Health platform founder Klaus Bartosch offers an unusually personal and powerful endorsement of his own company: it literally saved his life.<\/p>\n
Eight years ago Bartosch created 1st Group ((1ST)) <\/strong>to facilitate online medical appointments, given most of them were (and still are) made over the phone.<\/p>\n A keen cyclist, Bartosch in 2013 was about to embark on a series of cancer fundraising rides, but his knee arthritis was playing up.<\/p>\n Bartosch’s wife urged the then 51-year-old to book a doctor’s appointment on his own app for the next morning.<\/p>\n A blood test revealed a rare form of leukemia and less than 24 hours later Bartosch was in the emergency ward receiving chemotherapy in isolation.<\/p>\n “I had no white blood cells and no platelets, which meant a brain hemorrhage or common cold had the capacity to take my life,” he says.<\/p>\n “My oncologist said had I hopped on my bike the coming weekend, I wouldn’t have made the first day. If I had so much as scratched myself I would have bled to death.”<\/p>\n The now hale-and-hearty Bartosch’s message is that procrastinating on medical appointments can be fatal – and anything that facilitates these bookings can save lives.<\/p>\n Of the 50 million medical appointments booked each month across the nation, around 95% are still over the phone.<\/p>\n “We do so much online stuff as consumers, yet with healthcare the way we engage with services has not fundamentally changed in a century,” he says.<\/p>\n Blokes are notorious for putting off a visit to the doc: of the 13 million bookings executed via 1st Group’s site since the company’s inception, women account for 70%.<\/p>\n “If it wasn’t for the platform I would have had to wait for next morning,” Bartosch says of his near-death experience. “The chances are I would have forgotten.”<\/p>\n Four years ago 1st Group predominantly was a booking and reminders platform, but since then it has expanded into nine products. These include pre and post consultation surveys, mobile and physical check-in kiosks and an online referral platform for GPs and patients to book specialists and upload records.<\/p>\n 1st Group already dominates the pharmacy and independent optometry sectors, as well as the vet industry via its Pet Yeti <\/strong>platform<\/p>\n The company is also tackling the dentistry and psychology sectors.<\/p>\n “The current addressable market for our company is $1.2bn, so we have a long and continued growth pathway ahead of us,” Bartosch says.<\/p>\n 1st Group’s growth prospects are also tied to the rise and rise of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) schemes, which are already common in the medical sector but not yet entrenched.<\/p>\n In July the company struck a deal with Openpay Group ((OPY)) <\/strong>and then in October followed up with a contract with BNPL big daddy Afterpay ((APT))<\/strong>.<\/p>\n “Subject to the first six-month trial being successful, Afterpay will promote the platform to the 2600 relevant healthcare providers on its network.<\/p>\n “These platforms have demonstrated they can increase the spend of a patient,” Bartosch says. “For example at an optometrist they will take better lenses and frames, or if you are a dentist the patient might commit to an ongoing care program.<\/p>\n “With our platform, we are facilitating patients’ awareness of the fact these BNPL options are available by doing it through the booking process.”<\/p>\n In a “difficult and frustrating” 2019-2020, 1st Group grew revenue by 25% to $4.95m, but with the loss increasing to $5m from $4.3m previously.<\/p>\n The frustration stems from both covid and non-virus related delays to roll-outs with three key new clients: St Vincent’s Health Australia’s private hospital network, Medibank Private ((MPL))<\/strong> (dental clinics) and Benestar which offers employee assistance (psychology) services.<\/p>\n 1st Group then recorded revenue (receipts) of $1.25m in the September (first) quarter, with operating cash outflows of -$878,000.<\/p>\n Bartosch says while these new customer contracts should be more advanced, the delayed revenues will become apparent in the current (second) quarter, with revenue expected to be at least 10% higher than the June quarter.<\/p>\n The company cites a “portfolio lifetime value” of $108m as at the end of September, up $18.7m on the quarter.<\/p>\n Despite the BNPL deals, the value of 1st Group shares has halved over the last year, with investors ascribing an $18m valuation.<\/p>\n Bartosch says some investors would like to see the company growing at more than 25%, but argues they are looking at the wrong metrics.<\/p>\n The obvious issue is the company’s tight funding position: end of quarter cash of $1.16m with an undrawn credit facility of $450,000.<\/p>\n Cornerstone shareholder John Plummer has also agreed to extend a convertible note from $2m to $3m “if required”, with the timing of any conversion to shares determined by the company.<\/p>\n 1st Group is also not the only health bookings platform, as it competes with the private HealthEngine Network and Hotdocs.<\/p>\n Backed by Seven West Media ((SWM))<\/strong>, HealthEngine Network lists more than 70,000 health practices used by more than one million consumers a month.<\/p>\n Following an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission probe, the Federal Court in August ordered the company to pay -$2.9m in penalties for misleading conduct.<\/p>\n The transgressions, admitted to by the company, related to sharing non-clinical patient details with health insurance brokers and publishing misleading patient reviews of medical practices.<\/p>\n The dubious activities took place between mid-2014 and mid-2018.<\/p>\n Medadvisor ((MDR))<\/strong><\/p>\n In the ASX-listed listed sphere, 1st Group has passing similarities with the $130m market cap Medadvisor, which offers medication adherence reminders to 1.6m users.<\/p>\n “If anything Medadvisor could be a business partner and we have certainly had discussions with them over the years,” Bartosch says.<\/p>\n Medadvisor claims to have signed up 60% of pharmacies and “thousands” of general practitioners (GPs). It also provides a booking service to the latter. But the company’s broader prospects lie in the US, where it has just bought a like-minded mob called Adheris Health for a meaty $40m.<\/p>\n The purchase was funded by a $35m placement and institutional rights offer, with a further $3.5m gleaned from retail punters in the rights issue.<\/p>\n Medadvisor turned over $11m in the 2019-20 year, up 16% but also chalked up a -$9.8m loss.<\/p>\n Given the Medadvisor expects Adheris to turn over $US26m ($36m) in calendar 2020, the US foray also promises to be a life-changing event – if not quite as literally as Bartosch’s close shave.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Alcidion Group ((ALC))<\/strong> is also another consumer-focused healthcare I.T. company, focusing on cloud-based information tracking in hospitals.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Find out why FNArena subscribers like the service so much: "Your Feedback (Thank You)<\/a>" – Warning this story contains unashamedly positive feedback on the service provided.<\/em><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.fnarena.com\/ckfinder\/userfiles\/images\/Health%20%26%20Aged%20Care\/Healthcare%20Services\/Doctor's%20Appointment.png\")
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