Heal, Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® member and 2019 CTA Entrepreneur of the Year award winner, is the market leader in doctor house calls. Heal was created after  founders Dr. Renee Dua and her husband, Nick Desai, spent seven hours in an emergency room with their infant son. To make health care easier and more accessible, the two created an app that allows patients to have concierge-style medical care covered by their insurance copay.

The Heal idea is simple: A patient can request a house call from either the app or website, providing their insurance information and medical history online (if they choose). A patient knows what their out-of-pocket costs will be up-front, before the provider arrives.

At CES 2018, Heal partnered with Qualcomm and introduced the Heal Hub device. Using Bluetooth and LTE radio, The Heal Hub connects with up to 120 health-tracking devices to securely send data to a patient’s doctor.

Heal Hub also earned a 2018 CES Innovation Award in the smart home category.

“The innovation award was instrumental in convincing Medicare to create reimbursable code so that Medicare patients can [use Heal],” Desai said.

From CES, the company received coverage from major news outlets and the investor interest they were looking for.

“The whole world: the leaders, the decision makers, the influencers, the ambassadors, they all come to this place,” Desai said. “We were a tiny, 10-person company, and now we’re talking to some of the most powerful people in the world who can help bring our technology to market.”

Heal has had a successful relationship with CES in addition to the award. At CES 2019, Dr. Dua spoke on a Telehealth and the Uberization of Health Care session.

The company is backed by high-profile investors from the likes of Fidelity ContraFund, Jim Breyer, the Ellison Family, Lionel Richie and others. In the four years since its founding, Heal has provided house calls across California, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia, and it has reduced unnecessary emergency room and urgent care visits by up to 71%. Heal has also reduced hospitalization by 28%.  

“I view CES as the must-attend event of the year. It’s an incredibly important place at the cross-section of technology’s interaction with humanity and culture,” Desai said.