Despite cervical cancer being nearly 100% preventable through routine screening, almost one in three U.S. women are behind, and the numbers have been moving in the wrong direction for a decade. Kara Egan, CEO and Co-Founder of Teal Health, left a career as a health tech investor to fix one of the most overlooked gaps in women's preventive care. In May 2025, Teal received the only FDA authorization for at-home cervical cancer screening, and just seven months later had scaled to all 50 states. In this conversation, Kara breaks down what it actually takes to redesign a screening process that hasn't meaningfully changed in 80 years, how regulatory alignment and updated clinical guidelines are reshaping the landscape, and what at-home diagnostics signal for the future of preventive care and women's health access broadly.
Kara Egan, CEO and Co-Founder, Teal Health
Megan Antonelli, CEO, HealthIMPACT Live
00:00:00 Intro: Welcome to Digital Health talks. Each week we meet with healthcare leaders making an immeasurable difference in equity, access and quality. Hear about what tech is worth investing in and what isn't as we focus on the innovations that deliver. Join Megan Antonelli, Janae Sharp and Shahid Shah for a weekly no BS deep dive on what's really making an impact in healthcare.
00:00:29 Megan Antonelli: Hi everyone. Welcome to Digital Health Talks. This is Megan Antonelli, CEO of Health Impact Live. And I am so excited to be here today with Kara Egan. She is the CEO and co-founder of Teal Health, the company behind the first and only FDA authorized at home cervical cancer screening. Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers we have, and yet women are still dying from it. Kara is working to change that by rethinking not just the device, but the entire care journey around it. Let's get into what's actually working. Hi, Kara. How are you today?
00:01:01 Kara Egan: Good. Thanks so much for having me.
00:01:03 Megan Antonelli: Yeah, it's great to meet you and and really learn more about this. You know, I think, um, as a woman and as a, as we focus a lot, often frequently on women's health here at, at health impact was so excited to learn about teal health and, and you know, the success you've been having there. Tell us a little bit about, you know, your, your founder's story and, and how you got to, um, where you are with teal health.
00:01:27 Kara Egan: Yeah. Um, so yeah, so for me, I've always been really passionate about women's health. I started my career investing in health tech. Um, but then I think it really came to light when I was, you know, experiencing healthcare for myself, right? Whether that was going through fertility or having a baby. And I just sort of realized there were so many parts of it that were really broken and not really factoring in all of the kind of technology and modern communication or experiences that we had. And so I'd been really passionate about women's health, and I got connected with my co-founder, um, who had created the first prototype of a self-collection device. And so when I met him, I was like, oh my gosh, this is just one of another example of a bad user experience for a woman in healthcare. Um, but the other thing that it was able to do is really bring health care, increase access, but bring it to telehealth, right? Like bring it into the home. And in the early days of investing, I saw like firsthand how important telehealth could be for both access and experience. But then it wasn't until Covid that I think everyone really understood what it could do. So we teamed up and redesigned the whole thing. So again, like part of our thing is like, you know, let's really think about what a woman wants and really actually listen to her. Like that's really fundamental to teal. Like, let's survey, ask, engage her in the process. And so we worked really closely with a company called idea, um, to really redesign the whole wand and experience and unboxing and just kind of bring like beauty and empathy and experience to the forefront of healthcare again.
00:02:53 Megan Antonelli: Oh, that's amazing ideas, a great company. We, um, have talked about them and sort of their design thinking and their work that they've done for years. Um. That's great. I didn't realize that. And tell us a little bit about in terms of the, the process, um, you know, I think the cervical cancer screening process, we're all very overly maybe too familiar with it, at least I hope we are, um, you know, and it hasn't changed much in, in many years when you started to sort of look into what the barriers are, what the experience is like, what were some of the things that you uncovered that that kind of you brought to the development process?
