Cloud based EHR provider, Practice Fusion has announced the acquisition of Ringadoc, an innovator of next-generation patient-doctor communication tools. This acquisition gives Practice Fusion a springboard for entry into the telemedicine market, an industry expected to swell to $4.5 billion in 2018. Ringadoc will advance the development of Practice Fusion’s telemedicine platform, which could mean that patients and doctors alike can avoid millions of unnecessary in-person visits each year as well as the often-frustrating industry average wait of 18.5 days for an in-person appointment.
Founded in Los Angeles in 2010, Ringadoc has attracted seed funding from FF Angel, Wavemaker Partners (formerly Siemer Ventures) and Telegraph Hill Capital. The company offers an automated, cloud-based answering service that allows doctors to instantly access and respond to after-hours messages via web browser, Android or Apple mobi
“There are three things necessary to make telemedicine possible: doctors, patients and data – and Practice Fusion’s EHR has all of these at scale. Ringadoc was a natural fit for us and will advance development of our full-fledged telemedicine platform, which could translate to avoiding millions of in-person trips to see a doctor for everything from a fever to a potential concussion,” said Ryan Howard, founder and CEO, Practice Fusion. “When it’s midnight on aSaturday and your child has a fever of 101, waiting the industry average of 18.5 days to see a primary care physician is not an option. Acquiring Ringadoc allows us to continue delivering on our mission of connecting doctors, patients and data to drive better health and save lives.”
