Hospitals around the world regularly face a shortage of beds, a problem that can become exacerbated to the breaking point when a health alert or other large-scale disaster occurs. A startup called Doccla The company is using technology to solve this problem: it is developing “virtual bed” technology to help doctors remotely manage patients who have been discharged early or, in some cases, never made it to hospital. After gaining traction in the UK and Ireland, it has now raised £35 million ($46 million) to expand into Europe.
Star of the lake leads the Series B round; Elaia and several existing investors are also participating. The funding comes two years after Doccla raised a $17 million Series A.
Doccla, which competes with companies like Graphnet And They are among other things, will use the funding in part to hire local teams in new markets. And while the startup’s primary focus so far has been on securing contracts with healthcare services, they include local NHS Trusts in the UK and the Health Service Executive (HSE) in Ireland – for ‘virtual bed’ technology for patients, it also supports virtual clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies; and it intends to build a data analytics business around all of this.
Doccla earliest start Doccla weathered the challenges of Covid-19: A strong desire to keep more people out of hospitals to reduce pressure on resources led healthcare organizations to embrace virtual bed solutions like Doccla’s to fill the void. But as life began to return to normal, the startup also pursued more practical growth strategies. “It’s in our DNA to put revenue first,” Doccla co-founder Martin Ratz said in an interview.
Doccla’s service revolves around a set of monitoring devices provided to patients, along with a mobile phone preloaded with its app. These devices are used to collect data that is uploaded directly to electronic medical records. Doctors view the data via a dashboard and receive special alerts when diagnostic measures require attention—a strong selling point for overworked staff and peace of mind for patients at home.
Ratz told TechCrunch that he takes a very hands-on approach to entering new markets: He typically signs a new client in those markets before doing so.
“We start by selling, then we enter the market with the help of a customer; that’s exactly what happened in Germany,” he said in an interview, adding that he already had plans to do the same in Austria and France. “We want to replicate what we’re doing in the UK.” [while] recognizing that the foundations of [newer] “The markets are very different, especially in terms of reimbursement,” he said.
On the pharmaceutical side, Doccla’s “hospital at home” technology is being used in drug research. Specifically, in drug trials, Doccla reduces or replaces the need for patients to physically visit clinics, typically run by third-party contract research organizations, to monitor their progress. “We can help do things faster, better, and more cost-effectively than traditional CROs,” Ratz said.
The market…
