Bright.md, a telemedicine company for non-acute care that uses a software called SmartExam to minimize the time required of its physicians, has raised $3.5 million in first round funding. The round was led by Oregon Angel Fund, with substantial participation from Seven Peaks Ventures and Stanford-StartX Fund. The company previously raised a $1 million seed round, which we reported on last October.
“As an early stage company, it’s exciting to see such strong support for our product, which has been underscored by the success of our Series A raise," Dr. Ray Costantini, cofounder and CEO of Bright.md, said in a statement. "In addition to the funds we closed, we had more than $1 million of additional investor commitments, and were able to be very selective in our capital strategy. We’ve attracted a stellar group of early-stage investors to help us take a more aggressive approach. Their support helps us capitalize on the accelerated market momentum we’re seeing, including expansion of our initial implementations and the addition of multiple, exciting new clients.”
In addition to expansion of existing deployments and new clients, Bright.md will use some of the funding for hiring additional talent, the company said in a statement.
Bright.md, which was founded in January 2014, sells a software system that connects patients with their physicians when patients have a health concern. Patients can access the system, called SmartExam, online or from their mobile device. When patients log in to Bright.md, they are prompted to answer a set of questions about their condition, select their pharmacy, and enter their insurance or billing information.
At that point, the patient’s physician gets an alert on their Bright.md account that the patient is waiting for care. Physicians can see all the data that the patient entered and the patient’s answers to Bright.md’s background questions. Bright.md then sends the patient the doctor’s after-visit summary; sends the prescription, if needed, to the pharmacy; and schedules a follow-up office visit for the patient. The whole process takes about two minutes for the physician, according to the company.
“We're continually impressed by Bright.md's traction in the market and where that trajectory is headed,” Dino Vendetti, managing partner at Seven Peaks Ventures, said in a statement. “New models for healthcare reimbursement are accelerating technology adoption, and the opportunity is wide open for solutions that can impact the bottom line for providers, while delivering patients quality care. Early implementations of Bright.md's solution demonstrate positive financial and clinical impacts for both providers and patients. With this funding, the team can pick up the pace as it engages with some of the top healthcare providers nationwide.”
