Just seven months after it emerged from stealth, San Francisco-based pharmacy automation startup Plenful completed a $17 million Series A funding round. The round, announced Thursday, brings the company’s total fundraising amount to date to more than $25 million.
Plenful’s technology is designed to automate the manual and administrative tasks that burden pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This technology hit the market at an important time — pharmacy workers across the country are battling high levels of burnout, so much so that efforts are underway to establish the nation’s first-ever pharmacy union.
“Pharmacies are struggling due to increased patient demands, regulatory complexities, and significant staff shortages, causing drug store chains like CVS and Walgreens to shutter thousands of storefronts within the last two years,” said Plenful CEO Joy Liu. “These challenges are putting pharmacists under immense pressure, compromising patient care and the sustainability of the industry. It’s evident that substantial changes are necessary.”
Are GLP-1 Drugs Here to Stay?
We recently spoke with Nicole Bulochnik, senior vice president of drug strategy for Abarca, about what payers need to consider as demand for this group of weight-loss drugs remains high.
By easing the administrative load, Plenful’s technology seeks to help pharmacy workers operate at their full capacity, deliver high quality care and sustain their profession, Liu explained.
Plenful’s software platform gathers data from various sources, such as faxes, PDFs and electronic health records. The platform uses this data to automate mundane administrative tasks — and it allows users to customize these tasks.
Some popular use cases among Plenful’s health system customers are referral management and 340B audits. As for pharmacy customers, some common use cases include referral orders, document data entry, revenue cycle management and 340B claims qualification.
Plenful sells its technology to health systems and pharmacy companies through annual contracts — and for some use cases, it charges a volume-based fee, Liu said. The startup has more than 25 customers, including Tampa General Hospital, Renown Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Integrated Enrollment Platforms and Consumer Assistance Centers: The Strongest Advantage for State-Based Exchanges
In the ever-evolving landscape of state-based health insurance exchanges, the convergence of technology and customer service is reshaping how these exchanges operate. The increasing advent of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly dismantling the traditional business model that relies on the siloing of technology and customer service centers.
The healthcare automation software market is getting crowded with the likes of companies Innovaccer, Navina and SmarterDx, but Plenful differentiates itself by focusing only on pharmacy tasks, Liu noted. Her startup stands out further because it offers a whole platform rather than a point solution, she added.
“While there are one-off software solutions that automate single administrative tasks like those offered by Plenful, there is no purpose-built software for pharmacy operations that addresses the same holistic range of use cases as Plenful,” Liu declared.
Plenful’s Series A funding round was led by TQ Ventures. Other participants included Bessemer Venture Partners, Susa Ventures and Mitchell Rales, who is the co-founder and chairman of Danaher.
Photo: Ridofranz, Getty Images
