Sitka Secures $14 Million in Series A Financing Led by Venrock to Help Transform Specialty Care

Sitka to expand access to specialty care through a telehealth platform connecting providers to specialists

Sitka, a customizable video software platform and virtual specialty provider network, announced it has raised $14 million in Series A financing led by Venrock, with participation from existing investors Optum Ventures, Homebrew, First Round Capital, and Lifeforce Capital. Sitka will use the new funding to accelerate product development, expand growth with new and existing partners, and recruit new talent across business development, product, and engineering.

Sitka’s telehealth platform and specialist network have become crucial tools within the healthcare industry by providing reliable specialist recommendations through vConsults, Sitka’s asynchronous peer-to-peer video consults. Over the past year, Sitka has secured national healthcare partnerships with large healthcare systems and primary care providers, including ChenMed, a primary care group and Medicare Advantage plan, to help transform specialty care and utilization.

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“We started Sitka to separate the economic incentives specialty providers have to deliver fee for service care and bring specialty care into a value-based care system that works better for primary care providers,  specialists, and most importantly, for patients,” said Kelsey Mellard, CEO of Sitka. “This year, the pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital healthcare delivery and we are excited to partner with health plans, provider groups, and healthcare leaders to make meaningful improvements in healthcare delivery and management of Part B spend.”

“To keep patients healthy, happy, and at-home, we leverage technology to find meaningful ways to deliver high-touch personalized primary care,” shares Gordon Chen, MD, Chief Medical Officer of ChenMed. “Sitka’s platform allows us to continue extending our high-touch care model to patients in a safe and effective way, while improving the doctor-patient relationship and decreasing unnecessary costs for patients. Sitka’s platform has been a critical tool for our clinicians and patients to access great specialty expertise throughout this challenging time, and we look forward to further expanding its use post COVID-19.”

As part of its commitment to improving the specialty care experience for patients and providers, Darshak Sanghavi, MD has joined Sitka as an advisor. As a physician and leading voice in public health, Sanghavi will help advance Sitka’s mission to increase access to trusted and quality care.

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“I’m honored to join Sitka as an advisor,” said Sanghavi. “Amid the current public health crisis and beyond, expanding equitable access to specialty care for communities across the country is critical. Sitka is a key tool for providing timely and high-quality care no matter where patients are.”

Sitka’s service allows healthcare organizations and providers to quickly adapt to the evolving healthcare landscape, while addressing healthcare inequities and allowing hundreds to do the work of thousands by connecting patients to clinicians in an expedient HIPAA-compliant environment.

“We are thrilled to partner with such a talented and knowledgeable team and the addition of Dr. Sanghavi furthers our excitement,” said Bob Kocher, MD, Partner at Venrock. “While the pandemic has fundamentally changed our country’s healthcare system, we are seeing telehealth’s role in expanding access to specialty providers across communities in the U.S. Sitka is on its way to becoming the preeminent specialty care provider.”

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