Several large healthcare groups are getting on the telehealth train after announcing Wednesday they would be investing some $24 million in the technology. 

 

Sutter Health joined venture capital firms Heritage Group and Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors to ink a $23.6 million deal with telehealth software company MDLIVE. The funding will be used to further build out healthcare systems in the cloud, as well as to integrate a Second Opinion program for patients.

 

[See also: Health IT banks record VC cash in 2013.]

 

Officials say the telehealth platform will allow consumers with non-emergency medical problems to have direct, anytime, anywhere access to doctors nationwide via telephone, email and videoconference. 

 

"Empowering consumers to receive quality care when and where they want it opens new avenues to good medicine," said Don Wreden, MD, Sutter Health's chief medical group transformation officer, in a Jan. 22 press statement. 

 

"We look forward to working with the company to expand its already robust offerings and to help build a full service cloud-based healthcare system, making it easier than ever for patients to get access to healthcare on the go," added Rock Morphis, managing director of Heritage Group, in a statement. 

 

This investment expands the portfolio of companies backed by the Heritage Healthcare Innovation Fund, which was established by Heritage Group and a diverse group of healthcare services firms including, Amedisys, Cardinal Health, CHE Trinity Health, Community Health Systems, Health Care Service Corporation, Intermountain Healthcare, LifePoint Hospitals, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, Tenet Healthcare and UnityPoint Health.

 

"This new funding affirms the industry imperative to broaden the availability of telehealth and to expand on the millions of lives whose access to care we have positively impacted to date," said Randy Parker, CEO of MDLIVE, in a statement.