00:03:29 Kara Egan: Yeah. I mean, I think like, obviously no one enjoys the experience of the speculum and the stirrups, but to your point of like kind of really looking at the whole experience and like, what, what were the problems people were having? It turns out that yes, no one looks forward to the speculum and stirrups. And so they're not necessarily prioritizing that visit. But the reality is it's really hard to get that visit. So we just have this massive shortage of OB gyns. Half of US counties doesn't have an ob gyn to deliver a baby, let alone provide women specific care. Right. And so the first major problem is you just can't get the visit right. And so if there is a visit available, then it's kind of like, does it fit into your schedule? And I don't know about you, but I'm guessing you're very busy and almost every woman I know is incredibly busy. So now you have to align two almost impossible calendars. Um, and then the third being, no one liked it. So we sort of just looked at all of that and instead of just saying it's only about the wand, it's kind of like, how do we make sure that this can be accessible to more women? And so whether that's coming directly to teal on our website or partnering with health systems and provider groups to make sure that they can help prescribe it and get it to more women. Um, but really, we kind of like looked at the whole thing. And a big part of it is access, right? We just don't, they can't find the appointments and we don't have the time. And so making it as easy as possible to just get screened.
00:04:42 Megan Antonelli: That's great. Yeah. No, um, months and months and then God forbid you miss it. And then then months and months again. Right. So yeah. And that's lucky, right? I've lived in New York and San Francisco and LA and I still have access issues. So just speaking from a personal experience.
00:04:58 Kara Egan: It doesn't matter where you are. Like, I think everyone thinks it's rural. It's not all rural like in New York, like women are like, I was pregnant and I could not find a doctor that took insurance, right? Like it was like they can't find them, right? Like, it's just, it's a problem no matter where you live.
00:05:12 Megan Antonelli: Right. So tell us a little bit about in terms of the, I mean, the diagnostic, the, you know, how does it work? What's the, the clinical validation process around it? What have you guys, um, you know, because I imagine that was pretty extensive.
00:05:25 Kara Egan: Yeah. It was so we had a sixteen site nationwide clinical trial. Um, for us, it's incredibly important that women can trust it as they should. And really it's that women can trust it, but also can doctors trust it if they're going to be the ones referring it or writing prescriptions for it. So, um, the way it worked, we had a sixteen site clinical trial. The way the teal one works is you insert it, um, and just slide up the, the sponge. And it's a really soft sponge. Like you can squeeze it. It's almost like a makeup brush, makeup sponge, and you just rotate ten times and that's all it takes to collect a sample. And then you put it in the vial and then send it to the lab, and then it's run on the exact same assay that's used in the doctor's office. So we run it on the Roche Cobas. And so through the clinical trial, what we were able to show is that it had the exact same accuracy as the doctor. So we detected Syne2 as what it's called, sensitivity for Syne2 with ninety six percent, which matched the doctor exactly at ninety six. So for us, it's just really nice for women to have just like that simple clarity of it's the same test that's used in the doctor's office. It's the same accuracy as the doctor's office, but it's just more comfortable and convenient. So in our clinical trial, we also kind of surveyed around, um, preferences. So ninety four percent of women prefer teal to the standard of care, ninety seven percent said it was easy or very easy to use, and eighty four percent said there'd be more likely to screen if teal was an option. So these were kind of like, you know, all the numbers we could have possibly hoped for, um, in terms of accuracy and just kind of preference for teal.
00:06:55 Megan Antonelli: Yeah. Wow. So and then in terms of, um, insurance and coverage. Were you able to, you know, show that and get it? Yes.
00:07:04 Kara Egan: So this is like the best thing. It's so it's funny because we just came through the FDA in May and you think like the best thing that happened this past year was that. But now I'm like, actually we have a new best thing. Um, so we got on the Health and Human services guidelines, the Hrsa guidelines, and as part of those guidelines, they said that you have to cover private insurance as part of the Affordable Care Act. They have to cover at home collection, um, with no cost sharing. So a big part of back to like the access one piece is do, can you find the appointment? But the other is, you know, can you pay for it? Do they take insurance? Like, is there any out of pocket costs? And so the whole thing about the Affordable Care Act and these preventive care codes is making it so that it's, um, effortless really to like, there's, there's no financial friction, let's put it that way. There's still effort to get to the doctors a lot of times, but there's no financial friction to get these screenings or stay healthy. And so starting January first, twenty seven, all insurance is required to pay for it. So it means women have no co-pay, no hit to their deductible, no co-insurance. It's just covered. So that's kind of what we're working on now going around to all of the major. We're starting with the major payers first, but we'll get to everyone. And the idea of just making it so everyone can get it right.
