HeraMed’s telehealth solutions address self-isolation needs

HeraMED Limited (ASX:HMD), a medical technology company leading the digital transformation of maternity care with its proprietary in-home maternity care platform, advised on Tuesday morning that it had received a significant uplift in interest and demand for its proprietary in-home pregnancy monitoring products HeraBEAT and HeraCARE.

This should come as no surprise given the almost globally adopted strategy of self-isolating in order to avoid the coronavirus.

However, it appears that investors have overlooked the fact that HeraMed should be one of the rare beneficiaries of the current environment as its shares have more than halved since the coronavirus downturn commenced.

After management highlighted the increased demand for its products at a time when telehealth services are booming, the company’s shares surged nearly 40% by day's end.

Of course, with expectant mothers even more cognisant of keeping themselves and their precious cargo healthy, the option to maintain isolation while still having access to essential monitoring is particularly comforting.

HeraMed’s technology provides expectant mothers with an accurate, reliable and easy to use in-home pregnancy management solution in order to alleviate concerns and ensure they are properly cared for amid the coronavirus outbreak.

In order to achieve this, the company is working around the clock and is determined to help expectant mothers prevent the unnecessary spread of infection and provide value during such uncertain times.

HeraMed is responding to the significant increase in demand driven by the global COVID-19 pandemic by optimising its strategy focusing on the most promising opportunities in order to satisfy demand and provide an effective telehealth solution for pregnant women.

HMD’s proprietary HeraBEAT foetal heart rate monitor is currently in market and captures data by the expectant mother at home in conjunction with a smartphone application which can then be shared with her doctor.

It will be interesting to see the extent of ongoing consumer demand for telehealth including HeraMed’s products and services post-coronavirus.

The increased use of telehealth products throughout the term of the coronavirus will substantially increase consumer awareness, and ongoing demand could well be driven by basic factors such as ease and convenience of use, on demand capture of vital information and the decreased necessity to work visits to medical practitioners around the busy work/life routine.

Monitoring decreases pre and post-natal complications

HeraMed’s HeraCARE platform is the most advanced, comprehensive and medically validated telehealth solution for the maternity market.

It has been developed in collaboration with world leading healthcare providers and leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and its proprietary foetal and maternal heart rate monitor HeraBEAT, to offer medical data collection and pre-natal assessment.

In doing so, HeraCARE can accurately monitor the pregnancy, predict potential scenarios and decrease the number of pre and post-natal complications.

The utilisation of HMD’s technology enables real-time data collection that can be shared, while informing remote consults with doctors, providing an efficient and effective solution for the management of vulnerable pregnant women and supporting government advice on social isolation.

Pregnant women urged to stay at home

The recent COVID-19 outbreak has presented unprecedented challenges for governments, medical bodies and hospitals, and healthcare facilities are working at capacity and under extreme pressure.

This coupled with the pressing need to isolate and socially distance offers HeraMed a unique and significant opportunity to further rollout its telehealth solution and satisfy the rapidly increasing global demand for remote health solutions.

Underlining the critical need to self-isolate, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) has urged pregnant women to take a number of steps in order to minimise the risk of contracting coronavirus.

Its recommendations include reducing, postponing and/or increasing the interval between antenatal visits, as well as shortening the duration of such visits.

One of the recommendations includes using telehealth consultations as a replacement, or in addition to routine visits.

Not surprisingly, face-to-face antenatal classes should be avoided.

While in hospital, visitors should be limited to partner only, and discharge from hospital is likely to occur earlier than would normally be the case.

Managing costs and supply chains

From a financial and operational perspective, HeraMed is carefully and responsibly adjusting its operational costs, maintaining a dynamic and flexible approach optimising its ability to get through the crisis.

The company is further implementing strict health and safety procedures internally and taking all possible measures to mitigate the challenges of working from home in light of the corona crisis.

In order for the company to answer the demand and business opportunities mentioned, management has expanded its efforts to solve supply chain challenges and utilise suppliers and manufacturers in Israel and globally.

While having a fully operational supply chain remains a challenge, these efforts will assist the continuation of business discussions and operations while the Chinese supply chain slowly starts to come back.

Commenting on the potential increased demand for telehealth solutions at a time when healthcare systems are stretched, chief executive and co-founder David Groberman said, “The surge in demand for telehealth solutions has been overwhelming and global healthcare systems are struggling to effectively treat patients at a distance whilst they are working at capacity.

‘’This is where our in-home pregnancy management platform can make a significant difference while providing meaningful, genuine medical value.

‘’Pregnant women have been urged to stay home and avoid all interaction unless absolutely necessary and this brings a range of additional concerns and worries for those women.

‘’Our mission is to provide those women with the tools and support to help alleviate their concerns and ensure they are receiving all the medical assistance they require, in the safety of their own homes.”

Enquiries indicate likely demand from insurance providers

Further highlighting the likely ramp up in demand for HeraMed’s technology and services, the company has received a significant number of enquiries from leading insurance and healthcare providers globally regarding the rapid deployment and use of its HeraBEAT and HeraCARE platform.

Management has commenced discussion with these healthcare providers, and an update regarding the progress of these discussions is likely to occur in the near term with Groberman saying, ‘’We have received an influx of enquiries from a large number of world leading healthcare providers and insurance companies regarding the deployment of our product, many of whom we had already commenced discussions with.

‘’The outbreak of COVID-19 has not only exponentially progressed many of these discussions but has also significantly fast-tracked testing and commercialisation of our offering.”