Health IT, Startups, SYN

Pager gets a new CEO to fulfill healthcare ambitions

Walter Jin steps into the spotlight as Pager's new CEO, replacing Gaspard de Drouzy who cofounded the patient navigation business.

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Gaspard de Dreuzy has stepped down from his role as CEO of Pager, a patient navigation and telehealth service he cofounded in 2014 with Oscar Salazar, who also cofounded Uber, and Philip Eytan. Walter Jin, the executive chairman of Pager’s board, is replacing de Dreuzy as CEO, according to a company news release emailed to MedCity News.

De Dreuzy will shift to the role of president and Eytan will become Chief Strategy Officer, with an eye to company strategy, partnerships, and acquisitions.

“As Pager embarks on the next stage of growth in this complex B to B to C healthcare marketplace, we are focused on building a proprietary, sustainable digital health solution to deliver a truly high value-added patient experience,” Jin said in the statement.

Jin has a long track record of healthcare investment. He cofounded Three Fields Capital eight years ago. The firm provides growth equity and venture capital to healthcare businesses. He is also a managing partner with the firm. Jin worked for 10 years at The Carlyle Group where he cofounded the healthcare group. Additionally, he is an executive in residence at Johns Hopkins Medicine and an Innovation Fellows Technical Advisor to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Asked why de Dreuzy has decided to step down, a spokeswoman chalked it up to the company’s growth and advancement and Jin’s “advanced healthcare experience.”

“Over the past three years, Pager has grown significantly in size and scope, and has developed from a consumer-facing house call service to a sophisticated patient navigation and engagement tool for employers, providers and health plans. With this introduction of new healthcare industry partners, Pager is strengthening the level of healthcare expertise within the organization.”

Last year, Pager closed a $6 million Series A round and partnered with Baylor Scott & White Health Medicine to expand its services to Texas.  The company began with a direct-to-consumer business model offering provider house calls on demand. But the company shifted to a business-to-business-to-consumer approach and diversified its points of access to include virtual care through a collaboration with Envision Healthcare. Through a partnership with Weill Cornell, Pager added care navigation, including a triage service, care coordination, and post-care follow-up.

In an interview last year, de Dreuzy told MedCity News that Pager planned to have programs around chronic care, chronic disease management, and medication adherence in the future.

Photo: Yuri Arcurs, Getty Images

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