Spruce has hit a growth spurt. The San Francisco company has expanded its dermatology telemedicine service to cover far more skin conditions, and has taken another large chunk of venture capital to fuel its national expansion.
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers led the new $15 million funding round, with participation from Baseline Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, and Google Ventures. These same players, with the exception of Google Ventures — contributed to a $2 million seed round for Spruce during 2014.
“Patients and dermatologists have loved the experience Spruce provides for acne treatment, and we are excited to now enable high-quality care for a wide range of dermatological concerns,” said Ray Bradford, CEO of Spruce. “There is an average 29 day wait time to see a dermatologist in America, and it can be time-intensive, inconvenient, and expensive to seek treatment.”
Spruce originally focused on patients needing acne treatments, but now offers virtual dermatologist visits for lines and wrinkles, skin discoloration, eczema, psoriasis, male hair loss, rashes, bug bites and stings, and other conditions.
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Here’s how the Spruce app works. First, the user shares photos and medical information with a board-certified dermatologist, and within 24 hours a dermatologist reviews the information and sends a personalized treatment plan back to the user’s phone. A prescription is sent to the user’s pharmacy if needed. Importantly, the user can always refer to the app for exact aftercare instructions, Bradford told VentureBeat.
Right now Spruce’s service is available to people in four states — California, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania.
Doctor visits cost $40 per visit using the Spruce app. Spruce supports Apple Pay and accepts major debit/credit cards as well as flexible spending account cards.
The company was founded by Bradford in 2013.
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