Please welcome Dr. B, a telehealth service making healthcare more equitable and affordable
Meet Dr. B, the latest addition to Lerer Hippeau’s portfolio.
HQ: New York, NY
Founders: Cyrus Massoumi
The problem: The Covid-19 pandemic revealed a healthcare access issue. It existed before, but a global pandemic thrust it into the spotlight. We saw vaccine dose access emerge as an entrenched societal and class issue, and we’re seeing a similar pattern with the antivirals and therapeutics that will become even more critical public health tools as the pandemic progresses to an endemic state, in which people get reinfected and society seeks to avoid becoming derailed by each new wave. Patients need a better way to access affordable care — for Covid and other ailments.
Dr. B’s solution: Dr. B offers the only telehealth service aimed at accessibility and affordability, starting with critical Covid-19 treatments. The company’s Visitless Prescriptions service enables patients to access the medications they need for a low price without having to leave home. The service offers prescriptions for Paxlovid and molnupiravir (Lagevrio) — the two at-home oral Covid-19 antivirals authorized for use by the FDA — at present. In the near future, Dr. B will also offer Visitless Prescriptions a wide range of everyday medications, from heart health to dermatology and reproductive care.
Origin story: As the founder and former CEO of ZocDoc, Cyrus Massoumi built one of the earliest digital networks in healthcare. Increasing access to healthcare through technology is his life’s work. Cyrus initially launched Dr. B in 2021 to match communities to vaccines when it was challenging to get appointments and when underrepresented communities were being left behind in outreach. Dr. B offered vaccines to over one million patients in 37 states during that time. Dr. B’s initial success offered patients quick and easy access to care while helping providers make the most efficient use of their vaccine doses. As the pandemic has evolved, so have Dr. B’s offerings — always with patients and access front of mind.
Why we’re betting on it: Dr. B’s efforts to make Covid antivirals accessible and affordable will be critical as the pandemic progresses into an endemic state. Helping people feel better faster in a tech-enabled way is a necessary next step, and a good example of efforts from the private sector supplementing civil efforts in a productive way. Plus, our longstanding relationship with Cyrus and his deep DNA in the digital healthcare space make him the right founder to address this issue once and for all — and extend Dr. B’s offerings to cover all sorts of necessary medications.
Our take: The pandemic demonstrated the immediate need for digitally native healthcare infrastructure. Across our extensive healthcare digital portfolio, we’re seeing companies transform verticals by putting patient access, patient experience, and data front and center. Companies like Heartbeat Health, Expressable, Monument, K Health, and now, Dr. B, are changing the first point of entry for people in the healthcare system.
Further reading: “Exclusive: Dr. B raises $8M for COVID telehealth service” via Axios
