In a sign that digital health startups in Europe are on the rise, Warsaw-based DocPlanner said it netted $10 million in funding this week, according to a company statement. It was the second such fundraise by a physician scheduling business following UK-based Zesty’s financing this week.
Polish entrepreneur Mariusz Gralewski, who launched in the company in 2012, said the funding would be used to add senior managers, support a move into two new markets this year, and its platform.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development venture capital investment arm led the Series B Round along with angel investor Lukasz Gadowski. Other investors in the round include OLX founder and angel investor Fabrice Grinda, who has also thrown his backing behind Airbnb and Uber. Existing investors Point Nine Capital, Piton Capital, and RTAventures also contributed to the round, the statement said.
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Unlike Zesty, DocPlanner operates in 25 countries across Europe, South America and also includes Indonesia and South Africa. Users can search for and book appointments with some of the more than 1.4 million doctors and dentists on the platform. It includes general practitioners as well as specialists such as cardiologists and neurologists as well as psychiatrists. Aside from physicians, it also includes dentists and psychologists in its pool of medical professionals. The company claims to have 7 million monthly visitors to its website who book 100,000 appointments each month.
Each country’s page is displayed in its national language, so it is really not targeting the medical tourism space. The rating system seems a little questionable, though. I looked up a few countries and chose some random specialties. It took me a long time to find a rating that wasn’t five stars.
In an emailed response to questions, Frost & Sullivan Healthcare IT Senior Research Analyst Shruthi Parakkal said venture investors view digital health startups as a high potential investment area.
“UK, Germany, Netherlands and France are leading markets for digital health startups. Scalable business model is the criteria that most investors look for while choosing to invest in a startup.
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“mHealth, patient monitoring, ePrescribing, appointment booking and Internet of Things are hot areas for investment. Apart from venture capitalists and investors, pharmaceutical companies are also investing in digital health companies to evolve their business model to keep pace with innovation.”
It’s interesting that the company does not yet appear to have a UK presence. A survey published this week by research2guidance in collaboration with HIMSS Europe sees the UK as offering the best market conditions for mobile health app and health IT companies. The report said it used criteria such as health IT adoption, market size, market readiness, and health expenditure.
In addition to the UK, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, and Sweden were also identified by survey participants. On the flip side, 5,000 app developers, healthcare professionals and “mHealth practitioners” came up with the rankings, who may well be based in those same countries.