00:08:15 Megan Antonelli: Yeah. That's amazing. So to go back to the FDA authorization that you guys got, um, in May, I guess may, May last year. Um, so that must be, I mean, that was huge. And that is huge. Tell us a little bit about kind of that process and what, you know, what was involved in that in terms of.
00:08:34 Kara Egan: Yeah. So I mean, that was, as I said, it was a sixteen site nationwide clinical trial. The other thing that was really important to us was making sure we really mapped to the US population. So a lot of times, um, there's bias in studies, you know, there's bias in studies where women were included in some of the studies until, you know, roughly thirty years ago. So for us, we just wanted to make sure that we really mapped the demographics of the US. And so that was racial diversity. That was also geographic diversity. That was income education. And so we were really proud of how much we were able to kind of map it to the US census data more or less. Um, and so that took a little bit of time, but what we actually were impressed with, with our clinical trial is that like women wanted to be a part of it. So anecdotally, um, when we asked our PiS to all of our sites, like when you ask a woman to be a part of the trial, how often did they say yes? And they said eighty percent of women asked, said they wanted to be a part of the trial. So like women want to be parts of trials, right? Like women want healthcare designed for them. Like we just offered, like no one's doing it or no one's inviting us into the trials. And so it actually went really, really quickly. Um, we also halfway through submitted for the breakthrough device designation. So that is kind of the FDA's stamp to say, hey, look, this is so important to public health that we want to make sure it's on an accelerated path through the FDA. So based on kind of like the strength of our interim data and the importance of we have in the US a real crisis. So, um, it's coming up on close to one in three women are currently behind on their screening. And cervical cancer is entirely preventable through screening. So, um, the FDA also was like, this is incredibly important. So we kind of have that nice perfect marriage of women were excited to be a part of it. The data was really, really strong and there was strong, um, support by the institutions to make sure that, you know, as soon as this could be available safely to women, it was right.
00:10:31 Megan Antonelli: You know, and that's what we kind of have this conversation so often with devices and, and kind of, you know, how we, whether it's wearables or any kind of digital health tool where the consumer or potentially the employer or which, you know, we're, we're always looking for the, the mechanism to fit. And I always say, well, if you hit all three, then you then you've definitely got a winner, right? You know, if the, if the patient wants it, if the health system wants it, you know, and the payers want it, then then you win, you know.
00:10:58 Kara Egan: And it's so rare to find that. I mean, it's funny, I used to be an investor, so I'm always like, this is the trifecta. And usually you get one or two, you don't get all three. And again, I think the reason why we have all three is some some of it's negative, right? Like we have a crisis. So everyone is like, we've got to find a new way. Um, but the reality is, like, everyone believes that there should be more access to screening, right? Like payers want it. Women want it. Providers want it. Right?
00:11:24 Megan Antonelli: Right. So let's talk a little bit in terms of, um, just going back to the, the design of it and kind of getting the, you know, I think a lot of the time when we talk about women's health, I mean, you said the women wanted to be part of the, the trial. They wanted to be there. But in involving people in the design, I mean, what what went behind that? Like, tell us a little bit about how, you know, even working with Ido and that kind of, um, element of, of kind of building this product for women, um, getting their, their input on it.
