Specialists On Call, which bills itself as the nation’s largest provider of teleneurology services to acute care hospitals, has acquired the No. 2 player in the segment, NeuroCall. Terms were not disclosed.
“We are excited to join forces with Specialists on Call and together increase our coverage of acute care facilities needing a robust solution relating to specialist shortages,” Mauricio Sirvent, CEO of Miami-based NeuroCall, said in a press release. With the acquisition, Sirvent has been named general manager of Specialists On Call’s neurology business.
The deal comes five months after Reston, Virginia-based Specialists On Call announced $50 million in new funding. At the time, the company said it would take some of the money to look for acquisition opportunities.
“We are effectively consolidating the market,” Specialists On Call CFO and COO Hai Tran said of acute teleneurology. But don’t expect any antitrust issues from the top two providers in a niche segment getting together, he said.
There are 5,500 or so hospitals in the U.S. today. The merged company serves 350 of them with teleneurology services. “We’re just scratching the surface,” Tran told MedCity News.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
“Telemedicine in general is a relatively nascent industry,” Tran noted.
The buyer was interested in NeuroCall’s relationships with top neurology programs across the country, according to Tran. “And we can bring additional services to NeuroCall’s clients,” he said.
Plus, the two companies had similar cultures, Tran added. “We both are very patient-centric.”
In addition to teleneurology, Specialists On Call offers telemedicine services for psychiatry and intensive care. Last year, the company launched a platform for managed services, allowing health systems to build telemedicine programs with their own physicians.
“We will continue to look to consolidate the market across all our specialities and add additional specialties over time,” Tran said.
Photo: Specialists On Call
