Virtual Care Provider Sues 3 Competitors Over Direct-to-Consumer Services

MDSave is accusing three competitors of 'scraping' its website to copy the company's virtual care procedures, pricing, and providers and using that information to steal clients in Texas.

A Tennessee company that provides direct-to-consumer virtual care services has filed suit against three competitors, claiming the companies are trying to steal their patients.

The lawsuit, filed on December 21 in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas, accuses Sesame, Green Imaging and Tripment of “scraping” MDSave’s website to copy the company’s procedures, pricing and providers and using that data on their own sites. It also claims the companies are working together.

“The complaint alleges patent and trademark infringement, violation of the Texas Harmful Access by Computer Act, a penal statute, and a host of other business torts,” MDSave said in a press release. “The complaint alleges that defendants are illegally attempting to usurp MDsave’s business by falsely representing to patients that defendants have contractual relationships and negotiated pricing with the providers listed on defendants’ websites when, in many or most instances, they do not.”

Sesame and Tripment are based in New York, while Green Imaging is based in Houston. The lawsuit focuses on actions taken in Texas, which MDSave says is it’s largest market.

The lawsuit points to the complicated nature of direct-to-consumer (DTC) telehealth, which pits virtual care companies against each other – and against healthcare organizations – to market their services to consumers. Many advertise their own groups of healthcare providers, along with virtual care platforms and pricing options.

DTC telehealth had been growing steadily over the past decade as health systems sought to attract new consumers who didn’t have a primary care provider or who were looking for quick and convenient access to on-demand care. In some cases providers partnered with vendors, either outsourcing their DTC services or working with the vendor on a branded service.

More recently, healthcare organizations have found that they’re competing with telehealth companies health plans and even services offered by the likes of Amazon, Walgreens and Rite-Aid for a growing segment of the population that prefers on-demand healthcare. And they’ve been propelled by a seismic shift from in-person to virtual care, caused by the pandemic.

In its lawsuit, MDSave alleges “widespread intellectual property infringement,” including on software and methods patents related to bundled healthcare services, payments, and reimbursements; construction of healthcare bundles; virtual payment services; transparency pricing methods; and pharmaceutical bundling.

The company launched its platform in 2013 and reportedly offers more than 1,700 services in 36 states, while also partnering with more than 300 hospitals.

According to the lawsuit, MDSave learned in late 2021 that the three companies named were, ”both in concert and individually, to unlawfully appropriate MDSave’s business, including by illegally scraping its website for protected data, infringing its trademarks and patents, and falsely and otherwise unlawfully competing against MDSave.”

“This is abundantly clear because Sesame’s website lists many of the same procedures from the same list of providers as those available on MDSave’s website, including both imaging and non-imaging procedures,” the lawsuit states. “The same is true with respect to Tripment’s website, though limited only to imaging procedures (e.g., MRIs, X-rays, and CAT scans) that Tripment also falsely represents are being provided by Defendant Green Imaging (a national medical imaging provider) when, in fact, they are being offered by other imaging providers with whom MDSave has a relationship and Tripment does not. Because MDSave researched and identified these specific providers and negotiated reduced, upfront rates for specific bundled procedures, there can be no doubt that Sesame and Tripment stole—wholesale—protected data from MDSave’s website, such as the name and location of MDSave’s healthcare partners, lists and descriptions of available bundled services and procedures, MDSave’s negotiated prices, and other information essential to consumers when selecting healthcare.”