Hello Health, the patient platform management subsidiary of Myca Health, announced that it raised $10 million in new funding this week. Hello Health enables patients to visit with physicians right from their desks via real-time, HIPAA-compliant, online video chats, text messages, instant messaging, and email. Fast Company magazine once summed up the Hello Health platform as the “Facebook of healthcare”.
Hello Health aims to help independent primary care physicians transition from a paper-based practice to an EMR (along with a corresponding patient health portal) through a subscription-based plan. In order to communicate with their physicians online, schedule appointments, request lab results, renew prescriptions, and share medical information, patients pay a small fee to the physician.
Here's how the company sums up its value: "The Hello Health Patient Management Platform was developed to provide an improved revenue stream for physicians while also enhancing patient engagement and providing better time and workflow management, all of which combine to strengthen the independence and sustainability of a practice."
A handful of well-known companies already use the Hello Health platform at their on-site corporate clinics: For example, Myca has outfitted Apple’s Cupertino clinic, Apple Wellness, with its platform Hello Health. At a healthcare design event last year, Myca’s CEO Nat Findlay shared a couple of videos of healthcare providers using the Hello Health platform, which included Apple Wellness’ Dr. Martin Yee. Many of the promo videos include shots of physicians accessing Hello Health’s features from their smartphones.
In his Hello Health profile on the company’s site, Dr. Yee explains that “this online platform provides a clear path toward provision of healthcare as a team, including doctors, other providers, and patients.” Yee also has a somewhat forward-looking view of his role as a physician: “I also consider myself somewhat of an interpreter, distilling the complex world of medicine down to its basics, so that anyone can understand the problem or potential problem and particpate in their own healthcare.”
While Hello Health did not specifically state who contributed to the $10 million round, Hello Health and its parent company Myca Health have received funding from both BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners and the Qualcomm Life Fund in the past.
For more on the recent funding, read more details in the press release below:
PRESS RELEASE: NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2012 -- Hello Health announced today that it has raised $10M in a combination of common and preferred shares, and issuance of convertible debentures through its parent company, Myca Health. This equity capital was privately funded by a select group of investors.
For years, physicians have experienced revenue reductions and, more recently, declining patient visits and must now look to 'market their practices' beyond quality of care to include: secure online communications that improve information and care team access, and provide greater convenience for patients. Hello Health is a Patient Management Platform that allows independent primary care physicians to transition from paper to electronic medical records and to provide a patient health portal through a subscription-based plan. Patients pay a small fee for the ability to schedule appointments, request lab results, renew prescriptions, share medical information and communicate (via HIPAA-compliant email, instant messaging and video consults) with their doctors and medical health professionals. The Hello Health Patient Management Platform was developed to provide an improved revenue stream for physicians while also enhancing patient engagement and providing better time and workflow management, all of which combine to strengthen the independence and sustainability of a practice.
"This latest round of financing shows support for our mission: to empower physicians seeking to provide the best care for patients while maintaining their independence as practitioners. With the robust Patient Management Platform of Hello Health, it is clear that we can revolutionize the current practice business model by addressing dwindling revenue and untapped patient engagement," said Nathanial Findlay, founder and chief executive officer of Myca Health, parent company of Hello Health. "The initial acceptance of Hello Health's offerings, through word-of-mouth discussions among physicians, and this latest funding, enables us to increase awareness and continue to advocate for the independent physician."
"We are pleased with the progress Hello Health has made," said Anna Haghgooie, managing director of Sandbox Industries, exclusive fund manager of BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, a $300 million corporate venture fund sponsored by BlueCross and BlueShield Plans. "With Hello Health, Myca has developed what could be the operating system that powers the primary care practice of the future."
"Hello Health makes every aspect of what I do easier," said Gary Leeds, M.D., a Manhattan-based independent primary care physician. "From e-prescribing to reviewing records to scheduling appointments, this Patient Management Platform offers a unique set of unmatched benefits and is rapidly helping us achieve our goal of a cloud-based patient management solution."
About Hello Health Inc.:
New York City-based Hello Health Inc. is dedicated to transforming primary care by connecting patients and physicians through technology. The company's Hello Health Patient Management platform integrates an electronic medical record, practice management capabilities and a patient health portal on a single, secure platform. Hello Health is free to primary care practices and generates incremental revenue through a patient subscription model. A subsidiary of Myca Health Inc., Hello Health is collaborating with Qualcomm Life, Inc. and seeks to expand the company's strategic partnerships with leading organizations that look for innovative solutions to connect patients and physicians. Learn more at www.hellohealth.com .
Hello Health® and Myca® are registered trademarks of Myca Health Incorporated.Qualcomm® is a registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated®. Qualcomm Life® is a trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated®.
SOURCE Hello Health Inc.
