Health IT company RubiconMD thinks way too many people are seeing specialists needlessly. The early stage company takes the view that by providing a more efficient way for primary care physicians to do specialist consults, patients could benefit and fewer would need to see a specialist themselves. It sees it as a way to cut back on unnecessary healthcare costs.
The company, which graduated from Blueprint Health’s accelerator earlier this year, has raised $1.3 million to provide its service to accountable care organizations. RubiconMD received funding from Boston-based Waterline Ventures, Oxeon Investments, and practice management software giant Athenahealth as well as a group of strategic angels that includes the former chairman and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida and the outgoing CEO of Henry Ford Medical Group.
In a phone interview with CEO and co-founder Gil Addo, he said the fundraise will allow the company to hire staff to support and build its customer base. He added that it sees accountable care organizations as a good fit for its platform. “This funding will help us reach more people and provide more services.”
Addo said the company also has a presence in Watertown, Massachusetts, thanks to becoming part of athenahealth’s More Disruption Please program.
Using RubiconMD’s platform, primary care physicians can identify specialists for consults based on ratings, cost and experience. It allows them to share relevant patient information with specialists and receive opinions and recommendations based on that data, to help primary care physicians make more informed decisions about patient care.
A report published two years ago showed an upward trend of increased referrals to specialists, leading to unnecessary medical tests and higher healthcare costs. RubiconMDs approach touches on a national debate on approaches to keeping healthcare costs down. Supporters of platforms like RubiconMD see them as a way to reduce healthcare costs. But critics argue that it would be safer for specialists to examine patients themselves as they have more time and, in potentially complex cases like the one used on RubonMD’s wesbite, they could prescribe tests and diagnose problems more efficiently.
