UK healthtech startup Medefer raises £10 million to expand NHS virtual outpatient services

Medefer, a UK healthcare startup that wants to improve (and quicken) outpatient care for the NHS, has raised a £10 million funding round led by Nickleby Capital. The fresh capital will help the company scale, making it “perfectly positioned” to help tackle the potential 10 million patient backlog that has grown due to Covid-19. A CQC regulated healthcare provider, Medefer is a digital platform that connects GPs, consultants, and patients. Underpinned by its outpatient operating system, and a nationwide network of contracted remote NHS consultants, the software manages the entire patient pathway from referral to triage to investigation, diagnosis and discharge — without the need for physical outpatient appointments. In a press release the company claims the following benefits: patients get faster care, as cases are reviewed by NHS consultants in about 10 hours on average, compared to 18 weeks offline. For NHS Trusts and CCGs, their outpatient costs are cut by a third, and waiting lists reduced by 70 percent. Founded by NHS consultants Dr. Bahman Nedjat-Shokouhi (the CEO) and Dr. Andrew Millar, the startup has helped over 20,000 NHS patients since 2013.