Bringing Diagnostic Testing to Your Doorstep with David White, co-founder and CEO of IHDLab

[00:00:02] Hey everyone, welcome back to the Outcomes Rocket. So excited that you tuned in with us again. And today I have the privilege of hosting David White on the podcast. He holds the distinction of being the co-founder and chief executive officer of IHD Lab since its inception in 2011.

[00:00:23] For eight years he has been instrumental in driving the company's mission forward, focusing on expansion of accessibility to fertility services, women's health and at-home testing solutions. Excited to have you here on the podcast, David. David White Hey, thank you. Thank you so much.

[00:00:40] And thank you everyone out there. Saul Marquez Yeah, absolutely. One of the things that I want to do, David, is just help the listeners get to know you better. So help us understand what is it that got you in healthcare?

[00:00:51] David White Really, I think fundamentally at its core, it's access. When we hear and speak of access, I think it means a lot of different things to different folks. But for myself and my personal journey, the concept of access was the fact that as children,

[00:01:07] my mother has endured and honestly suffered bipolar manic depression. And to watch my mother try to access care in Las Vegas in 120 degree heat when she was unable to drive, it doesn't matter how close. If you don't have access, you don't achieve the outcome.

[00:01:27] And so it really became a passion of mine to be able to identify ways that we could bring the system to the patient, the consumer, to the doorstep, to the interaction, especially in these situations where there's barriers.

[00:01:42] And I set off a very random walk that ultimately brought me to a clinical laboratory where we drive 70% of those decisions in healthcare and then fundamentally being able to not only facilitate those decisions, but have that information readily available and achievable with diagnostics delivered to the doorstep.

[00:02:02] And so again, I think trying to solve for those big problems and whether or not a similar situation to my mother where she was just unable to basically meet her doctor, or perhaps you live in a fertility desert.

[00:02:16] We see these situations across the nation where we have the coasts that are highly representative within the fertility industry. We have mega centers that are providing care and then you have the middle. So you have this deep population that's within this fertility desert.

[00:02:32] And how do we, again, going back to access, how do we bring access to those folks that are trying to conceive and they're up against all odds? And yeah, that's really where our heart and our passion lies. Also, fundamentally within the organization, we believe in compassion, empowerment and

[00:02:49] knowledge. Those are our three tenets that we drive our mission around. And again, always wanting to maintain the care and healthcare and getting that engagement from the patient or the consumer. So that way they can be a part of their own journey to the outcomes and more positive

[00:03:06] outcomes. Yeah, David, thanks for sharing that. And thanks for sharing about your mom and the challenges that she was having and the challenges that a lot of people in this country have. When you think about IHD labs, how are you guys improving the access issue?

[00:03:21] I know you said labs at the home, but talk to us, help us unpack that and understand better. Absolutely. There's it was specifically to fertility. There's a biomarker and that biomarker is AMH. AMH, in essence, allows women to identify their ovarian reserve and their capacity to

[00:03:39] conceive in the quality of their eggs. Historically, this lab test is offered in more of a brick and mortar environment or a fertility practice. We've been able to engineer it such that the test can be delivered to the doorstep of the consumer.

[00:03:54] They can take their AMH test and then it allows them to identify early on what might be inhibiting them from conceiving. And quite often that could be PCOS. And coincidentally, a funny story I have around PCOS and its impact on fertility is

[00:04:13] we've been hyper focused on fertility since I would say around 2016. At that time, a colleague joined us that had been in the space for, I would say, 10 to 12 years prior to joining IHD lab. We would basically try to rule the world, driving everywhere, meeting these fertility

[00:04:32] folks, exchanging ideas, trying to understand how we can solve this big problem of folks that are spending tremendous amounts of money to conceive. And she herself found herself in the same situation, whereas she was worried that she was going to be unable to conceive.

[00:04:50] And even though she had access to all these physicians, the care knowledge of hundreds of practitioners in the space, she was still worried that I'm not going to be able to conceive. It's going to be too expensive.

[00:05:02] It's going to be, I'm just not going to be able to afford a cycle. And unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to see this in my future. And we happened to be down at a conference in San Diego. And coincidentally enough, it was a conference for embryologists.

[00:05:20] Those are the folks that oversee the creation of an embryo in the fertility space. And unfortunately, she had a small cut that didn't resolve that she got it at the conference. And seven days later, 14 days later, we pressed her, Hey, maybe you should get that checked.

