James and I believe the current healthcare system is frankly, “pretty crappy.” PlushCare is paving the way for all patients to gain high-quality, affordable primary care.
How? PlushCare is the only telehealth solution focused entirely on the primary care model and fostering a trusted relationship between physician and patient. By offering physicians from only the top 50 medical institutions in the U.S., PlushCare empowers patients to choose from a highly qualified group of physicians who they can trust. Once patients choose their physician, they can message, call and video conference their doctor, whenever they want to and regardless of if they have insurance.
We believe it’s not enough to bring brick and mortar primary care online. PlushCare is raising the bar for a frictionless primary care experience that can be delivered how and when patients want.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Ryan McQuaid, CEO and co-founder of PlushCare, a leading virtual health platform that offers primary healthcare and virtual doctor’s visits to patients in all 50 U.S. states. Ryan graduated from The University of California with his undergraduate degree. While in college, Ryan prided himself in being a student athlete where he had unlimited access to quality healthcare services. He understood this is not common for the average person, and with the current state of U.S. Healthcare, he knew he wanted to lead efforts in making quality healthcare access seamless and affordable for the everyday citizen. Prior to launching PlushCare, Ryan led AT&T’s MHealth Platform.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you please share with us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
When my friend Dr. James Wantuck and I first started PlushCare, we were working out of the back of an old dentist’s office. I took phone calls and he provided virtual care to patients. I remember answering thousands of calls and continuously hearing stories about the U.S. healthcare system failing patients every day. Healthcare isn’t an easy thing to navigate — and on top of that managing your health requires making some very hard decisions. James and I saw firsthand that patients truly need someone to help guide them in their healthcare journey, and we knew that our vision for PlushCare could fill that gap. James and I founded PlushCare with a mission of providing patients with a doctor they can trust, and who will be there when and where they need them.
We knew we were doing something right when we began to receive calls from patients telling us about their experience with PlushCare. I distinctly remember one patient named Amy called us back nearly in tears because she was so thankful that we resolved a problem for her at the pharmacy. She had spent hours waiting for a prescription, then called us in frustration — we were able to get on the phone with the pharmacy and track her prescription down for her.
James and I founded PlushCare with a vision for a platform that would provide people with the highest level of care, and sometimes, the care people need the most is from a person who knows their story, understands their needs and can help hold their hand through the process.
Every day, we learn of countless PlushCare success stories like Amy’s, and with each of these stories, we know we’re transforming the healthcare system.
Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?
Three principals have always served as a guiding light for me.
First, extreme candor. The book, “Radical Candor” by Kim Scott has been integral in shaping my leadership style. My team knows I will always tell them the truth and be real (and I expect the same from them).
Second, I lead with empathy. I think this is most evident in our mission at PlushCare to provide every patient with a “wow” healthcare experience, regardless of if they have insurance. We believe everyone deserves an incredible primary care experience, and that starts by ensuring our employees are happy and our team of physicians are supported.
Lastly, building trusted relationships have been critical to my career progression. Just as I trust my leadership team to steer us towards bringing PlushCare to every American, I also am passionate about ensuring every patient has a go-to physician that they can trust.
Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change the World”?
James and I believe the current healthcare system is frankly, “pretty crappy.” PlushCare is paving the way for all patients to gain high-quality, affordable primary care.
How? PlushCare is the only telehealth solution focused entirely on the primary care model and fostering a trusted relationship between physician and patient. By offering physicians from only the top 50 medical institutions in the U.S., PlushCare empowers patients to choose from a highly qualified group of physicians who they can trust. Once patients choose their physician, they can message, call and video conference their doctor, whenever they want to and regardless of if they have insurance.
We believe it’s not enough to bring brick and mortar primary care online. PlushCare is raising the bar for a frictionless primary care experience that can be delivered how and when patients want.
How do you think this will change the world?
More than 35% of Americans do not have a primary care doctor, and even if they do, they have to navigate a complex healthcare system. We also need to acknowledge that there are systemic barriers that keep some patients from accessing high quality care. We can all do better. By providing patients with a trusted doctor of their choice, we can break down these barriers and help patients make smart healthcare decisions that improve health outcomes and lower costs. PlushCare is filling a gap in care that cannot be met by just the latest technology gadgets or solutions — it’s about reinventing primary care in a way that is more affordable, accessible and equitable.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?
