BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Michigan — gloStream became the latest electronic medical records vendor to stockpile cash and prepare for a stimulus-fueled EMR market.
The Michigan company, which makes Microsoft Office-friendly EMR and practice-management software, announced Wednesday it raised $7.5 million through Beringea and its own executive team.
The company said it will use the money to “bolster virtually all areas” of its business as it “looks to hire for nearly all internal teams.” gloStream’s product comes embedded with Microsoft Office (exam notes and other templates can be created in Microsoft Word, for example) which the company thinks makes it easier for private practices to use and understand. Physicians can also use voice-recognition software to dictate notes or activate commands in the software.
gloStream is expanding to take advantage of the $20 billion health IT allocation in the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, which will subsidize doctors as they move to an electronic records system. Soon after the stimulus package was signed in February, a German firm, CompuGROUP Holding AG, purchased a majority stake in Ohio’s Noteworthy Medical Systems to give it access to the U.S. market; New York City electronic tablet maker Phreesia raised $11.6 million; and Boston’s MedAptus, which makes medical billing software, raised $6 million.
“The race is still wide open,” Chief Executive Mike Sappington said. “The doctors are evaluating now and starting to make decisions on how they’re going to head.”
The company expects to quickly double its staff of 75, Sappington said.
gloStream’s Series A round was funded by Sappington and other private investors (Sappington wouldn’t reveal the size of the investment). Beringea’s Series B round was made via the InvestMichigan! Growth Capital Fund, which uses state retirement dollars to invest into companies with a major presence in the Michigan.
