Conversa Health, a Portland, Oregon-based provider of a virtual care and communication platform designed to facilitate ongoing contact between healthcare organizations and their patients, has announced an increase in its Series B funding. The funding has been raised from $12 million to $20 million. Builders VC and Northwell Ventures, the venture arm of Northwell Health, continue to lead this funding round. Further investment comes from UH Ventures, the venture capital arm of University Hospitals, alongside venture firms P5 Health Ventures, Epic Ventures, StartUp Health, and Nassau Street Ventures. Genesis Merchant Capital and J-Ventures are joining as new investors in this expanded round.

According to Conversa CEO Murray Brozinsky, the recent pandemic has accelerated the recognition of the importance of both automated and virtual healthcare solutions. These trends were anticipated, but COVID-19 has significantly hastened their adoption as the healthcare industry seeks to improve patient access, enhance experiences for both patients and providers, achieve improved outcomes, and reduce costs.

Mr. Brozinsky anticipates that remote care will constitute 80% of all healthcare delivery within the next ten years. He believes this shift will enable more individualized, evidence-based treatment, but will also necessitate further investment in automation technologies.

“Conversa integrates providers’ Electronic Health Records and other patient information with advanced interactive digital care pathways and a clinical analytics engine to automate care management around the clock,” explained Mark Goldstein, partner at Builders VC and a member of the Conversa board. “This approach enhances adherence to care plans both before and after appointments, leading to reduced expenses and improved patient results. Conversa’s comprehensive platform and extensive library of digital pathways allow providers to manage care for entire patient populations, rather than relying on isolated solutions, effectively addressing a significant market need.”

The company has experienced substantial growth in its business due to the pandemic. Conversa’s customer base has increased fourfold, and its key financial indicators have risen sixfold, as many of its larger clients have broadened their utilization of the platform.

The team opted to expand the existing Series B round to leverage this positive momentum and to onboard additional engineering talent to facilitate platform scalability. Brozinsky is confident that the demand for a platform like Conversa’s will persist even after the pandemic subsides. The company is currently implementing support for vaccination programs, offering resources to educate individuals and assist with post-vaccination monitoring.

“Healthcare systems are consistently communicating the need to prepare for future health crises and to continue serving their existing patient demographics – particularly the growing aging population – amidst a critical shortage of healthcare professionals,” Brozinsky stated. “Therefore, the need for these systems and platforms will become even more pressing, and investment in them represents not an added expense, but a substantial return.”