A Pennsylvania dermatologist has rounded up some new capital to grow his mobile telehealth startup.
Iagnosis, co-founded and led by Dr. Mark Seraly, has closed $2.85 million in angel funding. It’s part of a larger $7.25 million Series A round that included conversion of all existing convertible debt, Iagnosis said in a statement.
The Pittsburgh-based company is working on rolling out its DermatologistOnCall service across the country and will use the capital to continue doing so.
Through an online platform, Iagnosis connects people with board-certified dermatologists who can provide them with a diagnosis and treatment plan for basic skin problems like acne, lice and psoriasis. Users create an account, fill in their brief medical history, answer questions about their condition and upload photos (the company launched a mobile app last year so patients could upload photos from their phone).
Within three business days, they’ll get a treatment plan including prescriptions, if needed, and can communicate with the dermatologist for up to 30 days afterward. Each virtual visit costs $69 out-of-pocket.
Because of the visual nature of dermatology, it’s been a hot area for telemedicine startups, including Direct Dermatology, YoDerm, iDoc24 and DermLink.
But while some states have passed legislation requiring private insurance and Medicaid to cover telehealth services, lack of reimbursement in many areas is still a hurdle to widespread adoption, as is state-by-state licensure for physicians.
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.
Currently Iagnosis’ dermatologists are certified to treat patients in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, District of Columbia, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina and Georgia, but the company plans to expand into several more states this year.
