As government organizations, hospitals and startups scramble for solutions to help out during coronavirus pandemic, those in the healthtech industry are uniquely positioned to leverage their products.
One of the latest North Texas startups to join in the fight to stop the spread is McKinney-based digital care coordination solutions provider Blockit, which announced it will be releasing its software for free to licensed health care providers during the outbreak.
Last month, Blockit announced a partnership with Beaumont Health, one of Michigan's largest health care systems, to provide referral and online patient self-scheduling solutions to Beaumont's network.
“Our goal has always been to use innovative technology to simplify patient access while improving outcomes and reducing excess work for healthcare professionals,” said Jake McCarley, Blockit co-founder and CEO, in a prepared statement. “With the rapid spread of COVID-19, we want to do our part to effectively route patients to test sites and support organizations struggling to handle the influx of patients on the front lines by offering free access to our scheduling platform.”
Founded in 2016, Blockit’s health care platform works to connect different data systems in the healthcare industry, improving patient flow and outcome. The platform allows users real-time calendar availability and scheduling collaboration, among other things. In addition to providing the software for free, the company is also looking to help connect users to COVID-19 testing sites around the country, with plans to create a testing site directory.
Across the country, health care providers and organizations have been requesting support in both technical and material terms. While hospitals in the Metroplex have yet to sound such alarms, other parts of the U.S. are worried that an increase in coronavirus patients will overwhelm existing hospital beds. Blockit said its platform will help increase efficiency in the system and reduce stress on health care workers.
“We’re strongly encouraging providers to enroll and take advantage of our platform that is easily deployable and accessible for patients who need access to tests,” McCarley said in a prepared statement. “Their participation is critical, and we believe that by working together, we can connect our health systems so patients can quickly access test sites that are imperative in containing the spread of COVID-19.”
With nearly $2.2 million in total funding, according to Crunchbase, Blockit closed on the first of a two-part $152,000 Seed Round of funding in 2016, finalizing the second part in February 2017. The round was led by Blockit co-founders McCarley and Mark Carver, and was joined by a group of strategic advisors.
Blockit was also one of the first startups to receive the McKinney EDC Innovation Fund grants in February. At the time, the company said it planned to used the grants to expand its headquarters and bring on new employees.