PlushCare is a healthcare first company powered by technology. Some telehealth or virtual care companies focus too much on just the technology versus the patient experience. People don’t want a chatbot as a doctor, they want a human who doesn’t treat them like a number. At PlushCare, we focus on providing a world-class healthcare experience by building an intimate relationship and trust between our doctors and patients. This is critical to helping people treat the whole person (mind and body) and making lasting behavioral changes that lead to healthier, happier people.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?
Five years ago, I was in my twenties but was so sick that I couldn’t walk to my own kitchen. Like many of Americans, I didn’t have a primary care doctor, so I turned to James who helped me navigate the health system and diagnosed me with an autoimmune disease. Without James and his physician background, I wouldn’t have known where to go or how to get the support I really needed.
For the millions of Americans who don’t know where to turn, need help or need better care, we wanted to do better. So, we sought out to democratize primary care with PlushCare.
What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?
We need to capitalize on the momentum COVID-19 has sparked for telehealth. There are many misconceptions about telehealth, such as “it’s too expensive,” “it’s not personalized” and “the doctors are just call center employees.” While for some solutions this may be true, PlushCare isactively dispelling these myths by providing every patient with a top doctor at an affordable price, who is available when and where they want. I encourage doctors and patients to spread the word about PlushCare because people need to know that a top doctor — and building a relationship with one — is just a click or call away.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
1.It will be harder than you think — I never thought building my own business would be easy…and I was right. Be prepared for sleepless nights, long days and early mornings.
2. Hitting milestones will take longer than expected — Rome wasn’t built in a day and achieving your ultimate vision for the company won’t happen overnight. Be patient, stay motivated and just keep pushing forward.
3. Even though you are passionate, inspired and believe in your mission, self-doubt will creep in — I’ve been an athlete most of my life. In sports, sometimes when you’re in the middle of a game or on the run, your mind plays tricks on you and tells you to stop or that you can’t. The same thing happens when you are building a business, but this doesn’t mean you should stop or that you are not capable. It’s during these times you need to trust your gut and your training.
4. Founding a company with someone is like a marriage — Like a spouse, you have control over who you go into business with, and you want to make sure you find someone who is in it for the long haul. James and I have been through so many ups and downs, but at the end of the day, we share the same set of values and know we can lean on each other to weather any storm.
5.There is no “work-life balance,” and everyone is impacted — When you start your own company, you’re not the only one who will be impacted — your family, friends and community will also be affected. It’s critical to keep good lines of communicationopen with loved ones and constantly reflect on your priorities.
Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?
I live every day like it is game day. As a college athlete, I knew my success on the field was directly tied to my preparation in the gym and at practice. Discipline and preparation are essential to success in sports or in business.
Additionally, being transparent with your employees, your customers and your family and friends is critical to being a good leader. Trust is a core value at PlushCare and a key to success in business, and I believe transparency is the foundation for building it.
If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say?
Our healthcare system is broken. Too many Americans do not have access to a primary care doctor and those that do often experience a confusing and expensive system. At PlushCare, we’ve set out to democratize healthcare by connecting the nation’s top doctors with patients through telehealth.
We’re patient obsessed. We aim to deliver an exceptional experience for every patient and doctor by fostering an intimate, trusted relationship. People who use PlushCare count on us for a frictionless care experience where they can message or call their chosen doctor at their convenience, and we deliver it every time. We handhold patients through the entire process — from scheduling an appointment, ordering medications or recommending a connection with our care team.
Wealso help doctors do what they do best — provide great care. This means we take care of all of the backend administrative tasks that so often burden physicians today.
PlushCare is set apart by our passion for convenient, affordable care that improves health outcomes while increasing patient satisfaction. We know this approach works because as we’ve scaled to support more than 200,000 members, we’ve maintained a 90 net promoter score (industry standard is 3) and we’re proud to score a 4.9 out of 5 stars across platforms like Yelp and the App Store.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Ryan McQuaid’s Big Idea That Might Change The Healthcare Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
