Babyscripts, a prenatal and postpartum mobile app, banked $12 million in a series B round led by the MemorialCare Innovation Fund, an investment arm of the MemorialCare Health System.
Other investors like Philips, the CU Healthcare Innovation Fund, Banner Health, University Hospitals and the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin also participated in the funding round. The startup has raised $20 million to date.
Washington, D.C.-based Babyscripts is a virtual care platform that connects expectant mothers with their doctors. The company is using technology and remote monitoring to deliver a new model for prenatal and postpartum care. Founded in 2014, Babyscripts developed a clinically validated, virtual care platform to allow OB-GYNs to deliver a new model of prenatal care. Using internet-connected devices for remote monitoring, Babyscripts offers risk-specific experiences to allow providers to manage up to 90% of pregnancies virtually, allowing doctors to detect risk more quickly and automate elements of care, according to the company.
White Paper
Flip the Script on Member Experience
Sponsored by Zipari
As a health plan, you don’t just want your members to have a positive experience, you want active and goal-driven engagement. Flip the script on member experience with this six-point checklist to quickly get your plan on the right track.
The startup plans to use the fresh capital to bring its virtual maternity care services to providers across the U.S. and to work on developing care models specifically targeted to payers with the goal of enabling them to upgrade and broaden the use of tech.
The company currently manages more than 200,000 unique pregnancies in the U.S. across 30 states, it claims. It hopes with this funding to offer “payers the best-in-class digital health solution for pregnancy and postpartum care management,” company executives said in a press release.
The company aims to be a comprehensive and streamlined care delivery system that can identify and address clinical and social risks with its automation and access to data. Through Babyscripts, payers can also educate pregnant members and improve care coordination, leading to better health outcomes.
“The pandemic exacerbated existing disparities in maternal health, while showcasing the effectiveness of digital tools for managing pregnancy and equalizing care,” said Caleb Winder, managing director of MemorialCare Innovation Fund, in a press release. “Babyscripts improves access to care for patients and reduces cost for the health system and insurance plan by connecting payer, provider, and patient together through its virtual platform, managing patient and member health and collecting and communicating actionable data around risk with the goal of reducing maternal mortality and morbidity.”
The fresh funding will help the company acquire market share, said Juan Pablo Segura, Babyscripts president and co-founder. “We have the user data, we have the outcomes data, we have the infrastructure in place to scale, to provide access to all expecting mothers, especially those who most need it. Our experience in the space coupled with this new round of funding is going to help us usher in the next generation of obstetrics: a comprehensive solution that will automate and streamline the care delivery process, identifying patient risk and delivering risk-specific solutions directly to the patient based on their data, without the need for administrative input,” he said.
In June 2018, the startup acquired pregnancy app iBirth for an undisclosed amount and integrated those features into its platform to expand the company’s focus to postpartum care.
In 2019, Babyscripts inked a strategic partnership AmeriHealth Caritas DC, the largest managed care organization in Washington, D.C., which marked a shift from the company’s focus on the commercial market. The same year, the company expanded its reach in the Medicaid market with Aetna’s Medicaid managed care organization in Pennsylvania. The digital health company also has partnerships with health systems, OB-GYN practices, and health plans, including Cone Health, Atrium Health, Penn Medicine, WellSpan Health and Axia Women’s Health, among others.
The company recently partnered with physician enablement company Privia Health, allowing physicians in Privia’s women’s health division to use Babyscripts with their pregnant and postpartum patients.
The pandemic has proven to be a boon for the health tech sector, which raised an estimated $21.6 billion in 2020.