00:11:53 Kara Egan: Yeah, absolutely. So it was so important. Um, and again, we really emphasized a a lot of diversity in the feedback that we got there too, whether that was physical limitations, sexual preferences. I'm trying to think if we did, um, education level. I don't know if we like specified on income, but, um, we really care to make sure that everyone was kind of represented with what we designed. And for me, I have this concept, like, I feel like there's like user design that's like intuitive and easy and natural. And I think we nailed that. Like, it's funny, I have two young boys. And so I think like one of them was like maybe three when this happened. And it's like, you put this wand in his hand and like your thumb naturally is like slide, rotate, slide. You know, you just, it's what you think to do with it. So there's an element of the design that's really about like comfort, um, and like ease. And so it has a similar profile of a tampon. Um, the way it works is you insert it as far as is comfortable for you. So it's designed for all body types. So if you have a longer vaginal canal or what have you, um, it is just easy for you to put it in, and then you just go as far as comfortable and that's all you need to do. But for me, there's also this element of kind of like design, like empathetic design, like how do you feel when you use the product? Right? Like, do you feel cared for? Do you feel more in control? Do you feel proud that you engaged in your health in this way? And I think for us, like that's a big part of teal. Like we just kind of think that women should feel good when they're experiencing their health care. And so one of the things that was most interesting for me was when you open the box, we have this line that says, welcome to a more comfortable cervical cancer screening, easy, accurate, and collected in minutes. Right. And we tested this like line with over three hundred women. And just things that you wouldn't have expected were it would be like, say hello. And women would be like, don't tell me what to say. You know, it was just, it was like, when you actually listen, you're like, so much of how we market to women. So if you're modeling what you're seeing out there, you're like, no, this is what works. And you're like, did you ask her? Because she finds that incredibly annoying? Like, yes, she still might use that product, but like, she doesn't like how you said that. So for us, like we actually do try to like, you know, really factor in everything. Like how do you, when you open this box, like, do you feel welcomed? Do you feel ready? Because, you know, with teal, we like to say like you're, it's private, but you're never on your own. Right? And so we have clinicians that will explain how it works. We have customer support, we have videos. But the idea is like, we want to make sure that like when you get this kit, you feel motivated to take the full screening. So, um, for us, like it doesn't really stop. Like I always talk about Idaho and Idaho was so amazing for us and with us. And really, I think embodied or infused. Is that the right word? Like imbued? Is that a word? I don't know, maybe is now, is now. Imbued. It imbued. Yes. There we go. Imbued. It imbued this sense of like, design and thoughtfulness and user engagement from the start of teal. But like we, we factored in everywhere, like we factored in in terms of, you know, the digital product and, you know, what are the prompts we're using? What are the words we're using? Like it didn't stop with just the design of the wand. Like it's. Our team is constantly.
00:15:03 Megan Antonelli: So tell me in terms of they, they do the test, they do the self collection, they send it. What's the, what happens next? What's the.
00:15:11 Kara Egan: Yeah. Okay. So you come to teal, you fill in a short eligibility and registration. You get matched with clinician. She'll make sure that you're eligible for the screening, which is really if you're eligible for standard screening in the doctor's office, like you don't have a past history of cervical cancer. Um, then you get sent the kit on average, it takes less than five minutes to screen. And like I said, the actual screening itself is just sliding this ten times. So less than five minutes, five minutes of it being like undressing and putting the stuff back in the mail. Um, we give you everything that you need to send it back into the lab. It's run at a LabCorp lab. Um, so it's run in the exact same labs that are used in the doctor's office. Then when the results come back, our clinicians review them and release them. If you have an abnormal result, we will then schedule another telehealth visit with you where we explain the results and explain your next steps. Because a screening is only as successful as it's triage. So if you have a next step, you need to be doing it. The other nice thing that happened with the change of the guidelines is that all of those next steps are also have no cost associated. So we saw this with colorectal screening where the screening was free. But when you come back in for the next step, there's cost. And so there's a massive drop off. As soon as they got rid of that, the adherence increased dramatically. And so this is the first two thousand and twenty seven will be the first time all of those subsequent like the biopsies, the colposcopies are all covered with no cost sharing. So we're kind of, you know, explain what the importance of the next steps help set a woman's ease about like what it actually looks like. Also, just like what it means to have an abnormal result. It doesn't mean that you have cancer necessarily, like almost even if you have high risk HPV. The idea is if you're screening and staying on top of it, it'll never turn into cancer, right? So kind of setting her mind at ease, but making sure she takes the follow up, um, and then helping write that referral in. And so for us, one of the things that we find is, you know, it might be based on insurance, it might be based on next available appointment, or it could be based on trauma informed. So many women have had sexual or birth trauma. Um, and so it's really important for them to have providers that understand that, especially when they're coming in for something so like sensitive or um, yeah, sensitive. So, um, we match with that as well. So that's kind of how we think about it.
