Getting health care can be challenging for many of us but nearly impossible for patients with complex health care needs, like people experiencing homelessness or living with mental illness.
Pair Team is a digital health startup for people with complex needs that meets with them in person at clinics or in the community, or by connecting virtually. The company aims to offer seamless access to medical and social services to people enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state Medicaid program that delivers health care to Californians with low incomes or disabilities.
The technology supports services offered through the CalAIM initiative (California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal), which is designed to close the health equity gap by advancing whole-person care for underserved populations.
The California Health Care Foundation is a strategic investor in health care innovators like Pair Team and seeks to work with an array of new social entrepreneurs and co-investors. Learn more about this work through our podcast, Making Waves in Health Tech, in which Janet Boachie and I speak with innovator-partners who have made health care more accessible — especially for those facing the greatest obstacles. Here is an excerpt of our interview with Pair Team co-founder Neil Batlivala.
Hilda Martinez: What problem is Pair Team working to solve?
Neil Batlivala: When someone with a health need goes to a shelter, they’re often told to see a primary care provider. But many people experiencing homelessness have other things on their mind and are just trying to get their basic needs met. Pair Team brings care to them. We turn shelters, food pantries, rehab facilities, and other community-based organizations into health care sites by bringing telemedicine and behavioral health services to these locations.
Janet Boachie: What is it like to use the Pair Team platform?
Batlivala: If you’re someone who uses the ER as your primary care provider, we’ll meet you at an organization you’re already visiting. The next time you go to the food pantry, an organizer might ask about your health. They’ll say, “Have you seen a doctor lately? I want to introduce you to our partner, Pair Team.”
Our team will follow up by phone within hours. We’ll do an intake and triage to understand the individual’s health aspirations and health needs. Once we’ve identified those goals, we coordinate care across our network of partners. For example, our team member might connect them to housing services.
Once we’ve met a person’s social needs, we use that as a bridge to address their clinical and behavioral health needs.
Martinez: How did you start Pair Team? How did you recognize the need for it?
Batlivala: I’m an engineer by trade. When I came to the US from India, I thought I’d be a doctor, but I fell in love with technology. I worked at another health tech company that built tech-enabled primary care practices, which is where I met my co-founder Cassie, a registered nurse. Together, we learned what high-quality care looks like and how technology can help provide convenience and access. We thought, “How can we bring that same technology to underserved communities?”
Martinez: Tell me about Pair Team’s recent expansion into seven counties in California.
Batlivala: We have contracts in California that cover almost 80 percent of the state. When we expanded, we wanted to reach the highest-needs areas in terms of density and access. L.A., for example, has more high-needs people experiencing homelessness than almost any county in the entire country, while areas in the Central Valley have access challenges. Over time, I want to get into more rural areas and offer workforce enablement programs alongside care.
Martinez: What impact are you seeing?
Batlivala: Sixty percent of our patients with suicidal ideation improve after three months in our program, and 70% of our patients have had HbA1c reductions. About one in three emergency department visits are prevented because patients call us first. These developments make our model sustainable.
Listen to the full conversation here, and catch future episodes by following Making Waves in Health Tech on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, or wherever you get podcasts.
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