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When Sucheshna Patil realized she’d developed musculoskeletal injuries on her left hand and wrist, she had no idea it would take five months to schedule her first appointment with an orthopedic specialist. It was during this time the seeds for MobilityZ Health would begin to sprout.
She tried unsuccessfully to access virtual visits through tele-health, but every doctor told her the specific condition she was dealing with required an in-person diagnosis. By the time Patil finally saw a specialist, the damage was irreversible.
“I started wondering why I have to wait for five months to even understand what’s going on with me,” Patil told The Black Wall St. Times.
Forced to quit her job as a biotech researcher, and no longer able to play her favorite sport of Basketball, Patil began to wonder how many other millions of people have suffered due to long wait times.
Now, as one of 12 members of the Fall 2023 class of Tulsa Techstars, Patil is on a mission to help connect patients to specialists sooner through her company MobilityZ.
“We have a software solution that will help millions of people to avoid disability,” Patil said. “After I reached the doctor after five months, he said that ‘you lost 25% functioning because you came in late.'”
MobilityZ Health wants to save patients time
Patil said over 124 million people every year in North America face musculoskeletal injuries.
“And if you see the number of doctors, for every doctor there are 2,000 people waiting in line,” she said.
MobilityZ works by using software technology to diagnose a patient from the comfort of their home. It then connects them with the relevant orthopedic specialist within the company’s network of doctors.
The goal is to drastically cut down wait times and potentially prevent the worsening of the patient’s condition.
Founded in July 2022, Patil said her company has the potential to reach $1 billion. She believes her company solves problems for employers, employees and the entire healthcare industry.
“There is 20 billion lost in health care costs because of the mismanagement workflow that we are repairing right now,” she said.
MobilityZ joins Tulsa Techstars to help patients
As a first-generation Indian immigrant, Sucheshna Patil remains passionate about making a positive impact, not just on health care in the United States, but around the world.
In fact, her company was originally called Humans in Space inc. because she was dedicated to exploring ways to support health care to humans traveling beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
However, after going through her own debilitating journey with musculoskeletal injuries, she quickly realized her mission should embark closer to home.
Nearly 1 in 2 Americans over the age of 18, along with many children, suffer from some form of musculoskeletal bone or joint disorder, according to the U.S. Bone and Joint initiative.
In urban areas, the wait times for a specialist can take months. Meanwhile, roughly 60 million people with a similar disorder reside in rural areas with virtually no access to a specialist.
So, Patil got to work consulting with doctors, patients and employers to learn the best way for MobilityZ to help reduce the bottleneck formed by excessive wait times.
“We have a technological software solution that would help to get the analysis sooner from the comfort of your mobile phone with the app, and you can scan your injury,” Patil said.
The app will the patient whether they need a regular physician or a surgical specialist.
“And if you need it, you can right away get an appointment with a doctor. So we are currently creating an ecosystem where there are orthopedic doctors and there are patients that we are helping them connect as efficiently as possible, cutting the waiting time,” Patil said.
Techstars connects entrepreneurs to investors and partnerships
Founded in Colorado in 2006, Techstars connects entrepreneurs with funding and support. The organization has partner cities across the nation. In 2022, Build in Tulsa launched the city’s first Techstars accelerator program.
Since then, dozens of founders have come through the program.
“Tech Stars is a godsend right now because definitely we’ve become an exception to the value proposition that we are trying to solve in this world, and we have an agenda to help millions of patients at this point,” Patil told The Black Wall St. Times.
Techstars has helped connect her with Walmart, where she seeks to screen employees for any conditions before they need to see a doctor, saving both the patient from excess pain and the employer from excess insurance costs.
Moving forward, she said she wants to make Tulsa the home for MobilityZ Health.
“I want to serve at the place where we can make more impact, and Tulsa needs advanced care for people,” she said.
Building her brand under the backdrop of the original Black Wall Street, Patil sees her journey coming full circle.
“As a female founder, immigrant, first-generation American coming into the U.S. from India, I realized that it’s very similar to back home in India. I grew up in small villages,” she said. “So, definitely I would love to be a part of the Tulsa ecosystem.”
To learn more about MobilityZ, visit mobilityzhealth.com.
To learn more about Tulsa Techstars, visit their website.
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