New York City-based RubiconMD, which provides an eConsult platform so primary care physicians can connect with specialists, has raised a $13.8 million Series B round.
The round was led by HLM Ventures and Optum Ventures. Centene Corporation, Alma Mundi Ventures, Waterline Ventures, Dioko Health Ventures, Blue Ivy Ventures and the Heritage Medical Systems also participated.
Via email, RubiconMD cofounder and CEO Gil Addo said the money will be used to apply new tech to gain specialist insight from current product infrastructure. It will also help the startup, which operates in 35 states, expand its footprint. Additionally, the Series B will allow it to scale up with a couple of its larger clients.
Addo and COO Carlos Reines founded the New York City company in 2013. Personal experiences with the healthcare system prompted them to create RubiconMD, Addo said. Addo’s grandmother had a tumor and was required to travel between her specialist in Boston and her home in Barbados. Reines’ grandfather had a hearing issue, but there wasn’t a company producing the medical device specifically suited to his needs.
“The problem in both cases wasn’t the absence of a solution, but the inability to seamlessly access specialized care,” Addo said. “After working together at an MIT healthcare hackathon, we realized there was an opportunity to remove the greatest barrier to specialized care — access — and allow patients to work with their primary care providers to receive care in their own communities.”
Thus, they developed the startup’s digital platform. Through it, PCPs can share anonymized patient data with specialists. The primary care doctors can then get an eConsult with the specialist to gain additional insight and determine the best course of action based on the patient’s needs. The startup has facilitated consults across 150 specialties.
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.
“Our goal has always been to empower primary care providers by unlocking medical expertise and we’re excited to continue leading that charge by creating efficiencies for healthcare at large,” Addo said.
Back in 2014, RubiconMD raised $1.3 million from investors including Oxeon Investments and athenahealth. It raked in a $4 million Series A round in 2016. The Series A, which was led by Waterline Ventures, was used to add new products, expand its customer base and harness data collection.
The company has taken part in both athenahealth’s More Disruption Please program and Blueprint Health’s accelerator.
At the beginning of 2017, RubiconMD announced it hired a chief clinical transformation officer, Dr. J. Nwando Olayiwola, to establish a West Coast office.
Photo: D3Damon, Getty Images
