Startup Eden Health raises $25M in telemedicine surge

Eden Health Co-Founder & CEO Matt McCambridge joins Yahoo Finance’s Zack Guzman to discuss the biggest coronavirus health risks as some employees return to offices.

Video Transcript

ZACK GUZMAN: Telehealth or virtual doctor visits have been a big theme here in 2020-- no doubt already a big theme before the pandemic hit, but now accelerating even quicker. Just look at shares in publicly-traded Teladoc, up more than 260% over the last year. And its a hot space, clearly getting hotter.

But as offices look to reopen and call back workers, there's still that question of in-person care and the challenges of reducing transmission risk in the workplace. And one startup that we profiled last year, Eden Health, sits uniquely in the middle of all that, with a focus on an app-based personal telehealth solution as well as a growing number of in-person clinics housed within corporate office parks and office buildings to bring care right to you on the go or in the office. And just last month, the company raised another $25 million in its Series b to expand even further.

So joining us to discuss the quickly shifting health care space is the co-founder and CEO of Eden Health, Matt McCambridge. And Matt, first off, congrats on the raise. And full disclosure, I've actually used the app myself before.

And I've got to say, it's very convenient to get prescriptions and care wherever I am. But not having to go to the doctor is nice. But the clinics in the office component seems like it would be an attractive perk right now with all the COVID concern. So what are you seeing in terms of demand with the employers you serve?

MATT MCCAMBRIDGE: Yeah, appreciate it. Thanks for having me. I think what the Series B showed is an acceleration of this trend and really employers needing to have a solution for their employees. We've seen demand go up over 500% since COVID started. We've doubled our workforce. We've doubled our client base as well.

And so really, at this moment, every person who owns and operates a physical space is fundamentally in the health care game. So what we've seen is a real push for people to come back safely to the workplace. You need to take a position, whether you're a landlord or your employer.

And we've been kind of helping groups longer than anybody else has with COVID. We've done 50,000 screeners of patients and employees coming back to the worksite. We've seen symptoms fall from 10% in March down to 2% today. And this is something we're doing really across the country. So we just think it's a huge trend, both virtually as well as physically at the worksite.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, when we talk about being there physically, I assume that that would maybe calm fears on the part of employers and employees in getting back into the office. But, obviously, last time you came on the show to discuss the growth, you were here with your commercial real estate partner in Convene. And you work with them in finding space to open clinics. But for landlords out there desperate to keep tenants now in this pandemic, how big of a perk has on-site medical coverage become for not just the companies you serve, but also the landlords attached to that as well?

MATT MCCAMBRIDGE: It's interesting, we have this virtual side of the business, which pre-COVID, was about 2/3 of all of our interactions. Now we're about 95% virtual. Having said that, on the other side, landlords are very, very interested in rolling this out. So a massive increase in interest across our Class A office space partners.

We're actually opening a new clinic next week in New Jersey with a great partner, a landlord there. And so this is something that is just rapidly accelerating. Because what people are trying to figure out is, all right, my occupancy is sitting at 8%. How do I give people confidence to return?

You don't really want to leave that up to every single one of your tenants. You want to provide a solution that's comprehensive, that's high-quality, that people can just roll out and roll into. And so that's something that we've been seeing.

When you talk about adding physical space, I mean, people have COVID issues, yes. But at the same time, you have other health care issues. And those are really hard to access. And so bringing in COVID solutions physically, but also other health care solutions to the worksite, that's just a trend we're seeing accelerate.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, and when you talk about the trend, too, I mean, the app side of the business I assume was already large, even before COVID hit, in dealing with this, because no one really wants to go in the doctor to deal with minor things, like sore throats, right now anyways. But in terms of that being a benefit beyond just the ease of use, you've also talked about before kind of this personalized health care solution and tracking your health across providers. Obviously, I think this year, a lot of people are going to be bouncing around from place to place. But how important is that, when you think about having all of your medical history in one spot in the app for people to kind of help control their own health issues wherever they are?

MATT MCCAMBRIDGE: Yeah, well, I mean, what we talk about is basically providing a concierge doctor for every person. It's this integration of navigation, care coordination, quality on the concierge side, and then employing clinicians full time on our side, too. And what we become is really the main place that people go for their entire health care solution, because like I talked about a little bit with COVID, you might have a COVID problem where you might have symptoms, I should say. But you also-- it doesn't mean you don't have diabetes or you don't have medications you need refilled or you don't have other concerns that go along with it.

So centralizing it, because we know that medical issues don't just address the physical, but it also addresses the mental. And so as you kind of locate your care in a single place, it allows you to really take care of all of those concerns in the same area. And it also allows you to really deal with people in a way that feels safe, where you don't feel anxious, where you're able to process care with somebody that you trust.

ZACK GUZMAN: And now with an additional $25 million at your disposal to continue that growth, Eden Health CEO and co-founder Matt McCambridge, appreciate you taking time to chat.

MATT MCCAMBRIDGE: Thanks.