Health IT, Startups

International growth a priority for physician search and scheduling provider in $30M fundraise

Of all the services from the hospitality industry that are seeping into healthcare, online physician […]

Of all the services from the hospitality industry that are seeping into healthcare, online physician search and scheduling tools have probably been the most popular and widely embraced. The number of companies offering this service are legion. India has experienced a similar trend. But so far, few digital health companies in this subsector have a significant international presence. Practo, the market leader for physician searches in India, does.

It has raised $30 million in a Series B round led by Sequoia Capital and Matrix Partners to expand its service to locations beyond India, Singapore and the Philippines, including Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South Africa, and Latin America, among other priorities.

PE Wire highlighted Practo’s blog post on the financing round. The company was founded in 2008 and boasts 4 million physician searches monthly and 120,000 physician profiles on its website. Among its goals are to expand its physician search engine from six to 35 cities in India and grow its staff from 600 to 1,500 by the end of the year.

In emailed responses to questions, Practo founder and CEO Shashank ND said it’s also open to acquiring companies that have a complementary product and share their vision.

Its search engine algorithm bases results on location and specialty. The search and scheduling tool is offered free of charge to doctors and consumers.

Shashank ND noted that its clinical management software-as-a-service platform to help physician practices transition to electronic medical records — Practo Ray — predates its search and scheduling service by a few years. It also includes a billing component. The idea came about to make it easier to share patient records.

He said the company generates revenue in a few different ways. Tiered subscription for Practo Ray is one. classified ads for doctors is another. The first search result listed in response to a physician search is a sponsored result (similar to Google search) and is clearly labeled. Another product, Practo Tab, offers practice management on a tablet and is designed to simplify patient registration and feedback collection.

Access is the biggest driver of physician search services in India, which has a population of 1.26 billion. The Economic Times Its ratio of doctors to people is 1 per 1,800 people. It is also the second largest mobile market, according to CEO Shashank ND, the CEO and founder. That has been a big help in driving its growth.

“This provided us a strong domestic market. At the same time, mobile and internet penetration is rapidly growing globally as well. We want everyone in the world to be able to find the best doctors and make better healthcare decisions. This is also why we took the decision very early to expand both in India and internationally.”

The Economic Times cites Ziffi, which recently rebranded from Doc Suggest, as its nearest competition. Among Ziffi’s backers are angel investors such as Google India head Rajan Anandan and venture capital firm Orios Venture Partners.

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