Residents of major U.S. metropolitan areas seeking a cardiologist should brace themselves for an anticipated wait of no less than a month for an appointment.
Additionally, those in rural locales might find themselves driving several hours to reach the nearest heart specialist, as almost half of U.S. counties lack any cardiologists altogether.
This disparity in access is the challenge that Claire Beskin, a product of Northeastern University’s Roux Future of Healthcare Founder Residency in Portland, Maine, is ardently striving to address with her telehealth cardiology initiative, Empallo.
Beskin has committed the past three years to developing an innovative paradigm for cardiac care delivery, culminating in the launch of Empallo in January.
Recently, she was honored by Northeastern’s Women Who Empower as one of the inaugural Innovator Fellows during the 2025 Innovator Awards. This nine-month fellowship offers mentorship, global networking opportunities, and venture support, concluding with a presentation at the 2026 Northeastern Global Leadership Summit in London.
“I am profoundly grateful for all of the experiences that I’ve gained through Northeastern,” Beskin reflects. “They have fostered an extraordinary entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
A Personal Story Behind a Startup
From a young age, Beskin aspired to become a physician, nurtured by numerous family discussions revolving around medical topics.
“I recognized that delivering care is immensely fulfilling,” she notes. “Yet, it increasingly seems that healthcare providers spend more time navigating complex regulations, avoiding legal pitfalls, and securing insurance reimbursements than actually providing care.”
Ultimately, Beskin opted for an alternative career trajectory. Her professional journey led her through finance at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong and management consulting at the Boston Consulting Group, where she identified the transformative potential of startups through an internship.
Tragedy struck when her grandmother succumbed to undiagnosed heart failure.
“The abruptness and misdiagnosis of her condition illuminated a critical area of need,” she says. “This experience significantly influenced my path towards Empallo.”
Virtual Clinic with Faster Access
Empallo operates as a fully virtual clinic, utilizing a proprietary electronic health record system along with an intuitive online platform. It grants patients access to cardiologists capable of diagnosing and managing various heart conditions, encompassing arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, hypertension, and vascular disorders.
“We developed a product,” Beskin explains. “However, we primarily offer a service—providing cardiac care.”
Empallo distinguishes itself by providing appointments within days and extending visit durations by 30% to 50% relative to conventional practices. This efficiency arises from automating administrative functions such as scheduling, billing, and referrals, thereby maximizing clinicians’ time with patients.
“We prioritize ample opportunity for patient education regarding their conditions and the diverse options available, alongside the advantages and disadvantages of each,” Beskin articulates.
“Research indicates that patients desire to be heard, even amid the surge of artificial intelligence. Healthcare remains profoundly human, and patients seek genuine emotional connections with providers.”
She asserts that earlier diagnoses lead to significantly improved health outcomes and reduced costs, as reactive cardiac treatments are often both expensive and largely avoidable.
Innovative Clinicians
Empallo entices physicians and nurse practitioners by offering flexible scheduling options. Providers can select shifts on an hourly basis, with some choosing to scale back their commitments at traditional practices to accommodate more hours at Empallo.
“We are attracting pioneering clinicians eager to enhance patient care,” she expresses.
Despite its virtual framework, the clinic delivers the comprehensive services typical of a conventional cardiology office: it requests medical records, manages medication orders, places lab orders, sends home sleep apnea tests, facilitates at-home heart monitoring, coordinates Echo, CT, and MRI imaging, and supplies durable medical equipment such as CPAP machines. The clinic is also establishing a referral network state-by-state.
“We manage all testing logistics, ensuring results flow back to us for accurate diagnosis and treatment,” Beskin clarifies.
Most patients discover Empallo through direct-to-consumer marketing, though the clinic is now receiving referrals as well. It accepts a multitude of major insurance plans and affords reasonable self-payment options for uninsured or out-of-network patients.
Appointments can be scheduled in Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, and Alabama, with operations set to commence in Texas and expansion planned for New Jersey and New York in 2026.
Empallo employs a compact team of six full-time staff, facilitating swift advancements based on user input.
“We refresh our portals on a weekly, if not daily, basis,” Beskin confirms.
Sometimes You Need to Pivot
At the inception of the Roux Future of Healthcare Founder Residency in 2023, Beskin’s business model diverged from its current form. Her original intent revolved around selling automation technology to hospitals, aiming to enhance healthcare providers’ job satisfaction.
“It’s vital to create something you are passionate about, as you will undeniably encounter numerous rejections. Prepare for these ‘noes’—let them strengthen you rather than deter you,” she advises.
“Constructive criticism can guide you toward more prosperous directions. Thoughtful ‘noes’ can indeed be advantageous.”
The year-long residency encompassed a $50,000 investment, alongside curated programming, mentorship, and institutional backing in exchange for an equity share.
This initiative was financed by Northern Light Health and MaineHealth, two prominent healthcare entities in Maine, as well as the Maine Venture Fund.
“The program was extraordinarily well-executed,” Beskin reflects. “And its benefits extend beyond a single year. I often find myself at Roux, collaborating with fellow founders—the startup community they’ve cultivated in Portland is undeniably vibrant.”
This residency has ushered in myriad opportunities through Northeastern, including recruitment of co-op students and participation in the Women Who Empower Innovator Awards.
Ultimately, Beskin acknowledged that her initial concept of integrating technology within established healthcare systems was unsustainable due to various factors, including institutional inertia and political complexities.
In 2024, upon returning to the drawing board with guidance from residency leaders Elena Brondolo and Allyson Barker, a decisive pivot towards a virtual telehealth model was made.
“We recognized that vertical integration would expedite our progress and enhance our efficacy,” Beskin states.
Source link: News.northeastern.edu.
