Wisconsin health IT firm MyHealthDIRECT, that describes itself as the nation’s first and only “healthcare scheduling exchange,” has raised $1.5 million in convertible debt, according to a regulatory filing.
The company, founded in 2005, has a browser-based software that can organize and book available appointments in the community into a “searchable and schedulable inventory of healthcare services.”
“It’s based on supply and demand,” explained CEO Tom Cox, in an interview Wednesday.
Hospitals, clinics and other healthcare organizations have an inventory of available appointments and that is matched with patients seeking that appointment.
Cox said the money will be used to expand the size of the network of providers who participate in the company’s scheduling exchange. Customers are either these providers or health plans whose members are seeking appointments. Since the beginning of the year, MyHealthDIRECT has booked 150,000 appointments nationwide.
Cox declined to say how much money the company has raised, excluding this round, but regulatory filings show that it was at least $11.3 million since 2009.
The company has 25 employees and its main competitors are ZocDoc and HealthPost, Cox said.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
[Photo Credit: freedigitalphotos user Salvatore Vuono]
