Covid made many things worse, including the lives of asthma patients who were more vulnerable to the disease than others. About 50 million Americans live with asthma, a respiratory disease involving inflammation in the airways, or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). In the US, 30-day COPD re-admission rates are as high as 38%. In fact, in 2020, US federal agency Medicare fined multiple US hospitals for too many readmissions. 

Australian e-Health Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company Respiri (ASX: RSH) claims to have a potential solution, exclusively for the US market. With wheezo, its wearable medical device that detects wheezing, it launched a remote patient monitoring (RPM) program that has just secured its first Primary Care Practice, Medical Center of Conyers, located just outside Atlanta, Georgia, and patients with respiratory disorders have already started on the program. 

With Respiri’s remote patient monitoring (RPM) partner Access Telehealth, patients get a full RPM solution—comprising the Remotli platform (enabling cloud-based care management for practitioners), patient engagement and remote monitoring—under the supervision of family care physicians. 

Marjan Mikel, CEO of Respiri, shared, “I was present as three patients commenced on wheezo and the relief they expressed knowing that they now have an “early warning system” connected to their physician presented first-hand experience of why our business is so important. It was very satisfying.” 

Wheezo is an FDA-cleared Class II Medical Device that records wheezing, i.e. abnormal breathing patterns featuring a whistling sound emanating from the chest. It is a handheld battery-powered device that logs info on what might be triggering the wheezing, its frequency and more. Then, using the Respiri app, it shares that info with doctors who use it to offer support without needing patients to come into the clinic. It saves both the patients and care providers time, money and resources. 

Respiri has now secured healthcare organisation customers located in five different states in the USA that treat and manage pediatric patients with asthma, elderly patients with COPD, patients specifically with respiratory complications, cardiovascular disease patients with COPD comorbidities and primary care patients. It is also in discussions with a number of other potential wheezo RPM healthcare organisation customers.

Respiri hopes to generate revenues from device sales, valued at USD$50-USD$60 ($75 to $90) per device. Along with that, it expects to receive a monthly fee per patient per month of between USD$10-USD$20 ($14 to $29), depending on the breadth of services provided by its partner Access Telehealth.

RPM reimbursement codes from this program can be processed through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and private insurers providing remuneration to the practice for delivering this new patient service. 

Mikel added, “Although respiratory specialists remain our key targets for wheezo RPM, the fact remains that family medical practitioners are heavily involved in the management of patients with asthma and COPD. Having wheezo RPM prescribed by this group for the management of respiratory disorders should help improve patient well-being and reduce disease complications and further broaden our program patient reach.” 

All things considered, this venture has not been cheap for the Company. In the September quarter, it burned over $1.2 million in cash, leaving Respiri with funding of $692k. To further optimise cash resources to onboard more US patients, its senior executives took a $180,000 hit to their salaries.

As it gears up to provide comprehensive respiratory health management services to the US, the Company’s financial health looks like it needs a review. After all, it has huge plans for the coming years, including setting up shop in the UK and launching a new wearable medical device by FY24. Here’s hoping that Americans are willing to shell out over $100 for online health services.