7th July 2015
Medical software developer Time for Medicine seeks crowdfunding boost
A spin-out from the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff is hoping to secure a £300,000 investment to commercialise its software designed to eliminate the need for millions of NHS outpatient appointments.
Time for Medicine is looking to secure funding through the Syndicate Room platform for the final stages of its cloud-based remote specialist diagnosis programme.
In return, the business is offering 9.2 per cent equity. It has currently raised more than £135,000 towards its total with 41 days remaining.
In 2013/14, there were more than 100 million outpatient appointments per year in the UK, costing about £20bn and making up 20 per cent of the NHS budget.
Clive Minihan, finance director and joint managing director, told Insider: “We’ve created a secure platform that sits in the cloud and links patients and doctors.
“If you go to a GP and are referred to a specialist, you’ll likely be waiting months for an appointment and when you get one the first thing you’ll be asked is your medical information.
“The majority of people seen by specialists have similar conditions and around three-quarters could be diagnosed with just the information, without having to see the patient. With the rest, most of the appointment times are still taken up collecting information. In the most extreme cases, patients can die on the waiting list.
“We’ve developed a range of specialist questionnaires that collect all the necessary information for diagnosis. Patients can access the service from home and enter their data securely.”
So far, Time for Medicine has raised £1.7m from angel investors, with the majority coming from a clinical background. The business has received backing from more than 60 senior clinicians, contributing about 65 per cent of its funding to date.
It has already deployed its allergy unit and is currently preparing for the release of its sexual health module.
Clive Minihan said: “This is the final round of investment for the initial commercialisation of the product and will mainly be used for product development. We then plan to have a further venture capital round.
“We’re launching the sexual health service in Essex shortly and are also in talks with Cardiff and Birmingham. We hope to have four or five services out there in the near future.
“We have 20 specialties to launch in total, cardiology and neurology will probably be next, and there are other areas of secondary care we’ve not developed in yet.
“We could also use the platform to provide primary care services for GPs and there is a longer-term plan to expand overseas.”