Welcome back to our Life at LetsGetChecked series, a sequence of features that offer insight into what it’s really like to work at LetsGetChecked.
This week, we speak with Dr. Robert Mordkin, our Chief Medical Officer.
Dr. Mordkin tells us why he believes LetsGetChecked works alongside traditional healthcare models, how receptive people are to the concept of home health testing and what it takes to work on the medical team.
Dr. Mordkin has worked with LetsGetChecked for several years, he says; “When I first came across LetsGetChecked, I thought it was a really disruptive idea and that it was something that would empower individuals to take back some control when it comes to their healthcare.”
What is your role title?
I am the Chief Medical Officer for LetsGetChecked here in North America, in the same way that Dr. Dominic Rowley is the Medical Director in Ireland.
Dr. Rowley and I work together on all clinical elements, we guide the clinical enterprise of the business.
How long have you worked with LetsGetChecked?
I have worked with LetsGetChecked since 2016, and assumed the position as Chief Medical Officer in 2019.
I have been involved for several years now, infact my involvement started a few years before the launch here in the United States.
What encouraged you to start working with LetsGetChecked?
There are a couple of things that encouraged me to start working with LetsGetChecked.
I have practiced medicine in the United States for twenty years now, when the idea of LetsGetChecked first came to me, I thought it was a really disruptive idea and that it was something that would empower individuals to take back some control when it comes to their healthcare.
Secondly, I was impressed by the forces behind LetsGetChecked, most notably, the people. Peter Foley and Ronan Ryan solidified my decision to join the company because of their vision, their enthusiasm and their single-minded approach which was “We are going to make this happen.” This approach is really what brought the company forward, to North America and beyond.
As a practicing physician, what would you say are the main challenges when it comes to mainstreaming home health testing?
The most challenging thing about mainstreaming home health testing is also one of the most exciting things; there really is no rest for the weary.
Every day is literally striving to keep up with the next challenge. I think the power of it all is demonstrated in the fact that we’ve seen such a tremendous uptake in growth, especially here in the United States. It continues to grow at an amazing rate month on month.
How do you think the average everyday consumer views the new concept of at home health testing?
It’s a mixed bag, I don’t want to give the impression that everyone immediately falls in love with the idea, there are your sceptics out there naturally and I think the skepticism is not only reasonable but quite frankly, it can be a window into ways that we can evolve what we’re offering.
Most of the people I come into contact with are excited by the concept. I have not come across any customers who have tried the product and didn’t find it to be valuable.
What has been your greatest milestone since you started working at LetsGetChecked?
I am proud of a lot of things with LetsGetChecked.
The thing I am proud of everyday is seeing more and more orders and results streaming through, I’m seeing the adoption that is happening in real time. It is quite frankly like a snowball going downhill. Each and every day, the snowball is getting bigger and bigger, that makes me very excited and proud.
I am also very proud of our clinical team, the team is just tremendous. When I first started, we had this small but very skilled team of nurses in the Dublin office managing all of Europe, once North America launched, we grew another team to manage North America because quite quickly, it became pretty obvious that we needed to expand here in the United States, so we built our New York team.
It has been such a home run and such a success.I work really closely with the team, we have a really nice rapport where they can reach out to me by phone whenever they need to. I travel up to New York to visit with them and check in on them periodically.
I’m really happy and proud that we’re evolving all the time. LetsGetChecked is a rolling stone that is rolling faster and faster everyday.
How do you think companies like LetsGetChecked will change the current healthcare system?
As a clinician, I think there’s so much power in this, I cannot tell you how much time is wasted in obtaining actionable results for patients.
The way it traditionally works is a patient comes to a doctor’s office, we meet, we talk and we may order lab tests, then we need to meet face to face again when the lab tests come back.
This is a huge time suck, both for the physician and also for the patient because now we have to track the patient down, maybe they're inconvenienced and they have another appointment or maybe they need to go get more blood work drawn in the meantime.
One of my master visions is patient access to pre-emptive, convenient screening. How wonderful would it be for patients to do PSA testing for example, remotely with LetsGetChecked a week before attending an appointment to talk about their situation over the last year, they already have their lab test in hand, and I have got that lab test in hand. The efficiency of that in and of itself compared to the way it works traditionally is fantastic.
What advice would you give to someone who would like to work on the LetsGetChecked medical team?
What I would say is; “Be ready!”
Be ready to strap on your helmet, put on your seatbelt, we’re going to the moon here. This is a company that is moving fast and it’s exciting, it’s an opportunity to really get in on the ground floor.
If a fast-paced, expanding company excites you then this is the right fit. If you like the opportunity to innovate, if you like the opportunity to move quickly then this is the right spot.
You’re going to get to work with a bunch of like minded people so for that reason alone, it’s a great place for the right fit.
What three personality traits do you think someone needs if they want to thrive on the medical team?
- Enthusiasm
- Empathetic
- Innovative
Written by Hannah Kingston
