YFM invests £10M in health-tech company `DrDoctor’

YFM Equity Partners, Ananda Impact Ventures and 24 Haymarket today announce the completion of a £10 million funding round into the leading patient engagement platform in the UK, DrDoctor.

The company provides digital care solutions to increase communication and engagement between patients and clinicians, managing 25% of NHS outpatient appointments. This is primarily via patient-led booking, waitlist management and digital access to clinicians, improving provider productivity and helping the NHS tackle the backlog of patients. In a world where the demands on healthcare are increasing, with more people needing care every day, services are under more pressure than ever. DrDoctor’s patient engagement solutions give over 19 million patients better access to care, whilst supporting clinicians in addressing the inherent system inefficiencies across the healthcare system.

The solution not only enables better experiences between patients and clinicians by activating patients in their care journey, but also drives efficiencies by reducing the number of missed appointments and decreasing administrative costs, demonstrating a return on investment from its customers. This includes over 40 NHS partner trusts, supporting over 70 million NHS appointments to date.

For DrDoctor, the future of healthcare is personalised, being delivered online and at home where possible, with empowered patients at the centre of the system.

Following the Series A in 2020, this funding round will allow DrDoctor to further expand the sales and development teams, make greater investment in the product and continue to scale across the NHS.

Tom Whicher, Co-Founder and CEO of DrDoctor, said: “If personalised care is to become an NHS-wide reality, there needs to be a fundamental shift in the way we approach healthcare. We see this latest support from our investors as confirmation of our role as a key enabler for these necessary changes.

We’ve already proven how a digital-first approach can have a profound effect on productivity, evidenced by our substantial footprint in the NHS. Thanks to this latest investment, we are moving forward with some incredibly exciting projects, accelerating our journey to delivering truly modern healthcare.”

Helen Villiers, Investment Director at YFM Equity Partners, said: “Today the healthcare service and the NHS is under supreme amounts of pressure. Coming off the back of a global pandemic and with more than seven million people on a hospital waiting list in England, patients and clinicians alike are in need of solutions such as DrDoctor’s more than ever. DrDoctor helps healthcare systems meet this demand, without sacrificing patient care quality.

The company has demonstrated exciting growth and we have been really impressed with the team and their deep domain knowledge. The company have a well-defined plan to ensure they continue on this trajectory – we are looking forward to working with them to help them reach their goals.”

Zoe Peden, Partner at Ananda Impact Ventures said, “The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the potential of digital health solutions and healthcare communities to innovate and work towards a common goal. DrDoctor’s patient engagement platform is helping clinicians across the UK make data-driven decisions and enabling millions of patients to self-book appointments.

“By using digital Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU), healthcare trusts have reduced backlogs by up to 30% and improved staff and patient experiences.

“We are proud to support DrDoctor’s mission to revolutionise the way hospitals communicate with their patients. Their progress has been extraordinary and we look forward to seeing them continue to make healthcare better for everyone.”

Alexandra Brown, Investment Executive at 24 Haymarket, said, “Our original 2020 thesis that the NHS would soon become over-extended, is now an everyday reality. Compounded with severe staff shortages and an ageing population, there is a greater acceptance that digital technology is a required part of the solution.” Financial Advisor