A Columbus startup connecting pharmacists to patient's health records has been acquired by a Silicon Valley firm.
Health in Motion Network LLC – whose leadership includes serial entrepreneurs from HTP and Updox – joins Custom Health, a complementary telemedicine and medication management platform based in Mountain View, California. Terms were not disclosed.
All eight employees joined Custom Health to form a Columbus office, said Ray Shealy, who came aboard a year ago as the startup's CEO and now is Custom's senior vice president of strategic accounts and product sales.
"We really hit it off with them, and our business model really aligns with their model and how they're growing," Shealy said.
Founded in 2017, Health in Motion was looking to raise a VC round until this market downturn. Revenue had been growing with more than 80 independent pharmacists and small chains after its Parawell product launched three years ago. The company had an undisclosed seed round from an out-of-state investor.
The Parawell software connects with physicians' offices to safely and centrally organize patient health records, lab reports and other data. Pharmacists can then check for any possible negative interactions for a prescribed drug and other medications or conditions.
"They can make recommendations and practice at the top of their license by adding value to the care continuum," Shealy said.
One pharmacist noted a vitamin D deficiency, and worked with the patient's doctor on an updated prescription with over-the-counter supplements, he said. The customer told Health in Motion the patient came back with "tears of happiness."
"We are investing in teams, innovations and regions that embrace our approach and share the vision of a digital health future to solve healthcare's most urgent problems," Custom Health CEO Rahul Chopra said in a release. "Ohio has shown its commitment to accelerating innovative technology, and it's an area we are keen to build in."
Shealy has been an angel investor and interim CEO for startups he's backed since 2008, when McKesson Corp. acquired Dublin-based HTP Inc., the health-billing software company where he was CEO. The healthcare giant made three tech acquisitions that year for a combined $90 million, according to annual reports.
Also on the team joining Custom Health management team from Health in Motion:
- Brian Slusser, co-founder and past CEO, leading stakeholder relations. Health in Motion evolved out of Slusser's Optimized Care Network, which made teleconferencing stations for virtual healthcare.
- Cathy Kuhn, who also joined one year ago as chief pharmacy officer and rose to president, leading clinical programs. A past president of the Ohio Pharmacists Association and of an American Pharmacists Association working group, Kuhn was "voice of the customer" executive at Updox, a Dublin secure communications network for physician practices that also was acquired. Updox technology coordinates with Health in Motion's.
- Steve Weiker, CTO, who was an engineering leader at HTP and Optimized Care CTO.
Shealy still advises growing Central Ohio startups where he'd been CEO before turning them over to other operators: SafeWhite Inc., maker of teeth whitener HaloSmile, and TicketFire, an app for digitizing paper tickets for use or sale.
It's normal for serial entrepreneurs to stay for a year or so after an acquisition before getting the itch to build new. Not this time, Shealy said.
"They've given me a pretty important job, and I'm excited about the opportunity," he said.
