Thought Leaders in Healthcare IT: Inder Singh, CEO of Kinsa Health (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: When somebody is buying the thermometer, alongside the thermometer, you’re asking them to register on your app and start using the social platform as well to get into this kind of a network.

Inder Singh: Yes. You buy the product at a store. We sell it as a better and smarter version of a thermometer. It’s comparable in price. It works with the app. Our stick thermometer is wired into the headphone jack and you can’t use it without the app. The ear thermometer is Bluetooth. You can use that one independently but we encourage you to use the app.

We’ve got some other products that are coming up that are wireless as well. The app is used for the basic temperature-taking process. We’re delighted with the response we’ve seen for that. We weren’t sure if it would work but it does. It acts as a distraction. The child cannot play the game on the smartphone until and unless the thermometer is properly positioned and is properly taking the temperature. Children pop these bubbles as part of this game. It works well.

I remember we were in the process of discussing our Head of Marketing coming on board full-time. That same day, her daughter came to her with the Kinsa thermometer and said, “Mommy, I’m not feeling well. I need to play the bubble game.” It was a selling point to her. That was the first piece of it. It has social value, but it also has standalone value.

It has standalone value as a thermometer and it has standalone value in the fact that it keeps this record of your illness and also gives you that basic coaching advice. You don’t remember all the rules. You don’t remember which child fell ill, when you gave the last dose, and what medications are out there. All those are built into our product.

Sramana Mitra: You’re going to market through pharmacies?

Inder Singh: We sell it through pharmacies, baby stores, online and Amazon.

Sramana Mitra: You mentioned that, in some schools, you have 20% penetration. How did that happen? Did you do something specific with schools to make that happen?

Inder Singh: Yes. Nita runs our FLUency program, which is a little play on words. We work with schools. We had amazing response from school administrators and nurses. Some were a little reluctant to run the program because it’s sponsored by a commercial entity. We have 400 schools across the country. There’s a few of them that have a 100% penetration.

We see these wonderful stories that come out of it – of parents sharing information. Several of them have stated that they believe it’s impacting absenteeism in a big way. I don’t have sufficient data to actually say that it’s accurate. We get these great press stories about it too. I’m also excited to say that we have some large employers. There are some Fortune 100 companies who are purchasing Kinsa and giving it to their employees. We didn’t expect that at all. One of our investors introduced us to a Fortune 50 company and we ran the idea by them. They were super excited.

They loved the idea of having a simple next-generation product that would actually help their employees with their families. They love the product itself and wanted to get it out there. The benefit to them goes beyond that cool, helpful gadget. We’ve actually shown that we can drive the use of complementary family benefits. You may have a number of family benefits available through your employer. You and I both know that you just don’t remember what benefits are available to you outside of an open enrollment period.

Outside of September period, it’s just in the back of your mind. In the moment of need when parents are caring for a sick child, we can tell you, “Hey, don’t forget you have sick child care services if you want to take advantage of it.” It serves as a helpful tool and a very helpful engagement platform through which we can raise awareness about services that you may want to use.

This segment is part 3 in the series : Thought Leaders in Healthcare IT: Inder Singh, CEO of Kinsa Health
1 2 3 4