Health insurance provider Blue Shield of California has invested $1.5m in US-based healthcare administration software developer Ooda Health as part of a $40.5m series A round.
Hospital managers Dignity Health and Hill Physicians also invested, as did health insurers Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the latter through its Zaffre Investments unit. The round was co-led by Oak HC/FT and DFJ.
Ooda has created an online platform intended to make care management more efficient by enabling care providers, patients and health insurance payers such as employers to communicate with each other in real time.
The funding will go to product development and the expansion of Ooda’s team as well as growing its relationships with healthcare providers.
Paul Markovich, Blue Shield of California’s president and CEO, said: “When it comes to payment, leaving the doctor’s office or hospital should be like checking out of the grocery store. Everything is settled when you walk out the door.
“Creating this capability will dramatically improve the experience of members, physicians and hospitals.”
Hill Phsycians CEO David Joyner added: “Doctors go into the profession to care for patients, and right now they spend more than 10% of their time on administrative work. Nurses spend over 30%.
“We are partnering with Ooda to give this time back to doctors and to patients, and to simplify the patient experience into one that’s consumer-friendly and easy to understand.”