How MAKO Medical and Chad Price Are Helping North Carolina During COVID-19

When COVID-19 hit North Carolina, MAKO Medical had to mobilize quickly. The company had very little time to leverage its resources to best help the state. Before the pandemic, the company offered standard lab testing, but its founder and CEO, Chad Price, quickly pivoted the services to better serve the public.

But the company isn't just aiding those directly impacted by the pandemic. As access to healthcare has dried up in the wake of new infections, Price is using available technology to connect patients of every variety with qualified professionals.

Find out more about what MAKO Medical is doing to help those in North Carolina get the information and attention that everyone needs to make better decisions. Whether it's a doctor of epidemiology or a child with a sore throat, the company is doing everything to lend a hand.

Changing Course

One of the first things the company did was to expand capabilities to test for coronavirus. The company hired more people in the state, providing much needed economic relief to hundreds of workers. To date, the company has processed more than 2 million tests across multiple states.

MAKO Medical's tests are extremely reliable. After enrolling in proficiency testing offered through accredited laboratories, their CAP COV testing program proved to be 100% reliable. The company had to participate in several studies to attain these results, helping leaders and staff members assess their workflow and ensure quality throughout every step of the process.

The company also offered two COVID-19 antibody tests in May 2020 to make it easier for businesses to reopen. In June 2020, MAKO Medical partnered with Luminate Health to create a patient portal where patients could access their lab results in real-time. In the same month, the company donated 20,000 COVID-19 test kits to the North Carolina Medical Society.

The COVflu-19 Test

As the company adapted to new demands and challenges, Chad Price MAKO Medical was thinking even further ahead. He knew that he wanted a test that would be both fast and accurate. However, he wanted to do more than offer a standard COVID test: he wanted his test to test for common strains of the flu.

MAKO Medical's COVflu-19 was created to detect Influenza A, Influenza B, and COVID-19 strains. With winter just around the corner and more people headed indoors, the heightened anxieties in North Carolina were justified. This test was designed to answer several questions in a single swab, serving as a one-stop-shop for patients. It can distinguish similar RNA samples from one another, making it possible for people to know what's behind their symptoms.

COVflu-19 provides results within 24 - 48 hours, reducing the amount of time someone needs to spend quarantining or otherwise guessing about their condition. The company's lab can process up to 100,000 tests a day with the help of more than 800 team members. As the numbers continue to rise across the country, there's no doubt that these services will be vital to public health.

MAKO Medical has worked with a number of organizations to get them the testing they need, including government agencies, schools, and providers. This accomplishment has given people the information they need to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Simplifying Technology

The pandemic has had wide-spread effects on every corner of the world, many of which we haven't even begun to feel. Healthcare professionals are rightly worried that COVID-19 has caused people to forego other concerns (e.g., a person might skip a routine physical for fear of catching the virus). Patients might delay cancer screening, which could detect a problem early enough for aggressive eradication. In many practices, doctors saw patient volume drop by up to 70%.

This is a serious problem, but it's not insurmountable. It can be partially solved by having the right technology in place. MAKO Medical saw that many practices needed a cost-effective and simple way to offer telehealth service. Chad Price was able to offer two platforms to providers, one of which was a telemedicine service and the other was mobile messaging. These platforms are HIPAA compliant, easy to use, and free of charge. They quickly became a convenient way for patients to address non-emergency issues.

A New Ordering System

Expediting testing is no easy task, especially when the demand (and the stakes) are so high. Test results that come two weeks after the initial test are essentially useless, and unfortunately, all too common. Everyone has heard nightmare stories of expensive tests that ultimately didn't help protect anyone because the testing process was too slow.

This is why MAKO Medical Laboratories partnered with Medline, a trustworthy supplier to speed up the process. The two companies developed an efficient ordering system that would allow MAKO customers to order tests online. These tests are MAKO branded but shipped from a Medline distribution center.

Once the customer has the supplies, they can collect samples and send them to a MAKO lab for processing. This is essentially an answer to the supply chain problem, allowing for more streamlined operations and a more acceptable turnaround time. 98% of all tests are processed in MAKO's facility in Henderson, North Carolina.

About Chad Price & MAKO Medical

Chad Price MAKO Medical began his company after noticing the multitude of inefficiencies in traditional healthcare. From legacy computer systems to pricing, the industry seemed to put the patient on the lowest possible tier. MAKO Medical was created to do more for patients, shaking up the status quo and forcing practices to adopt better processes. The company has been instrumental in bringing jobs to communities throughout North Carolina. When hiring, MAKO Medical favors veterans and reservists. Service members have the expertise needed to quickly adapt to high-stress situations, making them an invaluable resource in a crisis. In 2020, Forbes named MAKO as one of America's Best Startup Employers for 2020.