American Well Pulls in $194 Million to Keep Up With the Skyrocketing Demand for Telemedicine

Virtual medical visit vendor American Well (Amwell) has raised $194 million to help it keep pace with skyrocketing demand for telemedicine, reports CNBC . Amwell CEO Ido Schoenberg decided to raise capital now because healthcare is rapidly migrating online, with states having relaxed many regulations to encourage providers to conduct visits online so their customers can avoid unnecessary exposure to the coronavirus. The company has pulled in about $500 million to date, and Schoenberg said some of the new funding will help ensure Amwell's technology is sufficiently robust to accommodate growing usage. "We want to make sure we can be there for clients and partners even if there is a storm coming — and now we have a much stronger balance sheet," he noted. Schoenberg admitted that March was very challenging for Amwell, with providers at Cleveland Clinic and other facilities encountering delays and crashing calls. He said the company has taken steps to mitigate such problems, and wait times are about three to four minutes long. Amwell has witnessed an average 1,000 percent increase in visits due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while some areas have seen demand increasing to something closer to 3,000 percent to 4,000 percent from both scheduled and on-demand visits. However, scheduled visits are starting to overtake on-demand this month, implying that consumers might be beginning to use telemedicine as an alternative to traditional family medicine.