Contracts Add Thousands of Patients to Telehealth Platform

Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (RHT:TSX.V; RQHTF:OTCQB; A2AJTB:WKN) announced it has signed new contracts with ten physician practices in Florida, Nevada, and Texas.

These practices are expected to add more than 10,000 patients to Reliq's iUGO telehealth platform by mid-2024. The company said onboarding of new patients has already begun.

"We continue to add new clients at a rapid rate," said Reliq Interim Chief Executive Officer Chris Shields. "The Company's recent private placement in October has allowed us to expand our Care Management and Implementation teams to accommodate our accelerating traction across the U.S."

For this newest contract, the company said it would be providing remote patient monitoring (RPM), chronic care management (CCM), and behavioral health integration (BHI) for these patients, generating revenue of US$65 per patient per month at about 70% gross margin.

Reliq's 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. 

Reliq 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.

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

Reliq 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 Catalysts: Larger Contracts, First Profit

While the company's final financial results for fiscal year 2023, which ended June 30, have been delayed and are expected soon, 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.

According to a report by Allied Market Research, an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases is fueling the expansion of remote patient monitoring like Reliq's platform and other telemedicine services.

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

It 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.

Remote Patient Monitoring 'Increasingly Important'

According to a report by Allied Market Research, an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases is fueling the expansion of remote patient monitoring like Reliq's platform and other telemedicine services.

"The approach has strikingly evolved in the last decade, and it is becoming an increasingly important part of the healthcare infrastructure," the report said.

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 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.

Ownership and Share Structure

About 8% of Reliq's shares are owned by insiders, including former Chief Executive Officer Lisa 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 has 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$61.57 million and trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.66 and CA$0.245.

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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