Startups, Telemedicine, Health Tech

Doctor On Demand raises $75M, plans to build out virtual primary care

Telehealth startup Doctor on Demand raised $75 million in a series D round led by General Atlantic. The company plans to use the funds to build out its virtual primary care offering,

Doctor On Demand CEO Hill Ferguson hadn’t originally planned to raise funding this year. But seeing an influx of new users after the Covid-19 pandemic hit, he decided the time was right.

“We were just scrambling to meet demand and sign on new clients. We were in this rapid expansion mode that really was accelerating adoption by a few years,” he said in a phone interview. “We decided that taking on capital now ahead of schedule would be right time.”

The San Francisco-based startup raised a $75 million series D funding round led by General Atlantic. It plans to further fuel its growth and build out its virtual primary care offering.

Like other telehealth providers, Doctor On Demand saw a surge in patients as offices closed to in-person visits and insurers ramped up reimbursement for virtual visits. The company saw usage of its app more than double, with much of that growth from urgent care and behavioral health.

“I think the growth is really coming more from people realizing this option exists,” Ferguson said. “Our challenge as a company has been getting you to try it for the first time; breaking the habit of going to an urgent care or brick-and-mortar location.”

Most of its users access its services through their employer or health plan, though Doctor On Demand also has a self-pay option. Walmart is one of its known partners.

To differentiate itself from its competitors, Doctor On Demand has also been building out a virtual primary care practice. The company struck a partnership with Humana last year to develop a new health plan built around virtual primary care.

Patients who use the plan will have a dedicated primary care physician, as well as telemedicine access to preventive, urgent care and behavioral health services. They will also be given digital tools to monitor their blood pressure, temperature and other vitals at home. For specialist visits, they can access Humana’s network.

“This new plan design represented a paradigm shift in healthcare, and demonstrated that our members can and will build long-term relationships with primary care providers and care teams in a virtual-first care setting,” Chris Hunter, segment president of Humana’s group and military business, said in a news release.

While most telehealth platforms treat physicians as contract employees, Doctor On Demand has a fully employed provider team. The company also has lots of back-end support to help patients navigate the system, set up telehealth appointments and manage health records.

“We believe virtual care has reached an inflection point, with significantly increased adoption levels, and that Doctor On Demand is well positioned to capture the sustained growth of the broader industry,” General Atlantic Managing Director and Global Head of Healthcare Robbert Vorhoff said in a news release.

 

Photo credit: Doctor on Demand

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