00:17:22 Megan Antonelli: That's great. And in terms of how they get it, is it, are you marketing to consumers? Are you marketing through physicians?
00:17:30 Kara Egan: Yeah, we do both. So, um, it's actually been back to like that trifecta. Um, it's been really amazing to see how many doctors right out of the gates. We're like, when can I use this? Can I have it? Like I want to make sure my patients have it? Like we would have thought that they would have been a little bit slower because typically it does take a little while for something to roll out. But I think that they all really understand, like women don't enjoy this part of the exam. Um, and even for doctors, they're kind of like, hey, look, like when I'm having to do this and a woman comes in, she's either only thinking about this. So a lot of what you want in the visit is conversation, like, how are you doing? How's your health? Like let's, you know, really understand what's going on with you. And so a woman actually kind of is more closed when she knows that's coming. Or if you try to do it in the beginning, a woman's like, get me out of here. Like this just happened, right? So for them, they're like, it gives me more time to be with my patients. It allows me to make sure my patients are getting the best experience for themselves with the cervical cancer screening. So we have been really impressed with how many doctors like wanted to work with us right away. So the way that we do it is we have direct to consumer today. And then we're partnering with provider groups, we're working with health systems. And then the big unlock of making it easier to work with providers is the insurance coverage. Because for a lot of them, most of their patients do care about costs. And so to have like a kit fee on top of it is a little bit more challenging. And so it's been really wonderful to not only see the initial reaction, but knowing that in twenty seven, we'll be able to make it much easier for everybody to use it.
00:18:54 Megan Antonelli: Now, this is I mean, in terms of like a lot of the reasons we go to the ObGyn every year is for that test. Now, how do you how how will or how do you think guidelines will change as a result of that? Yeah. Is it a, you know, what's the what's what's your vision of how that happens?
00:19:12 Kara Egan: Well, I mean, honestly, I feel like most doctors are like, there's so much more to the visit, but that's what women often think of as part of the visit. Right? And so even the way the guidelines have changed in the past is depending on the type of screening you do, you don't need a cervical cancer screening for another five years, but you still should be seeing your doctor, right? And I think when we think about women's health and these major gaps that we're seeing in women's health around menopause or perimenopause. Part of it is because they need to be having these visits where your doctor is listening to you, talking to you about your body changes, getting you set up for what's coming, making sure we stay ahead of any hormone treatment or whatever we should be using. So I think it's going to lead to better conversations and really kind of addressing some of the bigger pieces of what's challenging for a woman while, you know, keeping women healthy and screened. So I think I think it's going to be good.
00:19:58 Megan Antonelli: Right? Yeah. And, and ultimately as a partner in this and as an additional, you know, sort of channel for information as and as you said, you know, replacing some of that time of that limited appointment that it is so hard to get, um, with more conversation and then the need to kind of refer that follow up to talk about it in terms of sort of what's next for teal? Are there other diagnostics? Is there a broader telehealth play? What are the what's the thinking there?
00:20:27 Kara Egan: Everybody, everyone always goes right to that. I'm like guys like, I just got through the FDA. You know, we're like early days. I appreciate how much everyone wants us to solve. But, uh, you know, right now it's like, let's just make sure everyone gets screened. Um, and then I think back to like, we will listen to the patients, right? So does she need more access to cancer treatments or does or cancer screening? So for example, in some states, you can't get your mammogram or your colorectal without having that first in-person appointment. And again, if it's really hard to find that in-person appointment or you missed it. Like, there was one year that I was helping my mother with her health care and she missed her appointment. And like, they were like, we don't have another one for a year. And you're like, what? Right. But in that setting, like you actually have to go to that appointment and then you have to go to your mammogram or a colonoscopy or to a cologuard or fit kit at home. So I think we can help increase screenings. Um, I think again, back to like, as we listen to women and what's kind of going on with them in terms of their health, we'll find other ways to support her and make sure she stays healthy in a way that's convenient and modern. Uh, but yeah, really, first things first.