[00:05:35] You know why what's happening? Just go, just go get it checked. And check it out. Yeah, exactly. And and she went in and she was diagnosed with diabetes. They gave her a prescription. That prescription was for metformin and fast forwarded to one of the world's largest fertility

[00:05:52] conferences in San Antonio, Texas that year. It was ASRM. She was feeling a little bit unwell. And we she was also we always love to go to the pharma parties and mingle. And she's like, I just don't feel well.

[00:06:05] And I said, OK, well, I'll meet you back tomorrow. And she went to the hotel and I don't know what compelled her, but she decided to take a pregnancy test on the way home. And she found out she was pregnant. And so it was crazy.

[00:06:18] We started to really unpack and we didn't we couldn't figure it out. Like what? And the metformin, it was metformin. And we were always going crazy. No, you're in the lab, so you're going to have fun. You're going to test yourself.

[00:06:35] She knew that she had PCOS from the AMH result that she had. So I have a question, David. What is PCOS? I'm not sure what that is just for the listeners. Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's a polycystic ovarian syndrome. It manifests in different ways.

[00:06:51] It is one of the key factors in consideration when folks might be having difficulties with fertility. Got it. And so we knew the results. We didn't really tie it back specifically to PCOS during that time other than, hey, your AMH is high. But that's weird.

[00:07:06] And again, she is in the network with all these fertility folks. It doesn't matter how close you are to the information if it's not accessible because of let's say you have a insecurity to ask even.

[00:07:18] And so that's why we have to break down these barriers no matter where they may lie. But she was so close to that information, didn't put the equation together that would allow her to then have Jameson, who's five years old, I think a couple months ago.

[00:07:32] Yeah, and it was the ability to see firsthand how transformative testing can be. And I think we've also seen that through the pandemic as well as folks. We were brought out from the basement of health care a little bit and into the light, so to speak. Yeah, yeah.

[00:07:48] And but to see how transformative a change could be in a simple test and how much better we would have been able to help her in her journey and others if we were able to marry

[00:08:01] it and condense it down and bring this access to people with information as well. It's the AMH test that we offer at home is it's really dedicated to that journey that that she's had. And I had the privilege to be able to share and witness firsthand.

[00:08:16] So so when the AMH tests have outlined that like that, she could take metformin and she would increase her chances or what would it have shown? It would have shown it would have given us it did have a strong indication that she had

[00:08:30] PCOS and some of the very inexpensive initial workups around PCOS is treatment with the metformin. That's a three dollar drug. All right. She okay. Yeah, it's right there. Like it's right there. Wow. Fascinating. And a great example of somebody that worked in the clinic. Yep. Right.

[00:08:51] I think it's crazy. There's different barriers that we don't see and we don't appreciate until we're in that moment. I think, Saul, you probably have. We've all been there. Medical anxiety might be one thing. There's something that might stop us from taking that leap. Is it the information?

[00:09:05] Is it the diagnostic testing? Is it the treatment side? And so I think there's this mosaic that within the health care ecosystem, and we're only a very small vertical of that, but it's stitching that all together to allow folks to get to the outcomes that they're seeking.

[00:09:21] Very cool. David, I know you guys have a couple clinics. Are you mainly focused in California or are you serving the nation? We look at it in three different verticals for our fertility folks. We work both domestically and international.

[00:09:37] We go as far as Taiwan and Macau and Israel. A lot of folks come to the US for different reasons where surrogacy might not be available to them in their home country. So folks, especially within the LGBTQ plus community.

[00:09:52] As it pertains to what I call is our brick and mortar and our tried and true traditional blood testing where you might either just get your lipid test or your glucose, we're primarily focused on the West Coast.

[00:10:03] And I would say within that focus, we have 15 approximately service centers up and down the California, Southern California, Northern California markets, and ultimately looking to expand driving this mission of compassion and keeping the care and healthcare focused on the West Coast for that vertical.

[00:10:20] Our at home model, which is the testing model that we've been discussing so far, we can serve anywhere in the US but for New York where they have a special subsect of regulations and different requirements. Still working there and making the investments, but yeah, we're getting there.

[00:10:36] Hey, that's great, man. That's fantastic. And you have the setup to really deliver care in a couple of different ways. The blood tests on the West Coast at home care for this test that you're just been

[00:10:51] sharing with us and then the fertility stuff that you go even international. Yep, I think that encapsulates where we are today and also where we're looking to continue to expand in the future. And so you've been at it for 13 years? 13 years. Yeah, 13 years.

[00:11:07] And so I'm sure it hasn't always been a smooth ride. So one of the things that we like to chat about on podcast is as healthcare leaders and entrepreneurs setbacks teach us most often times. So that's where the learnings. Exactly.

