The adoption of telehealth services and m-health digital application platforms are transforming the traditional method of care delivery in the healthcare industry. The telemedicine technology is at the center point of stimulating patient-centric care by leveraging advanced clinical facilities at any time and any location to improve quality of care.
Founded 25 years ago, WorldCare International, Inc. (WorldCare) remains steadfast in its mission to improve healthcare outcomes worldwide by connecting their clients to the foremost medical experts at the top-ranked U.S. hospitals of The WorldCare Consortium® through its Medical Second Opinion (MSO) service.
WorldCare’s unique partnership with the hospitals of The WorldCare Consortium®, along with the teams of specialists and sub-specialists within these hospitals, enables them to provide expert MSOs of an unmatched clinical rigor and depth. They help millions of members worldwide and their treating physicians have the confidence that their diagnosis is correct and that they are on the optimal treatment plan, while reducing overall healthcare costs.
WorldCare has extensive, innovative experience and highly-engaged customers, which has allowed them to continuously improve. Additionally, it is the only institution-based MSO provider powered by The WorldCare Consortium® hospitals. This allows WorldCare to provide an unmatched level of clinical rigor for each and every case. On average, WorldCare has four physicians who review each case whereas other providers have just one other physician review each case. WorldCare also re-reads pathology and radiology, which other MSO providers do not offer. WorldCare even goes the extra step of providing, when needed, a multi-institutional review in order to reach a diagnosis consensus for their members. All of which is delivered in a consistent, rapid manner.
The Pioneer
“Startups never have a smooth road. Selling American medicine at American prices was the first challenge,” says CEO, Nasser Menhall. WorldCare has pioneered the concept of “capitated” pricing of healthy groups at a reasonable per person per month basis, essentially having the healthy many pay for the sick few. The first population was signed up in 1995.
Financing the start-up was their second challenge. The company relied on equity funding from beneficiaries of their MSOs. This alleviated having venture capital investors requiring near term exits. It also allowed for stable management with the continuous involvement of Mr. Menhall, who has several years of extensive business development, leadership and project management experience in both the healthcare and technology fields. Prior to joining WorldCare, he was the Director for IDERA and has co- founded over ten companies.
Innovative Services and Strategies
The WorldCare Consortium® hospitals are at the forefront of medical research, with access to over 20,000 medical specialists and sub-specialists with more than US $4 billion in annual biomedical research funding. These hospitals conduct advanced clinical trials, have access to state-of-the-art technology and are spearheading the collection and publication of the most up-to-date research and information. The hospitals of The WorldCare Consortium® lead the world in identifying and treating rare, serious and complex medical conditions and have access to the most current and advanced disease treatments.
WorldCare’s unique relationship with these hospitals dictates that its team maintain a high level of knowledge of the most advanced medical remedies, which enables the company to provide their clients and their members and treating physicians with direct access to this information so they can make informed decisions about how best to proceed with their care. With the rapidly advancing science of medicine, having access to this caliber of research, technology and expertise cannot be replicated and helps to improve medical outcomes.
WorldCare works collaboratively with its clients to understand their needs and help them by launching new services other MSO providers have not yet developed. While they are embracing technology just like other MSO providers, WorldCare will never lose focus on the important human-element of its service and continue to provide compassionate, highly-engaged services to its clients and their members.
“We are proud of the fact that in the past 25 plus years, we have not lost focus on what is truly most important – providing the information, resources and peace-of-mind needed to make crucial healthcare decisions with confidence and doing so in a collaborative, compassionate way,” says Mr. Menhall. WorldCare member satisfaction rating is above 98% and they work hard every day to keep it at this level and even try to make it 100%.
In 2017, WorldCare launched three new laser-focused medical second opinion services for Pain Management, Mental Health issues, and Specialty Drugs. All of these were developed in response to and in cooperation with existing clients. Moreover, they are currently completing a research project using the new WorldCare Mental Health service and will be presenting the preliminary results at the Benefits & Pensions Monitor Conference in Toronto, Ontario.
Additionally, WorldCare offers medical concierge services and they have a consulting and advisory division that is focused on the planning, development and opening of medical centers worldwide and the WorldCare Wellness division, which is currently focused on the opening of the world’s largest Wellness Center in Dubai.
Future Roadmap
WorldCare aims to continue investing in technological platforms to further expedite the process of transferring medical records and information to the hospitals and in improving their back office operations to offer enhanced client and member experiences.
