Telehealth Co. Signs Contract With Client in Eight States

Telehealth company Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (RHT:TSX.V; RQHTF:OTCQB; A2AJTB:WKN) announced it has signed a new contract for its iUGO platform with a leading U.S. healthcare company with 75 locations in eight states.

The company expects the contract to add more than 25,000 new patients to the platform over the first year of implementation in one state, Kentucky. Plans for the other seven states will be finalized in the new year.

Reliq said the new client has been recognized by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report as having some of the top long-term care and skilled nursing facilities in the country.

"This is a huge win for Reliq that further reinforces our reputation as the gold standard virtual care solution for patients with chronic conditions," said Reliq Chief Executive Officer Lisa Crossley. "Our client is consistently ranked among the top providers in the U.S. for both short- and long-term inpatient care."

The company is gathering "continuing momentum," wrote Maxim analyst Allen Klee, who has rated the stock a Buy with a CA$1.75 per share target price.

The iUGO platform helps manage diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure, diabetes, hypertension, and others.

Patients get audible reminders to step on a scale, take their blood pressure, or prick their fingers for glucose monitoring. The information is automatically uploaded to the cloud. 

Drawing on data from fall detection devices, medication tracking, and vital signs, iUGO flags patients at home or in facilities who need additional monitoring.

The Catalyst: Previous Successes

Crossley said the contract was secured thanks to the company's success with its skilled nursing facility clients in Florida, where it has allowed clients to avoid significant Medicare and Medicaid penalties.

Kentucky, where Reliq will start adding patients first, is a state with high rates of hypertension and diabetes, she said.

"Reliq will be providing Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM), Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM), Chronic Care Management (CCM), Behavioural Health Integration (BHI), and Transitional Care Management (TCM) to patients both in-facility and in the community," Crossley noted.

The company expects to generate US$65 per patient per month at about 70% gross margin, she said.

Company is 'Gathering Momentum'

Reliq had its first profitable quarter during the three months ending March 31 with a gain from operations of CA$731,017 YoY. It also has started scoring larger contracts for iUGO, including one with a U.S. health plan that operates in five states with more than 3,000 doctors and 1 million patients.

It also recently announced it has expanded the platform to cover remote monitoring for pediatric patients with diabetes and other conditions. The company said it expects to add more than 3,000 pediatric patients to iUGO by Q2 2024 through existing contracts with home health agencies in Texas.

The company is gathering "continuing momentum," wrote Maxim analyst Allen Klee, who has rated the stock a Buy with a CA$1.75 per share target price.

"We believe the company has hit an inflection point of accelerating revenue and EBITDA profitability," he wrote. "Tailwinds include a significant number of larger contracts that have been won."

The company will release final financial results for its fiscal year 2023, which ended June 30, next month. Crossley recently told analysts and shareholders that, according to estimates, revenues more than doubled from fiscal year 2022.

iUGO is a "compelling offer for practitioners," Klee wrote. "A typical practice can bring in more than US$1 million in Medicare and Medicaid payments implementing it."

Market Getting 'Significant Boom'

The telehealth market was valued at US$128.12 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow to US$504.24 billion by 2030, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.7%, according to Fortune Business Insights.

"The market is getting a significant boom with the rising start-up funding and launch of products, especially for virtual consultations," the researchers wrote.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill and put many burdens on healthcare workers. 

"This has opened new market opportunities for digital health platforms," according to the report.

iUGO Care

Reliq also recently announced a post-discharge program for acute hospitals on iUGO. Called iUGO Care, it supports patients being discharged from an acute care hospital to their homes, inpatient rehabilitation, assisted living, or skilled nursing facilities.

Hospitals can be assessed penalties of up to 3% of total Medicare reimbursement for the following year if they don't meet targets reducing readmissions, which could mean millions of dollars in lost revenue, Reliq said.

More than 96% of all hospitals in Florida were assessed financial penalties in 2021 because of the issue. Over 2,300 U.S. hospitals will pay more than US$320 million in such penalties in 2023, according to Kaiser Health News. 

Ownership and Share Structure

About 8% of Reliq's shares are owned by insiders, including Crossley, with 1.6% or 3.22 million shares. About 0.3% of the company is owned by institutional investors, including FNB Wealth Management, with 0.01% or 0.03 million shares, according to Reuters.

Other top investors include Eugene Beukman, who owns 0.11% or 0.23 million shares, and Brian Storseth, who owns 0.07% or 0.14 million shares, Reuters said.

Crossley said 91.7% of the company is retail.

The company has 203 million shares outstanding, with about 200 million free-floating. It has a market cap of CA$92.32 million and trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.76 and CA$0.375.

Important Disclosures:

1. Reliq Health Technologies Inc. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports and pays SWR a monthly sponsorship fee between US$4,000 and US$5,000.
2. Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
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