With support from NIH and TEDCO, Bethesda’s PerSon Clinic is expanding digital healthcare offerings

As healthtech continues its massive growth in the DMV, digital healthcare startup PerSoN Clinic is stepping up to the plate to bridge the gap between patients and providers.

Founded in 2018, PerSoN Clinic is an online care platform with a wealth of digital health offerings. Patients can log in to an app for care recommendations from professionals in real-time, while providers on the other end have access to an online dashboard to offer comprehensive care. It also has an option for hospitals, offering a SaaS platform to connect to patients. Employers can also explore membership opportunities to offer their employees, either allowing them to pursue their own counseling options as they choose or offering a company counselor through PerSoN.

Starting next week, PerSoN is launching PerSoN Cares, an online counseling option for patients, with options to speak with licensed counselors regarding mental health or lifestyle and behavioral issues. With offerings for hospitals and care providers, employers and individuals who want to take control of their own health, Founder Sarah Iranpour said the goal is to be the most comprehensive option around.

Iranpour, who is also the founder of health IT firm Technology Digest, said she studied the US health system for 10 years before establishing PerSoN Clinic.

“I wanted to create something simple enough for everyone to use it, but had a profound impact in our society to reach a greater number of the people,” Iranpour said.

The Bethesda, Maryland-based company, which currently has five full-time employees in the US and 10 worldwide, has already found funding in the DMV. It initially received $200,000 in non-dilutive funding from the National Institutes of Health and in 2020, it received backing from TEDCO’s Pre-Seed Builder Fund, which is the Maryland tech agency’s investment fund for economically disadvantaged startups. In September, the firm was accepted into an accelerator from 76 Forward and CVS Health focused on retail pharmacies and healthcare. Presently, it’s also pursuing a partnership with a local hospital, with plans to raise $5 million in the first quarter of 2022.

“Initially, we focus on personal care, which is our direct market, and we are very optimistic that we are going to have a hockey stick growth quickly in that space,” Iranpour said.

Prior to COVID-19, Iranpour said she thinks the US was pretty slow to adopt technology into its healthcare practices. But the remote shifts of the pandemic, she said, helped move things forward on both the consumer and provider sides in terms of digitalization. In the next year, she expects things to grow even more, and she even envisions someday consumers might have access to products like T-shirts and headband wearables that combine fashion and healthcare.

But for now, she hopes that PerSoN Clinic can provide patients with the ongoing and comprehensive support that they need.

“We as a community, as a society, we understand that getting well is not a one-person job. It is a collective task,” Iranpour said. “That is the real vision behind PerSoN Care.”