00:21:31 Megan Antonelli: Yes. Well, it is, I mean, but it is. It's so impressive that not only you passed that FDA hurdle and now the insurance hurdle seems like it's, you know, going in your favor. So that's great. Um, and so it is, you know, a little bit of what's next, but that's exciting. And it is, um, I think access. And then I also think globally, right. So do you have a global strategy as well?
00:21:52 Kara Egan: Yeah. We do. Um, again, it's so funny. I'm like, everyone's like Japan, UK, Canada. And I'm like, guys like again, fifty states just happened for us in January, you know, like we have sixty six million women. We've got to get screened first here. Um, but it is, I mean, it is amazing. Like when you're sitting here saying like, of course people are asking next year, like, yes. And it is cool when something resonates this strongly with people, when it solves the need. So well, you do want to bring it to more places. So it's interesting when you think about other cultures or communities, um, or countries, uh, one, you have to get through various FDA, their versions of the FDA. But again, our data is pretty great, so we should be fine there. Um, but then there's some interesting design components, right? Like you actually have to think about their mailboxes and their mail system. And so, uh, we'll get there, but it will probably like, you know, what fits in, you know, this slot size or this other, uh, it's just interesting. You don't like we're so little things that you wouldn't think were so like national, right? Uh, someone will just say like, that's not how we do the mail there. And you're like, oh, okay. Right. Well, we can figure that out. Don't worry. But there's some changes that have to happen, too.
00:23:00 Megan Antonelli: Yeah. And we, you know, we think about access and all of that, but those, those sort of, I think, you know, healthcare is so complex and the cultural and, and, um, you know, what's what is available, but it's an exciting time, I think in women's health. I think there's been so many, um, you know, the discussions, sort of the glow up of menopause and that it is sort of it's a dinner table conversation now where maybe five, ten years ago it wasn't. And that there are a number of channels to of which, you know, we're getting that information and access, um, to give, uh, companies like teal and, and devices like teal a better, you know, so many channels for distribution, which is.
00:23:38 Kara Egan: Yeah, yeah. I also think there's so much of women's health that we've like told society has told us we're not comfortable talking about. And you're like, have you met a woman? Like, have you ever sat with us talking to each other? Like we talk to each other about everything, right? Like that's your like overlay of how I want to talk about women's health. Like, I actually want to talk about women's health very openly and very commonly. And so I agree, I think like we're just seeing more of that come out and like more of these companies just kind of like own it, right? And be like, this is how we talk about women's health. And there's like, there's like, to me, I'm like, I don't even like when people are kind of like taboo. I'm like, it's not taboo. Like I would never say to you, it's okay to brush your teeth. Like I would never, it's okay. I just wouldn't I be like, you should brush your teeth, you know, like you should get, you should get a cervical cancer screening. Like not like it's okay to self screen at home. It's like, of course it is, right? Like it's okay. Like, I don't know. So for us, there's kind of this thing of like back to like, how do you feel when you use teal? It's like you should feel proud, right? Like there is like there is nothing other than like good woman energy, right? Coming when you use teal.
00:24:43 Megan Antonelli: Yeah. No, absolutely. And I, I mean, I think that the, even when you go back to the, the stirrups and the actual ob gyn appointments of, of what, you know, why In some ways those are not necessarily taboo. But something we don't talk about is because they have, in fact not been designed by or for someone who cares about patient experience at all. I won't even say it's it's women or not. Yeah, yeah.
