Cardiology enablement platform CardioOne raises $8M, expands to new markets

The company offers tech and support to independent cardiologists as they shift to value-based care

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, putting demand on cardiologists, more than 70% of whom are employed by hospitals and health systems. More recently, though, there has been increased interest in independent practice, which would give them more direct control over their practice and how they deliver patient care.

CardioOne was designed to ease the burden of managing a practice so independent cardiologists can remain independent in an increasingly demanding and complicated practice environment.

"Many cardiologists have a strong desire to be independent, but find themselves caught between an ever-increasing amount of administrative and insurance-related work and the complexities of the shift to value-based care," Jasen Gunderson MD, CEO and co-founder of CardioOne told VatorNews.

Independent cardiologists are spending more than 17 hours a week on administrative tasks, taking them away from needed patient care activities and contributing to burnout and frustration, he explained.

"As a result, independent cardiologists who wish to maintain flexibility and control over how they serve their patients, often feel compelled toward acquisition. That’s why we founded CardioOne– to reduce the burdens of managing a practice so that independent cardiologists can focus on their patients and what they love."

Now the company will be able to offer that to a greater number of physicians, as it has more than doubling its footprint, announcing three new partnerships with independent cardiology practices on Monday. Going forward, CardioOne will be in New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania thanks to partnerships with Cardiac Associates of New Jersey, Twin Hearts LLC and Corrieius Cardiology. They join its existing partner practices in Texas and Maryland.

Additionally, CardioOne is partnering with MedAxiom, a source for organizational performance solutions that will allow the company share its expertise and expand its impact across the cardiology community.

"As part of the partnership, we will work alongside MedAxiom to share our expertise, tools and solutions to help MedAxiom members and the cardiology community thrive in an increasingly demanding cardiovascular environment," said Gunderson.

Founded in 2022 at Redesign Health, CardioOne looks to provide the advantages of a national network for cardiologists, while also enhancing core operations and providing the infrastructure to improve patient outcomes, improve clinical team workflows, and elevate the patient and provider experience, particularly in the era of value-based care. 

The company partners with independent cardiology practices of all sizes, and its platform is specifically designed to meet different business needs and practice sizes. For example, on one end of the spectrum, it's partnering with a smaller family-run provider duo, and on the other end it's supporting a 10-provider practice. The company is also starting to see inbound interest from newer cardiology graduates and seasoned in-hospital cardiologists who are considering becoming independent.

"We’ve seen significant interest in CardioOne’s offering over the past six months from health system physicians and a younger generation of medical students and residents who want to enter independent practice, in addition to current independent cardiologists who want to remain that way," said Gunderson.

"We have built our model to be extremely scalable, supported by purpose-built technology and a senior team with extensive clinical, technical and operational expertise, so we can continue to serve these physicians and provide them with the resources they need to ease the burden of managing a practice while improving patient outcomes." 

In less than a year since launching, CardioOne is already seeing an almost 100% ROI in terms of practice growth, with some practices experiencing a 2x growth in patient panel, 100% staff retention rate, and 200 point increase in provider Net Promoter Score.

Along with the new partnerships, the company also revealed that it has so fair raised $8 million in seed funding, which it plans to use it to continue to build out its team and to build density in target markets that will allow for the development of a network of cardiologists to enter into value based care contracts.

The ultimate goal, Gunderson explained, is to foster independent cardiologists’ entrepreneurial spirit and their joy for practicing medicine.

"We see CardioOne fundamentally reshaping the landscape of practicing cardiology, empowering cardiologists to remain independent without the overwhelming burdens associated with managing a practice, and providing an alternative to acquisition and vertical integration. We want to advance the success of independent cardiologists and help them lead the way into new value based care models of the future," he said.