CharmHealth, a leader in healthcare technology solutions for providers, and Bioverge, a leading Silicon Valley venture firm and investment platform specializing in emerging healthcare technology, today announced an investment in Boston-based startup UBERDOC. The recent recipient of Startup and Founder of the Year honors, UBERDOC aims to democratize access to affordable healthcare by building a nationwide network of physicians spanning more than 50 specialties.

With its latest funding, the company can accelerate growth, adding more doctors and geographies to make it faster and easier than ever before for patients to connect with the best providers for their needs.

“UBERDOC is transforming the healthcare landscape by providing a much-needed direct-pay patient model, offering a complementary platform to current insurance and direct primary care (DPC) models,” said Venky Chellappa, vice president at CharmHealth and managing partner of the CharmHealth Digital Transformation Fund. “UBERDOC gives patients, private companies, and government agencies direct access to a broad network of specialists outside the insurance network — an option that has long been overdue. This approach helps balance the growing demand for physician services with the need for timely and affordable patient access.

“We welcome UBERDOC to the CharmHealth (Bioverge) Digital Transformation Fund portfolio, a company founded by clinicians with deep domain expertise and a passion for better care,” added Chellappa. “We are excited to support UBERDOC’s mission, and we look forward to its continued impact on the healthcare industry.”

UBERDOC is delivering a new, patient-centric model of care. The company provides priority access to the best doctors through in-person or telemedicine appointments. Patients can choose from a wide variety of highly qualified doctors in their area without worrying about whether the physicians are in-network or if they need a referral. They simply make an appointment with the doctor of their choice for an affordable, transparent price.

Because there are no referral restrictions, patients don’t have to see multiple doctors, which means fewer appointments, fewer co-pays, and fewer bills. Booking through UBERDOC typically costs less than a patient would pay out of pocket with insurance.

UBERDOC’s network currently consists of 5,000 doctors across all 50 states. With the funding provided by CharmHealth and Bioverge, UBERDOC aims to significantly grow the number of physicians on its platform.

One of the benefits of joining the UBERDOC network is access to thousands of direct patients through exclusive contracts. UBERDOC drives new direct-pay patients to member practices, supports online scheduling, manages payment processing, and offers a host of additional capabilities that can amplify a practice’s success. When a doctor joins, he/she can offer appointments for direct-pay patients. These doctors take insurance but will also gain a “seat” for direct-pay patients. This way, UBERDOC can help fill all time slots and effectively alleviate the strain of cancellations and no-shows.

“UBERDOC is where direct-pay patients go to find the care they need without the barriers that limit choice, cause delay, and cost more. We help them be ‘seen’ even if the appointment desk says there is no availability,” said Paula Muto, M.D., FACS, founder and CEO of UBERDOC. “We look forward to working very closely with CharmHealth and Bioverge to scale our platform. The funding puts us one step closer toward our ultimate goal of having a seat in every doctor’s waiting room as we create an efficient walk-in system for specialty care.”