Source: Doctor on Demand
Telemedicine business Doctor on Demand has closed a $74 million Series C round, bringing the total it has raised to date to more than $160 million, according to a news release. The new funding comes at a time when reimbursement for telemedicine services is trending more favorably with public and private plans
Princeville Global and Goldman Sachs Investment Partners led the Series C round. Two more new investors, Blue Cloud Ventures and Ridgeview Asset Management, also took part. Among the existing investors that participated were Venrock, Shasta Ventures, Tenaya Capital, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Sherpa Ventures, World Innovation Lab and Sir Richard Branson.
This appears to be the first telemedicine investment for Goldman Sachs Investment Partners. based on the portfolio companies listed on the investment group’s website. Last year, Goldman Sachs invested in Outcome Health in a $500 million Series A round, only to be one of a group of investors to sue the Chicago company over allegations that they were misled about the healthcare educational content company’s business practices. The company later settled with the investors.
Although Doctor on Demand bills itself as an urgent care and mental health service provider, it also offers support for chronic conditions and other areas such as smoking cessation and weight management.
In the past few years, Doctor on Demand has expanded its services through partnerships and as payers have become more supportive of telemedicine companies’ offerings. Earlier this month it formed an alliance with Change Healthcare to order lab tests and refer telehealth patients to nearby labs one year after building the foundation for the service with LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics.
In the aftermath of devastating hurricanes last fall, Doctor on Demand and rival telemedicine provider Teladoc provided free virtual doctor appointments to people hard hit by Harvey and Irma.
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.
Among the insurers that reimburse for Doctor on Demand’s services are Humana, UnitedHealthcare and HarvardPilgrim HealthCare.
