Boston-based Bicycle Health has named a new C-suite executive with over a decade of experience driving clinic-based operations to lead the company through its next growth phase.
Earlier this week, the virtual opioid-use disorder (OUD) treatment company hired former One Medical executive Amy Finney as its chief operating officer. She held different roles at One Medical but was ultimately the vice president of operations over her 11-year run at the company.
“At my time at One Medical, I learned how important it is to know what care you want to deliver, have things documented and have an operational and process improvement mindset so you can grow and scale,” Finney told Behavioral Health Business.
At One Medical, Finney led the operations of the company’s roughly 200 clinics. This included in-office care delivery operations, growth and strategic partnerships, new market and office launches, and all other operations. She also led One Medical’s COVID Incident Response Team.
She comes to Bicycle Health during rapid growth and significant changes. The company has grown to 32 states and secured engagements with 51 insurance plans. It has also secured $87.3 million of investor backing, according to crunchbase.com. This includes a $50 million round.
“My background is in health care delivery,” Finney told BHB. “It’s in quick-growing, tech-enabled health care.”
As COO, Finney will focus on establishing operations that allow for more scale at Bicycle Health. She will also have a hand in ensuring care quality in partnership with the company’s chief medical officer, Dr. Brian Clear.
Like many other virtual behavioral health organizations, Bicycle Health is made up of two different entities — one corporation that provides the technology, customer services and other business support for another separate provider organization. In the case of Bicycle Health, it has two provider groups — Bicycle Health Medical Group PA and Bicycle Health Provider Group Inc.
“A health care delivery company is at its strongest when clinical and operations work in lockstep, in close partnership,” Finney said. “We are co-accountable for the care that our patients receive.”
Like other digital behavioral health companies, Bicycle Health is attempting to anticipate and plan for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s final rule on regulating controlled substances prescribed via telehealth. In its proposed rule, the DEA effectively eliminated prescribing Schedule I, II and III drugs via telehealth without a prior in-person examination, with some exceptions.
Bicycle Health spoke out against the rule. Widespread and roundly negative public comments prompted the DEA to delay its rule.
“We have many different plans that we’re considering if that is the case,” Finney said when asked about the DEA potentially reestablishing in-person requirements.
Neither Finney nor CEO Ankit Gupta told BHB how the company would deal with the in-person requirements should they return.
“Our plans for how we want to care for our patients and how we want to grow and expand are independent of the DEA ruling,” Finney said. “We are really proud of our outcomes. We know we are meeting a need and we look forward to growth and change as a leader in this space.”
Gupta told BHB that Bicycle Health strongly advocates for eliminating the in-person exam requirement for OUD treatment.
However, Bicycle Health maintains offices in every state where they operate but does not see patients in them. In April 2022, Gupta told BHB that Bicycle Health would be able to comply with in-person exam requirements “tomorrow” if they returned.
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