DexCare raises $75m for digital patient booking system

DexCare has topped up its finances with a $75 million third round that will be used to fund the continued roll-out of its patient appointment booking platform.

The Seattle, US-based start-up was set up in 2016 as a spinout from Providence Health to help manage clinic bookings, virtual care, and phone appointments more efficiently and to make sure health systems don’t take on too many patients for their available capacity.

According to a recent business update, DexCare’s system was used to manage appointments involving more than 57 million patients across the US last year, delivered through a growing range of providers that includes Providence Health, Kaiser, Texas Health Resources, the University of Rochester Medical Center, and Community Health Network.

The company points to metrics showing that physician capacity can be improved by 40%, simply by making appointment scheduling more efficient, along with a 30% increase in new patient visits and an eightfold increase in downstream revenue.

Last year, it estimates that 42,000 hours of physician time was saved using its algorithm, while diverting 350,000 emergency room hours.

DexCare also says that its digital approach can help the estimated 100 million Americans facing barriers to access, such as physician shortages or the closure of rural clinics.

According to the firm’s chief executive, Derek Streat, the US is “staring at a new era of care delivery,” with patients demanding convenience and choice, and healthcare systems needing “controls to manage the supply of care.”

“Today, delivering access to care is as a doctor’s appointment, a telehealth visit, or a same-day procedure – but it’s ultimately about building pathways to wellness,” he said. “We envision a world where DexCare powers the delivery of good-health outcomes, including access to preventative regiments, treatments, and education.”

The Series C – led by ICONIQ Growth – takes the total raised by the company to $146 million since it was set up in 2016, and comes against a decline in financing volumes in the digital health sector, with the first quarter of 2023 marking the lowest level in cash raised since 2019.

DexCare’s Series B took place in January 2022 and raised $50 million, while its first round in 2021 generated $20 million.

Other participants in the third round include existing backers Transformation Capital, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Define Ventures, Frist Cressey Ventures, and SpringRock Ventures.

“Healthcare is being disrupted at its roots as patients are now consumers and have many choices to receive their care, whether it be a Walmart or Amazon clinic, a local hospital or doctor’s office,” commented Todd Cozzens, co-founder and managing partner at Transformation Capital.