Telehealth companies Teladoc and Avizia have secured new financing to support innovation and growth in a booming telemedicine industry.
Lewisville, Texas-based Teladoc said in a news release Monday that it obtained $50 million in new capital via a $25 million term loan and a $25 million revolving line of credit from Silicon Valley Bank, which it will use to support general corporate business at the largest telehealth platform in the U.S.
Avizia, which has an end-to-end telehealth platform to help streamline care coordination and promote patient and provider engagement, received $11 millionin Series A funding from six private equity companies. The Reston, Va.-based company said it will use the financing to expand its video collaborations with hospitals and physicians, which helps provide consultation and follow-up appointments with patients and caregivers.
“We’re focused on building an end-to-end telehealth platform that enables any provider to see any patient in any place,” said Mike Baird, Avizia’s CEO and co-founder. “We are transforming patient care through innovation to improve the patient experience.”
Telemedicine has grown significantly in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down as companies look to develop more integrated services rather than a single service like a virtual urgent care program.
Some companies, like Teladoc, are coming at the industry from the consumer side, helping patients and their caregiving networks coordinate care more efficiently. Others, including Avizia, help health providers create collaborative solutions with their patients via virtual services.
“The one big question that’s in front of all of us is who really is going to emerge as the care coordinator or the care manager,” said Frances Dare, managing director of Accenture’s virtual health services. “Is that going to ultimately become the consumer? And is it realistic to expect that the consumer can take this on themselves?”
According to a recent Accenture study, investment funding for on-demand telehealth services will go from $200 million in 2014 to $1 billion by the end of 2017, and that rapid growth is being driven by consumer demand for more convenient, accessible services.
“We’re seeing the market mature, for sure,” Dare said. “We’re evolving from what some of the traditional telemedicine services were to more integrated services.”
Teladoc received the most funding of any on-demand telemedicine company between 2008 and 2015, gathering $245 million in funding, according to Accenture. The company is also growing its business. Just last month, Teladocagreed to purchase mobile-app-based physician locator HealthiestYou in a $125 million deal, using $45 million in cash and 6.96 million shares of its common stock valued at $80 million.
“Teladoc is driving important advancements to telehealth services and the acquisition of HealthiestYou will allow them to further cultivate and expand their portfolio of solutions,” Katharine Andersen, managing director for Silicon Valley Bank, said in a statement on Monday. “Our objective is to provide the Teladoc team with the right financing and connections to facilitate their continued success.”
[Source:- Modern Healthcare]
