Carena, Inc., a leading telemedicine provider, today announced Cambia Health Solutions and McKesson Ventures are joining Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) and Martin Ventures in funding development of Carena’s Virtual Clinic solutions for hospital systems. The partnership and funds totaling $13.3 million will accelerate the execution of Carena’s strategy of providing telemedicine services to hospital systems.
Telemedicine continues to grow as a means to help health systems deliver care outside the traditional hospital and clinic settings. “Cambia and McKesson share our belief that building partnerships with local healthcare systems is the best way to provide high-quality telemedicine solutions for consumers,” said Ralph C. Derrickson, CEO of Carena. “We are innovating from within healthcare systems to expand the brands consumers know and trust.”
“Carena has experienced significant growth this year. We are on track to more than double our revenue in 2015 and continue to increase our customer base with valuable health system partnerships,” Derrickson said.
This new financing round follows Carena’s recent announcement that four new health system partnerships launched in 2015: UW Medicine in Seattle, WA; INTEGRIS Health in Oklahoma City, OK; Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI; and Hospital Sisters Health System in Springfield, IL. Additionally, two new health system partners, University of Iowa Healthcare in Iowa City, IA and OSF HealthCare in Peoria, IL, have launched virtual clinics in the past month.
“By investing in Carena, Cambia is supporting the expansion of Carena’s innovative virtual visit capabilities to an increasing number of people nationwide,” said Cambia Senior Vice President of Strategic Investment and Corporate Development Rob Coppedge. “Cambia is proud to support innovative healthcare solutions designed to provide consumers convenient, cost-effective, and integrated healthcare experiences.”
“Carena enables health systems to extend their footprint to offer compelling virtual clinic services in their local markets. We expect this approach to telehealth to prevail by resonating most with patients, and Carena is the clear leader with this approach,” said Tom Rodgers, SVP and Managing Director, McKesson Ventures.
Carena’s virtual clinics extend health systems’ services and build their reputation with top quality virtual care from board-certified clinicians. This model ensures convenience and affordability for the millions of patients who have access to these services. Visits via phone or the Internet typically last 20 minutes. Common conditions treated include cold, pink eye, cold sore, rash, flu, sore throat, and urinary tract infection. When asked, 97 percent of patients reported they would use the service again.
Adoption of telemedicine is gaining support from the investment community and policymakers. Telemedicine funding reached $300 million in aggregate in 2014, a 315 percent increase compared to the previous year, according to Rock Health. In addition, with the passage of new legislation, 27 states and the District of Columbia now have laws in place designed to reimburse telemedicine in the same manner as in-person visits.
About Carena
Carena partners with health systems to extend their services to more people through high-quality, cost-effective virtual clinics. System-branded virtual clinics allow patients to access 24/7 on-demand care by phone, tablet, or computer from local systems they know and trust. Our telemedicine solutions include everything from software to staffing and operations management as well as provider education through Carena University. Carena’s team of clinicians, technologists, and customer service specialists are dedicated to creating great patient experiences. Today, approximately 13 million people in 14 states have access to our partner-branded virtual clinics. For more information, please visit www.carenamd.com.
About Cambia Health Solutions
Cambia Health Solutions, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is a nonprofit total health solutions company dedicated to transforming healthcare by creating a person-focused and economically sustainable system. Cambia’s growing family of companies range from software and mobile applications, healthcare marketplaces, non-traditional healthcare delivery models, health insurance, life insurance, pharmacy benefit management, wellness, and overall consumer engagement. To learn more, visit cambiahealth.com or twitter.com/cambia.
About McKesson Ventures
McKesson Ventures is the venture capital arm of McKesson Corporation specializing in early and growth stage companies. McKesson Ventures targets companies that both catalyze and benefit from the key changes taking place in the U.S. healthcare landscape. McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 15th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We work with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that help deliver better care to patients in every setting. Visit mckessonventures.com to learn more.
About Catholic Health Initiatives
Catholic Health Initiatives is one of the nation’s largest health systems, operating in 19 states and comprises 105 hospitals, including four academic health centers and major teaching hospitals and 30 critical-access facilities; community health-services organizations; accredited nursing colleges; home-health agencies; and other facilities that span the inpatient and outpatient continuum of care. To learn more, visit catholichealthinitiatives.org.
About Martin Ventures
Martin Ventures provides capital, operational support, and mentoring to entrepreneurs who want to be catalysts for change. Focusing primarily on healthcare and technology initiatives, Martin Ventures’ unique approach allows the leadership of our portfolio companies to more acutely focus on the optimal execution of their vision and strategy while quickly scaling and growing their businesses into successful, profitable organizations. To learn more about Martin Ventures, visit martinventures.com.
