Contxto – It’s been more than six months since the first case of Covid-19 showed up in Brazil. And for many people, the risk of exposure at their local healthcare center is still ever-looming and discomforting.
In that sense, telemedicine is proving to be a useful tool and also a big attention-grabber for investors. A case in point is Amparo Saude. The Brazilian healthtech recently closed its Series B for R$25 million (~US$4.6 million).
An unnamed family office led the round and players within the health industry including Grupo Sabin (a testing lab) and José Luiz Setúbal chipped in. Throughout its three-year run, the healthtech has closed R$67 million (~US$12.1 million) in investments.
With the fresh funds, Amparo Saúde will further develop its telemedicine platform.
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Amparo Saude expands telemedicine
Amparo Saúde already had physical clinics in Brazil. It was operating under a business model wherein a patient would pay a monthly fee and was then entitled to unlimited exams and consultations within its network of healthcare centers.
And the healthtech’s original plan was to open more locations. However, Covid-19 pushed the startup to redirect its efforts (and funding) towards remote services.
Its telemedicine platform was launched just as the pandemic was coming in and it became quite popular. So much so that reportedly 85 percent of its consulting services were held at a distance.
In 2019, it billed R$10 million (~US$1.8 million) and it hopes to double that amount by the end of 2020.
The future of telemedicine in Brazil
The Brazilian government temporarily authorized the use of telemedicine to address the unusual circumstances brought on by Covid-19. Albeit no debate has arisen as to when this “special permission” will be lifted.
Either way, it’s clear for investors and healthtechs that telemedicine is getting its foot through the door and may have a more permanent place within healthcare in Brazil. And they’re so certain, they’re literally willing to bet millions on this future.
Fortunately for them, it’s still way too soon to say Brazil is out of the woods in terms of controlling Covid-19. As I write this, the country sits in second place with the highest number of cases at 3.3 million and over 108,000 deaths worldwide.
So at least for the short to medium-term, telemedicine still has a role to play.
Related articles: Tech and startups from Brazil!
-ML
