This morning Firefly Health, a Boston-based health navigation and concierge platform, announced a $10.2 million Series A funding round led by F-Prime Capital and Oak HC/FT.  

This news coincides with a slew of board seat announcements, most notable of which is Jonathan Bush, cofounder and former CEO of athenahealth, who will be joining the team as executive chairman. 

“I have spent my entire career developing technologies and services to help providers better manage the most mundane aspects of healthcare,” Bush said. “Firefly Health sets all of that aside. We take the best intelligence in modern physician medicine combined with the best digital technology, and we apply this new platform outside of the cumbersome and tedious claims-based medical system. Linking a care team to a patient through their smartphone allows us to deliver a radically more convenient, proactive and intelligent model of care that leads to better care and overall patient experience — it’s inspiring.”

Additionally, Carl Byers, a partner from F-Prime Capital Partner and Nancy Brown, general partner at Oak HC/FT will be joining the company’s board of directors. 

WHAT THEY DO

The platform helps connect members and medical service, whether that be in-person or digitally. Patients are able to see a provider in person, through video visits or via in-app chat. The technology also lets users schedule same-day appointments and manage prescription refills, and includes a follow-up tool designed to help users meet their goals. 

Signing up for the service does mean that a user needs to switch to a PCP from Firefly Health; however, the user can choose which member of the team they would like as their PCP. The service can also refer patients to specialist. 

Right now, the service is Massachusetts focused, accepting most of the major insurers in the state. However, it does not currently accept Medicare or Medicaid. 

WHAT IT’S FOR 

While the company has not specified how the new money will be used, it did say that it plans to enter several new markets in 2020. 

MARKET SNAPSHOT 

This isn’t the only tech-enabled health concierge on the market. Another name in the field is Accolade, which landed $50 million in new funding last year. The platform allows patients to access the health system on their smartphone or tablet. SteadyMD is another health concierge, which specializes in primary care. 

This announcement also signals Bush’s next career move after athenahealth. In 2018, he left the company following negative reports about sexual harassment, a video with lewd comments at a 2017 healthcare industry event and domestic abuse in 2006 during a divorce.

ON THE RECORD 

“Firefly Health has been able to build a technology-enabled service that will provide patients access to care that is high quality, accessible and integrated into their lives via in-person visits, virtual visits and mobile engagement,” Brown said in a statement. “The team knows how to achieve an optimal cost and quality outcome including providing integrated physical and mental health.”