00:25:08 Kara Egan: No, no. Yeah. We just get used to it, right? We're kind of like, oh, that's how it's done. But you're like, again, like when you unpack a few of these places and it's like, if the goal of this meeting was to have someone feel trust and open up about stuff like this piece of it had the opposite effect, right? And so let's design for like what we want that woman's annual visit to look like, which is more of a conversation, more of opening up about what you're experiencing. And let's have a cervical cancer screening, do what it needs to do, which is make sure as many people as possible get screened, you know?
00:25:39 Megan Antonelli: Right. Of course. Um, so one of the things that we talk about, we always focus on the five good things. And we talk about sort of what's good in healthcare. So as you look at kind of the, the landscape, whether it's cervical cancer or, um, you know, kind of cancer, you know, eliminating cancer or even more broadly in digital health. What's, you know, what do you see on the horizon that is giving, you know, sort of making you excited about working in this space and sort of confidence that change is happening and good things are coming.
00:26:07 Kara Egan: Yeah. Um, I think for me, one of the things that I often think about working in women's health is just like how actually supportive all women's health companies are of each other, right? Um, like I came out of the VC world. And so you're always kind of like, oh, there's only one. Like there's one winner and you're like, again, one winner of fifty two percent of all health care costs. Like, I don't think that's going to be the case, right? Like that's not the case right now. And we have huge companies, right? Like, so it's kind of like this misnomer that there's only one and that somehow we're like all fighting for the same thing. And really we're all like, hey, let's give as many women as many things as she can have because she has been like, forgotten for too long. So for me, the thing that stands out is like, what's been so great is like, we all just want to support each other, right? Like we're all like, hey, that's great. I want my patients to know about this, right? And whether you're a telehealth company or an ob gyn, like we have just been met with such great reception. And I think that that is happening across a lot of women's health where we have the same patient or customer, but she needs all of these things. It's not competitive. Right? Um, we've got to stay healthy and we've got to make sure she knows all the things that are because again, they're, they're coming out faster now, but they weren't around before. So like, to your point, like how, how can you share at your dinner table party conversation about what you're finding? Right? And it's been cool for me because I'm out here in telehealth world and my friends back in Boston will be like, I've heard of Mindy. Have you heard of Mindy? I'm like, of course I've heard of Mindy. Right. But it's like, but it's funny because I'm like, oh, I mean, I guess maybe I mostly heard of me because first it's telehealth for me, but like it's making its rounds to, you know, all women. And so I just think we all are way more supportive. Um, yeah, about expanding the market, expanding the awareness of each other and just like making sure we're everything she needs.
00:27:53 Megan Antonelli: Yeah. I think it's sort of the, um, you know, to go to our boating analogy, you know, the rising tide raises all boats, right. And, and I think that that, that momentum there and the attention there means that people have become aware of what's available to them, which is half the battle, if not more. Right. So speaking of how, how do both our audience who are health system leaders, but also largely women who get these tests every year, um, how do they, how do they go about finding you and finding the, the, the, the device?
00:28:25 Kara Egan: Yes. So I mean, obviously, if you're just a patient who wants to use teal, you can come to get teal dot com and we're in fifty states and have all the major insurance covered for the telehealth side. Um, if you're a health system, also, you can just reach out to us. We have a form on the website as well because we are a health system or health ecosystem player. Um, because we do want to partner, we can't do this alone, right? Like there's sixty six million women that need to be screened and close to a third of them are behind like we do this together. So reach out because we're rolling out programs all the time with groups to make sure we can increase access.
00:29:02 Megan Antonelli: Awesome. Well, I, I am sure they will. Thank you so much for joining us. It's great to learn about this. Always awesome to meet other female entrepreneurs working in this space and also seeing so much success. So, um, we're excited to, to kind of amplify this on our channels, uh, to our audience. Um, you know, if this conversation resonated with you, share it with, with someone who needs to hear it as well. Subscribe. This is how we, you know, close the gap in women's health. And thanks again, Cara, for being here. Um, if you're not already following digital health talk, subscribe now, wherever you listen to podcasts and visit us on Health Impact live to stay connected to the conversations shaping the future of healthcare. This is Megan Antonelli signing off.
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