Burnsville-based Omcare Inc., a digital health company working to bring its "telehealth portal" to market, cut its teeth with an unlikely product: a webcam for pets.
Following a merger, Omcare is the new identity of Anser Innovation, a firm that makes a webcam that connects pets with their owners called PetChatz. Everything is going according to plan, CEO Lisa Lavin said. Anser built out its video chatting hardware with PetChatz, but the goal was always to eventually make the technology with humans in mind.
Omcare is now looking to commercialize what it calls the Home Health Hub, a tablet-like device that connects users with health care providers and pharmacists via telehealth and dispenses medication. The Home Health Hub helps seniors and people with chronic conditions with medication adherence, or making sure they take the right medication at the right time each day, by providing visual confirmation of them taking the medication. It can work with any telehealth system, Lavin said.
The firm has already recruited a heavyweight board that includes former UnitedHealthCare and Optum CEO Jeaninne Rivet, Bind Benefits Inc. President Jodi Hubler and Surescripts' Chief Intelligence Officer Mark Gingrich.
The Covid-19 pandemic makes now a fortuitous time to grow a company that relies on the success of telehealth because use of remote health care isn't going to go away, Lavin said.
"It's kind of hard to put that toothpaste back in the tube," she said.
Omcare is about to launch a pilot with a handful of patients, Lavin said. It has partnered with Thrifty White and Ecumen Senior Care to help it run the trials. It plans to launch broader trials later this year.
The firm is close to completing a planned $4 million round of venture capital funding. The round is led by Connect the Grey, a Mankato-based group that provides advising and investment to startups. Other angel investors are also involved, Lavin said.
Omcare has 15 employees and is looking to hire engineers, customer service reps and its first chief growth officer.
