna take my money? Are you a real doctor? Are you in the nine it's in the United States? Then I actually did my entire Master's. So I have an MBA did my entire Master's project on how telemedicine changed in COVID.
So it was an appropriate question. See, I didn't even know that. You know, I mean, that's unbelievable. I can't even believe Laura, that you would get questions I maybe I should believe it that. Are you in the United States? Are you going to scam me? It just shows you where we were as a society. I believe all the technology has been there for quite some time. Actually. It's the mindset. It's leaders like you being able to show the industry and show consumers Hey, this is possible. And then oh, my gosh, we almost had to have a pandemic to make all that happen. Unbelievable. What are some of the high level findings from your master's work?
Great question. So I think the big one is there was legitimized, you're right. The technology was there, the adoption wasn't. And the mindset of the average American is that healthcare that's done online is not legitimate, which is interesting, because we'll bank online, we'll shop online, we will date online, we will do all kinds of things online. But prior to COVID, the adoption of healthcare online, it wasn't there as much. So the first thing I think is that people became grateful that it was an option it went from Are you a scam? Are you real? Are you in the United States too? Oh, my gosh, I am so thankful because I don't know what I would do without you. The outpouring of gratitude was unbelievable. And from the physician side of things, I wasn't doing anything different. I was practicing the same telemedicine in the same places where I was before the pandemic. But what shifted was the individual, the Americans understanding that not only is it needed, but it's valuable, it's relevant, and it's legitimate health care.
Well, and so let's go there. Now with envy integration has been around for you know, in publicly in the marketplace for about a year and a half. What is Md integrations give us that pitch?
Sure. So MD integrations, it's a company for businesses. So we call it an off the shelf solution for companies that want to become telehealth companies, but maybe don't have the expertise or the experience or the know how to do the medicine part of things. So if you wanted to make your own telemedicine company tomorrow, like Mike B MD, it's got a ring to it.
That's kind of catchy. It's kind of catchy.
You could do it right. I'm
not an OG though. I'm obviously from the way new school because I don't even have an MD first of all,
here like new GE, so if you wanted to start your own telehealth company tomorrow, all you have to do is make yourself a website. Think about who your clients gonna be. Think about how you're going to market it, do your social media, all the type of stuff that you as a founder of a company would do. And MD integrations handles everything medical, so you don't have to even think through that problem set because we do it for you.
Everything medical sounds really big. So what are the top three to five things in the everything medical bucket that you're going to take for Dr. Mike MD.
Absolutely. So number one is the electronic medical record. I'm going to guess you haven't used many of them or any of them, but I can assure you I have used most of them that are available out there for telehealth, and no offense to anyone who may or may not be listening. They're all terrible, do better, do better if you are listening, because the number of widgets that are currently available in the telemedicine EMRs, especially the top two or three, I will do the dignity of not diving them out by name, but you know who you are, do better. There's too many widgets. And so we've created an EMR that is designed for telehealth and nothing else. The second thing is nationwide physician staffing. So one of the problems that telehealth companies are founders that have a great idea. They know they can enact change and they want to create a great telehealth company is that the physician part especially the nationwide Doctor network, part of things, I think kind of gets put on the backburner because the assumption is, it's easy. It is not easy to find widely licensed physicians that understand telehealth and want to work in telehealth. So that's the second thing. The third one is actually electronic prescribing. So in order to get permission to submit electronic prescriptions in the United States, like if you, you know might be MD go make your own telehealth company tomorrow. And let's say you have a rockstar development team, either in house or outsource that's gonna make you this phenomenal electronic medical record. And they can make it into weeks, when you get to the part of getting permission to electronically prescribe. It is one of the biggest nightmares. And I have seen companies, several companies have to delay their launch by six to nine months or even a year or longer. Because all of the hurdles that they have to go through just to get permission to do electronic prescriptions. So all of that is already done. It's already there. It's an API document. So you do need developers that can you know, take the API document and make it happen. But once the integration occurs, all of that stuff is there.
And of course, I always love to talk about and thank you for that lore. I appreciate give some context to our community in regards to what MB integration is bringing to the marketplace. I also always love to talk about some of those use case some of those stories, the user end user feedback. What's it been like? What's the feedback you've been getting from the marketplace? Are they loving it? What's changing the game for them?