[00:11:27] Can you think of one that comes to mind that really taught you a lot and has made you better in the business better? I think really looking at the macro and how the macro can impact you, obviously as a clinical

[00:11:40] lab, I could take it to COVID, but I think I'm going to rewind a little bit back further in time to when we first entered the market. We had a very narrow test menu of only five different tests.

[00:11:52] And within those five different tests, it was hyper-focused on molecular diagnostics. We had a great opportunity to enter the market and aggressively gain market share. But through a shift in the reimbursement environment, those five tests had an extremely limited medical necessity applied.

[00:12:13] And we found ourselves looking over the edge of a cliff and really fundamentally at that point, that tipping point, try to identify how we're going to reinvent ourself. And again, I always am a big believer in touching, feeling, seeing what's happening in the market.

[00:12:27] So that way the opportunities might not immediately manifest, but at least the problems manifest. And when the problems manifest, then the opportunity usually follows when you can form a solution. And as soon as our fee schedule really dwindled, lessen in diversification always and making

[00:12:43] sure that keep an eye on the finger on the pulse, an opportunity presented itself in a regional lab that was being acquired by a much larger big box laboratory left a tremendous vacuum on the West Coast for the services that we offer today. And again,

[00:12:59] How did you find out about that? I guess just talking to people. They're talking, you're plugged in into your industry. Yeah. You were getting right. Yeah. The network, I think I learned from an investor first is knowledge than the network and then you actualize.

[00:13:11] And so you want to build on those foundations and, but yeah, so finding the problems to solve big thing and always keep an eye on what is happening in the macro. And with just a thought in the back of mind to stay diversified. Yeah.

[00:13:25] And so that was your platform, so to speak, where that vacuum formed, you saw the opportunity, you pounced on it and rest of the story. That's awesome. That's great. Yeah. Hey, you know what? On the diversification piece, I'll tell you, I feel you there a hundred percent.

[00:13:42] We, so we also have a marketing agency, a hundred percent focused on healthcare and we started in podcasting. So this podcast grew and then people started asking us for podcasting. So we started a production agency and man, I realized that it was too narrow of an offering.

[00:14:02] And so we have to diversify. So now we're a full service marketing agency and that's been fantastic for us because now we get to solve more than just one little problem or something. We're looking at the entire thing.

[00:14:14] So you're speaking directly to me with this learning for sure. Totally appreciate that. And it's in those gaps that you're going to be able to leverage your insights and really help. And again, going back to access marketing, so critical to that, if the information isn't

[00:14:30] disseminated to the folks that need to ask, need the information, what good is it? It's in a vacuum. Nothing can be acted on. So thank you for all you're doing out there. Oh, of course, David, my pleasure.

[00:14:40] And Hey, for everybody listening and watching, you're either in the moment where you need to find that gap or maybe you've already found it, or maybe it hit the fan and you didn't. And now is an opportunity to learn from that.

[00:14:54] Nevertheless, let's take this lesson from David and apply it to our own businesses because every success you have is a life touched. You guys know we're all in healthcare. That's the beauty of our mission oriented businesses. We get to help people with everything that we do.

[00:15:09] Big thanks to David for that Tim. And look, there's a lot of technology and a lot of innovation happening in healthcare. David, what's a key tech or trend you're seeing? And what's something that leaders have to be thinking about as these new things enter the market?

[00:15:25] I don't want to use buzzwords, but it's going to be AI and wearables. And I think this convergence of getting the data, all we have all these data collection points and being able to harness that and be able to synthesize that into outcomes.

[00:15:41] So we have wearables that have the data and now being able to detain that information into meaningful interactions and outcomes through the AI. I think that's really where we're going and it's really exciting and I can't wait for

[00:15:54] the future and be a part of that, this transformation that's here at our doorstep. Yeah, for sure. And look, this has been a lot of fun. David, thanks for being with us today. If you want to leave the listeners with the closing thought, now's the time.

[00:16:09] And if you want to give them a way to get in touch with you and the team to learn more about your services. Awesome. Closing comment, life is a random walk. Just trust that every step forward is going to take you to your destination.

[00:16:23] And also we are able to be reached here at IHD www.ihdlab.com. And feel free, my email is dwhite at IHDlab.com or find us on LinkedIn. Amazing. Thank you, David. And folks, for all the ways that David just mentioned to get in touch, we'll leave those

[00:16:43] in the show notes. So make sure you click and get in touch. David, we really appreciate your time. Thanks, Saul. Thank you, everyone. Have a beautiful week out there.