Oxford Capital and Draper Esprit have jointly led an $8.2m investment in PushDoctor.co.uk, Europe’s largest online GP marketplace.
PushDoctor.co.uk is changing the way everyone can access healthcare using its on-demand online GP surgery, making healthcare accessible for the tens of millions of people in the UK who find seeing a doctor difficult.
The service, which is regulated by the Care Quality Commission and commissioned by the NHS, allows patients to book and attend secure video GP appointments seven days per week, 365 days of the year, via a website and iOS app.
PushDoctor.co.uk plans to use the investment to strengthen its brand position as category leader, carry out further product innovations, expand the business’s management structure, including making key marketing and product hires and to further its industry-connectivity; offering patients a simpler and more powerful set of routes into the healthcare eco-system.
Eren Ozagir, founder and CEO at PushDoctor.co.uk, comments: “PushDoctor.co.uk is the category leading digital primary care provider and will continue to work to provide UK patients with the ability to see a doctor whenever they want in a matter of minutes, at a price that is affordable and super-sustainable.
Ozagir continues: “We are all about usage, we want patients to get the advice they want from real doctors, in person and at a time that is convenient for them. This investment will allow us to continue to deliver important step-changes in digital health. We believe that having the ability to see a doctor on-demand speeds up the patient journey to recovery and that every patient should have the choice to reach for professional advice when they need to.”
As part of the deal, Oxford Capital managing director of growth capital, Tom Bradley and Draper Esprit partner, Vishal Gulati will both join the PushDoctor.co.uk board as non-executive directors.
Tom Bradley said: “We are excited to be working with the PushDoctor.co.uk team, who are truly creating a digital healthcare brand for the long term; a brand that people will turn to in important moments – for real help. It has the potential to change lives with each and every connection.
Bradley continues: “The service is uniquely positioned to provide UK patients with the next level of digitised medical services and a super fast connection to all parts of the healthcare eco-system – literally in minutes you can get a referral letter and activate your medical insurance, or receive a prescription for the medication you need. This is something that most patients will have never experienced before.”
Vishal Gulati commented: “With developments in digital technologies, access to high quality medical care which serves patients’ needs in the most appropriate manner should not be limited by the constraints of physical location. PushDoctor.co.uk is a highly valuable point of connection that assists patients to find their way through their individual care journeys – and it will continue especially as the industry itself digitizes.
“I am very pleased to be joining the PushDoctor.co.uk team and look forward to working with them to continue to provide a hugely valuable human connection for patients who want answers in real-time from a live medical professional, both efficiently and on their own terms.”
The business was established in early 2013, after Ozagir fell ill while overseas and noticed a gap in the market for primary care from UK-based doctors on the go, and became the first On-Demand Remote Care provider to launch in the UK App Store. PushDoctor.co.uk has since grown to become the fastest-growing clinician network in the country.
The platform enables patients to connect to a qualified, General Medical Council registered private GPs in minutes, giving access to professional medical advice from a UK doctor who can prescribe, refer or provide a sick note.
The service charges £25 for a 10-minute appointment, while prescriptions are £4.50 and referral letters or fit for work notes are £12.50.