I have often thought that physical visits to the doctors office are frequently a waste of time. Sometimes the doctor really needs to see you, and other times he can talk to you are visit via zoom or some such. Teladoc seems to me a continuation of the Doc-n-the box theme. I don’t have the inclination to make an appointment to see my GP in two days and want instantaneous results. For minor issues that are non-chronic I go to doc I the box. Now I might use teledoc as long as insurance covers. Seems like a natural progression.
Add in Livongo, with the ability to transmit actual data — blood sugar, pulse, blood pressure, temp, etc, and I think you have a natural marriage.
I would be worried if Teledoc was growing at anemic rates and tried to buy itself into growth. In this case they are both on fire. Seems like a marriage of equals to me.
Gordon
Long Livongo and a small position in Teledoc
7 Likes
After almost selling LVGO this morning, I decided to hold & not be emotional… thanks to lessons learned on this board.
I basically had the same thought - if your Teledoc doctor has actual data based on a monitoring device and can adjust blood pressure meds or whatever without an office visit, this doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.
If Teledoc had offered this monitoring service from the beginning I think most of us would think it made sense and added to the value of TDOC
Greg
long LVGO at least for now
3 Likes
I found an article stating a thought I can relate:
https://discussion.fool.com/4056/a-huge-step-forward-for-digital…
People are more and more leaning towards comprehensive ecosystems instead of multiple independent (and incompatible) devices and services. The merger creates a much more compelling argument for both, TDOC and LVGO from the customer viewpoint.
I hold TDOC and LVGO and belief, the newly found compound strength is actually very good. The market is acting very emotionally.
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Hi Greg,
So why DID you change your mind? What is it that you expect to gain by holding? (This is a real question with no attempt to lead the witness 
)
I reject the idea that acting quickly equates to an emotional response. It certainly can be, so I will only comment on my own experience of the news this morning and my quick action (I took about 1 hour to think about it). If I was acting emotionally, I might have held. I like my companies so selling is harder for me. I already posted detail about why I sold, but the simple truth is the merger is announced and it will be at least a few months of uncertainty while things shake out. I don’t like it when a company changes fundamentally. It is the easiest reason to sell in my experience. I’d rather put my money in places I can depend on to grow business-as-usual. I can then reevaluate without skin in the game. I am truly open to investing in TDOC in the future once some history as this new company is established. That is where the emotions (or even emotionless biases) really need to be removed.
…In other words, if you were to approach TDOC as a new investment candidate today (AFTER the news we just got) would you buy it right this second or would you wait and watch how this plays out?…
My personal answer was definitively the later. Yours may be the opposite. Which is perfectly ok of course!
9 Likes
I just feel like the TDOC is stronger with the acquisition. I had previously owned TDOC & sold it way too early - so at some point I thought it was a good company without monitoring abilities. To me that is the key to tele-medicine, being able to monitor & observe a patient without being physically there in same room.
I’m really not sure that I would buy TDOC today but I don’t think I would sell it either right now. Honestly as of right now, I’ll hold it to see if today was an overreaction or what. If someone on this board comes up with a new idea, then LVGO would be at the top of the list to sell to create some cash.
2 Likes
I am a recently retired emergency medicine physician. I was able to retire at age 58 in large part to the lessons learned on this board - thanks Saul! However I also retired due to the frustrating healthcare trends of treating the end stages of disease in emergency departments while preventive care becomes more forgotten within our struggling primary care system. Emergency departments push for more and more volume to stay in business while primary care offices close. There must be 5 new urgent cares or emergency departments that have opened Near me within the last 2 years all competing and billing for visits from patients who cannot see a primary care provider. This current system will implode.
I see TDOC/LVGO as one of the few initiatives in healthcare that makes sense not only for patients but for the insurance companies. Convenient, efficient, proactive quality care with demonstrable positive outcomes. They are filling a vacuum that has been formed between poorly reimbursed primary care and overpriced emergency care. Wether this company is ultimately a good investment is a different story but I like the combined chance of success with two companies who were already operating at a high level.
57 Likes
JAWalck
How serious is the competition presented by the UNHs (Optimum) Centenes and Humanas of the world. My understanding is that at least the first two have very advanced analytics programs in place to help reduce costs, achieve better outcomes, etc. I don’t know how much of this is simply hollow promotion by the CEOs. But, isn’t a LVGO/TDOC in essence dependent on these other companies for existence? Can’t they easily become competitors and put them out of business?
Thanks
I can’t say I am familiar with other similar offerings from the insurance companies themselves. I chose emergency medicine partially because I did not want to deal directly with the intricacies Of medical insurance. In the emergency department I have no idea what insurance if any a patient may have. Bottom line is if it saves the insurance companies money by keeping patients out of the emergency department or freeing up primary care physician time then they will buy in.
2 Likes