Berlin-based start-up Patient21 has raised €100m in new financing to expand its digital health platform beyond Germany. The company, which buys in-patient medical practices and integrates them through its software, aims to open in two new European markets within the next year, according to co-founder and CEO Chris Muhr. The cash injection will be used primarily to expand its software and overseas operations. The startup currently runs 53 practices, mainly for dental examinations, via almost entirely digital processes with its own patient management software. The facilities are designed to become “operationally profitable” within a short timeframe.
Patient21 is the best-financed HealthTech start-up in Germany, following the latest round of investment from Israeli VC Pitango and new financier Bertelsmann Investment. Existing investors, including Target Global, Piton Capital and Pico Venture Partners, also participated. Despite its growth, and that of competitors Avi Medical and Doktor.de, Patient21, like its peers, has faced criticism from some quarters of the medical profession and the political sphere. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has threatened to introduce legislation to curtail private investors from buying up medical practices and installing new technological processes. At present, their activities are mainly in the purchase of dental practices, as telemedicine is less applicable in other fields, although this is expected to change.
