PokitDok, a Charleston heath care startup, was awarded a $4 million investment from one of the US’s largest vision insurance companies, California-based VSP Global. This builds on the company’s existing financing efforts, which include a $5 million from Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America.
Joe Murad, PokitDok’s chief executive, says that the deals help cover operating costs and lend the company credibility. PokitDok’s platform, built on blockchain, links a constellation of computer systems in an effort to consolidate patient information and records.
VSP compares the approach to the early internet. Jay Sales, VSP’s innovation lab co-director, said, “We understand the need to be at the forefront of this next evolution… blockchain is coming to healthcare – quickly.”
Murad believes the investment benefits go beyond the funding itself – VSP’s current information tracking structure for insurance sales dovetails well into what PokitDok is building.
According to Murad, VSP can “leverage almost all of the assets” that PokitDok has built. “It aligns really well with what we’re trying to do, and they’re fairly progressive when it comes down to changing this old architecture.”
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