Virtual specialty care company Story Health announced a $22.6 million Series A funding round focused on expanding its reach into the cardiology space. Northpond Ventures and B Capital Group led the round with participation from LRVHealth and existing investors Define Ventures and General Catalyst. 

This new infusion of cash comes just a year after the company launched with a $4 million seed funding round. 

WHAT IT DOES

Founded by Verily vets Tom Stanis and Nikhil Roy, as well as cardiologist Dr. Ashul Govil, the company created a system that uses telehealth, AI and connected devices to treat patients at home. The San Jose, California-based startup currently works with health systems to manage the care for their patients with heart failure. 

Patients enrolled in Story Health get medication and other care reminders. The service also includes health coaches, which can help patients access their care and medications.  Doctors can access patient data and tap into personalized recommendations based on a physician's historical prescribing patterns. The system can integrate into an EHR system using SMART on FHIR tech. 

WHAT IT'S FOR 

The company currently has services for heart-failure patients, and it's looking to expand into other areas of cardiology. 

“Conditions like heart disease that require specialist care are extremely complex, debilitating, and costly, yet our health system doesn’t have enough clinicians to handle patient demand. That’s why specialty care is the next frontier for digital health,” Karen Page, general partner of B Capital Group, said in a statement.

“Digital health platforms like Story Health give specialists unprecedented scale, allowing them to continuously monitor their patients’ progress, make faster adjustments in treatment regimens, and ultimately improve the lives of patients themselves.”

MARKET SNAPSHOT 

Story Health isn't the only company working in the virtual cardiology space. Heartbeat Health, which provides cardiac virtual care, scored $20 million in Series B. In 2020, Ultromics, maker of an AI-supported cardiac decision support tool, landed $10 million.

Eko Health is a digital health startup that combines ECG-enabled digital stethoscopes with monitoring and analysis algorithms. The company landed $65 million in 2020. 

ON THE RECORD 

“Building a comprehensive, highly engaging virtual specialty care solution for providers was already a huge achievement, but addressing those social barriers to care for patients was also incredibly important,” Tom Stanis, cofounder and CEO of Story Health, said in a statement.

“Vulnerable populations like those on Medicaid and Medicare consistently see poorer health outcomes compared to other groups, but at the same time are the same people that face the most challenges accessing care. As more health systems look to incorporate support for social determinants of health, we want to be their partners in specialty care.”