Mumbai-based tele-healthcare startup, Healthenablr raises $800k seed funding

Healthenablr India Pvt Ltd., a new entrant in the healthcare technology and services sector announced today that it had recently closed an $800,000 (Rs 5.5 Cr.) seed round. The startup plans on channelling this investment to further develop its patented Electronic Medical Records(EMR) technology and consolidate sales efforts.

Story so far 

Based out of Mumbai, HealthEnablr was incorporated in September 2015 by Booth School of Business graduates Bamasish Paul and Avishek Mukherjee. Positioned as a data-driven tele-healthcare company, it assists patients in connecting with healthcare services and practitioners worldwide through its proprietary web and mobile platform.

Avishek is the product architect and takes care of development at the company. In the past, he has developed products and apps for provider organizations, including the Mayo Clinic, South West Medical Association, WellMed Physician Practices and the Lifeprint group of primary care physicians. Bamasish on the other hand has been mainly grounded in mergers & acquisitions and corporate restructuring in the real estate, infrastructure and biotechnology sector spanning across 15 years of his career.

It was while Avishek was the CTO at Geneia LLC in Pennsylvania that he and Bamasish spotted serious problems hampering the healthcare system of India. Having experienced the traditional healthcare system in India, they wanted to focus on this industry and decided to leave their jobs and start Healthenablr. Their aim was to bridge the gap and provide quality health care solutions in urban and semi-urban areas in a cost-effective manner.

HealthEnablr offers two products and services through its mobile and web application- Pocclinic and Poccare. The former is a doctor-centric mobile app which focuses on reducing 'no-shows' for doctors and healthcare service providers while improving patient engagement by offering a network of local and global patients.

Poccare is a patient-centric mobile app that helps subscribers find, compare and book appointments with leading doctors, hospitals, diagnostics and wellness chains from the comfort of their home. In addition, patients can also pre-pay and avail discounts for their appointment using their credit or debit card and online wallets such as Paytm.

Through its structured clinical documentation, it builds clinical analytics and guidelines for doctors along with video-based consultations and remote monitoring services to provide better quality care. The seed round was raised by a mixed group of undisclosed professionals, including investors from Silicon Valley and Hong Kong. Avishek, CTO at Healthenablr said,

This funding has timed perfectly with a new release of our EMR software that allows doctors to generate online invoices and prescriptions and also enables them to keep track of their patient vitals, medications, follow up appointments etc. Our goal is not just to provide doctors with a way to digitalize their practice, but to provide them with the best technology, making it easier for them to manage their practice online.

Sector overview

Healthcare is one of the last sectors to be disrupted by technology in India. According to a report released by India Brand Equity, the per capita expenditure on healthcare is projected to reach $160 billion by 2017.

Tencent backed Practo is among the leading players in this space, having acquired multiple startups(Fitho, Genii, Qikwell etc) and having most recently entered the online medicine ordering segment. Accel and IFC backed Portea is another established player in this sector and in January 2016 acquired a majority stake in PSTakeCare.

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Future plans

Currently operating partially in Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru with a team of 60, HealthEnablr plans to expand its services to eight cities, with a network of over 50,000 verified doctors by the end of 2016. With regards to future investments, Bamasish, CEO at Healthenablr said they would look to raise their next round of funding in mid 2016 to assist their expansion plans. 

Though Healthenablr currently offers products and services through its mobile and web application, it plans to expand into a healthcare marketplace, enabling patients to choose and buy healthcare packages from its platform as well as its growing network of affiliate partners. Other plans in the pipeline include tie-ups with hospitals and healthcare chains, remote patient management solutions and wearable healthcare and medical device integration.

By extending the benefits of tele-medicine solutions to patients across the country and eventually on a global scale, Bamasish envisions positioning the venture as a global leader in the mobile-centric healthcare space by 2018.

Website: Healthenablr