Sonic Healthcare has taken a stake in telehealth business GP2U. Photo: Louie Douvis
Listed diagnostics giant Sonic Healthcare has taken a 12.5 per cent stake in telehealth start-up GP2U and will assess how it can use GP2U’s video doctor consultation platform in its businesses.
Sonic Clinical Services group executive Scott Beattie, who runs the $7.6 billion company’s nationwide network of GP, skin, and screening clinics, will join the GP2U board.
It is not an online booking service, it is not a Medicare billing service, it is not a prescription service. It is all of those things.
James Freeman, GP2U
“Sonic Clinical Services has been very impressed with the GP2U platform and, as a result, have taken an investment in the company,” he said.
“We will certainly be looking to use the GP2U platform where it makes sense in our businesses, including for example our occupational health and travel health business, as well as potentially offering a convenient way for our GPs to provide services to their patients.”
Sonic did not disclose the fee paid for its stake, but GP2U raised a total of $2.2 million in the entire Series A funding round.
Medical One co-founder Dr Andrew Pascoe also emerged as an investor, taking a 17 per cent stake. Dr Pascoe will take a seat on the board.
GP2U expects to complete a separate series B capital raising in the next three months.
The telehealth business was founded four years ago by Dr James Freeman, who describes his platform as an “end-to-end” service.
“It is not an online booking service, it is not a Medicare billing service, it is not a prescription service. It is all of those things,” Dr Freeman said.
Since it was founded in 2011 GP2U has provided over 50,000 GP and specialist appointments. Around 20,000 of those were last year.
Dr Freeman, who owns 40 per cent of GP2U, said the rate of growth is accelerating. “We had our biggest week ever last week, again, so it is trending happily upwards,” he said.
On Monday, the company also unveiled former Anywhere Health director Sam Holt as its new chief executive. Anywhere Health is the telehealth business founded by Medibank that was subsequently sold to Telstra.
Dr Freeman continues to practice as a GP and to work in hospitals. He said that staying in a medical environment gives him ideas on how to improve GP2U’s platform.
“If there is something that is annoying me and slowing my workflow I have the capacity to actually fix that,” he said.
“A lot of the really good medical package software tends to have doctors involved in it.”
He said that the difficulty in providing care in remote areas would support growth in telehealth.
There is one doctor per every 1000 people in Australia’s cities but only one doctor per every 3000 rural Australians.
GP2U has an agreement with Terry White Chemists and Priceline, owned by Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, to provide pharmacy services.