Great question. So we have a variety of customers, ranging from people who hear about us right out of the gate, and they haven't tried to do anything. And they realize that outsourcing the medical operations portion of things is in their best interest, ranging all the way to people who have spent two years and $300,000 trying to build their own system, and have hit so many roadblocks realize they can't do it, scrapped the whole idea, cut their losses, and then went to the drawing board. And so across the board, everyone is thrilled, because it really is the easy button. It's easy for everyone, for founders, for doctors, for patients, every stakeholder in the entire process of the telemedicine experience, benefits and the clients that we have absolutely love it.
Thanks for that as well. And so let's go a little future state. Right, Laura? Well, we talked about, you know, that big event in March 2020, we go in lockdown Lots has changed, really put MD integrations in the forefront of need and showing again, as we talked about technology was there a lot of those abilities were there, we're now shifting that mindset. But let's hope that the mindset stays there that we're not going to clog things back that we're going to continue to push forward. So in regards to this movement, that telehealth is currently in this country, where do you see things heading? Laura, even, you know, two years doesn't have to be five to 10. Because things are moving so fast. Where are things heading for our country? And for our industry? And more importantly, where do you see MD integrations meeting that in the middle, if you will?
Absolutely. So to comment on your comment, I don't think we can ever go back. And the reason why is because the patients, the clients, the customers, but I'm going to call them the patients because I'm a doctor, they have seen what is on the other side. They now understand the notion of not having to take off an entire workday, pull their kids out of school, beg permission from their boss just to get an inhaler refill or their blood pressure medicine refill or get a poison ivy rash taken care of. And the patient's the American public will never accept the notion that they have to go back to in person care for all of this. All of these encounters that we now know we can simply and safely do through telehealth. And I think thankfully that'll be protected for the industry because there's no way they would ever go backwards. Second of all, that's one of the fears I have too. And not only for patients because I'm a consumer of telehealth as well, I use telehealth as a patient and I have for several years, I love having the option. And I love being able to have that option for work. And I hope that it stays that way. But I think in order for us to continue moving forward, and for us to continue with the progress and 1015 20 years from now, if your grandchildren get sick, or if you have a health care need, the first place that you think of going is to your app, or to online or to whatever service you use for cyclic banking. You don't think about going to the bank first, if you need banking needs, right. I think healthcare is going to be that way. But it's going to require the specific state legislations to get on board and level the playing field. It's an access to care issue. And I think one of the things that we've seen is that prior to COVID, telemedicine wasn't even really on the radar of the state legislators and I say state, because it's the state medical boards that tell doctors what they can and can't do through telehealth. It's also the insurance companies that tell patients what they can and can't get paid for through telehealth. But really, it starts at the state medical boards, the State nursing boards for nurse practitioners and the state whatever type of board of people because now we do physical therapy, we do social work, we do counseling, we do psychology, you name it, we do it through telehealth. So all of those state governing authorities need to understand that this is here for ever, it's an access to care issue, and they need to get on board with it. It's fairly simple.
I love it bringing the heat and you're speaking the truth. I mean, these are just stark realities. Whether you like it or not, if you're stuck in the antiquated status quo way of this is how it's always been those days are gone. They're behind us. These are the new realities, whether you like it or not, I personally love it. But this is where we're at. And this is where we're going jump on board or get left behind. Full stop. So I'm right there with you, Laura. I'm gonna jump off my soapbox for a quick moment back to the regularly scheduled programming with you, Laura, where on the horizon is Md integrations heading over, say the next two to three to five years.
So we're there we're in it MD integrations is simply an API that has a Docker network behind it. So what ever the innovators and the founders and the future CEOs and the future CEOs, and all of those folks that are listening to this podcast right now, if you can dream it, we can execute it, whether that has to do with devices, and wearables, whether that has to do with pushing the envelopes on things like controlled substances, and testosterone, or therapy, and all of the things that we currently can't really do. Or we're starting starting to scratch the surface of being able to do it through telehealth, MD integrations is there but what we need, we need the co founders, we need the innovators. And we need those people at the tip of the tip of the tip of the spear to dream up and imagine how we can do things differently and to be unsatisfied with the status quo. And challenge the way we're doing it even now, tell us why what we are doing is so wrong and can be done so much better. And if you can come up with that and integrations has the technology and the doctor network to support it. I love it. She's calling
all innovators, big or small, it doesn't matter yet. We need the innovators. We're equally passionate here at all about that, as well as we continue our march on creating the internet of healthcare for our country and every single American to get behind this. So, Laura, we're right there with you as well. Let's also then talk about how this amazing community filled with the some of the brightest, most passionate minds rally around this podcast across our country. How can this community be helping you what's one problem need or question you guys have today that we can be helping you
with? Absolutely, I'm happy to tell you. So you've heard me say telemedicine is a solution to the access to care problem. We know that there is healthcare discrepancies with regard to who can get access to what health care and when. And right now, there is a glaring discrepancy in access to care for telehealth. I'm going to call him out so the states of New Jersey, Delaware, Washington, DC, New Hampshire, Idaho, you guys need to get with the program. You really do because the rest of the country is doing better with their telehealth laws. Those states tell me that in order to have a valid doctor patient relationship with a patient, I have to be on a phone or have to be on a video. And if I'm not doing one of those two things, then I'm not legally compliant. But I'm here to tell you that the good folks of Arkansas, or Tennessee, or California, or Florida, or any other state has better access to care than those few states do. And you guys need to get with the program and change your laws, so that your people can get taken care of, we would love to take care of you just as much as we do the entire rest of the country. But when you can find us the things like videos, telephones and working business hours, which I'll tell you is a lot of times when patients are not trying to find care, they're doing it at midnight, they're doing it at five in the morning, they don't have time for some of these things to be done on video. So I am calling those legislators to the carpet in saying Get with the program, get with the rest of the country, fix your loss.
Well to our community out there. You heard the rallying cry, go ahead and share this with those state legislators this episode, you can share the link, you can go to the website, we'll give all the contact points of how to share So Laura, thank you for bringing it and calling them out. You know, sometimes it needs to happen, if that's how we're going to move the industry forward. If that's how we're going to move health and care and our country forward. We need to be talking about it and not just turning a blind eye. So thank you for that, Laura, I know we can do better. If we as a country put a man on the moon as the nation over 50 years ago. We can deliver best in class health and care to every American so thank you for the fire. Thank you for bringing that I appreciate it. Well of course for our community be able to get a hold of you and help you with all that good stuff. Need some contact points. Laura, where can we find you online? Social media handles websites or otherwise, how do we get ahold? Yeah,
absolutely. So you can find me on LinkedIn. Lara party, very easy to find. Send me a message add me to your network. I love networking that way. You can also email me l Purdy at MD integrations. There's an S at the end of that MD integrations.com. Send me an email. I'll write you back probably within the same day. Those are the best two ways I love networking. If you have problems that you need solving, if you need to talk about your new endeavor, just bounce your ideas off to somebody and tell you it's okay. Send me a message.
I will confirm she is laser fast on those replies on email I have to tell you, Laura, you are phenomenal communicator and it is incredibly appreciated. Especially in times where I know so many of us are so busy, your communication style is impeccable. So we'll also include all of those contact points in the Episode Notes. So simply scroll down in your favorite podcast player be able to click on through to get a hold of Laura and MD integrations team. Of course you can always head over to our free global online community at passionate pioneers comm there will be a post for this episode where you can leave comments, feedback, suggestions, and otherwise as well as get a hold all those contact points again, over at passionate pioneers calm. Well, Laura, I feel we could be here for quite some time. This is the kind of stuff that just gets I'm fired up. I'm ready to run through some balls for you. I'm ready to go. But we got to wind this down. We got to get you back. Continue to cause all the good trouble that you are with MB integration. But before we let you go, I have one more segment for you to fill in the blank. I'm a passionate pioneer because
I'm a passionate pioneer because I know I have a choice and I want to be a part of the change.
I love it. I see how you brought it full circle from the beginning of this episode. That was absolute pure brilliance. Laura, thank you for that. And of course all joking aside. Thank you so much for joining up with us today. I know how busy you are with your practice, and all the wonderful things you and then the integration teams are moving forward on the daily with all those choices that you're making. Thank you for being with us. Thank you for continuing to fight the good fight to bring best in class health and care to every American across our country. Thank you for being with us today.
Thank you for having me.
Thank you for joining us today on passionate pioneers with Mike Maselli. We'd love to hear your feedback about the podcast so we can continue to improve this community and to further support the pioneers being featured. Lastly, please take a moment to subscribe to the podcast and invite your friends and colleagues to join us. This is passionate pioneers with Mike Maselli. I look forward to having you back with us during our next episode.
