Iris Telehealth Raises $40 Million in Series B Funding to Combat Behavioral Healthcare Crisis

Virtual mental health company to grow clinical operations, commercial, and technology teams to help health systems and community health centers deliver timely and appropriate care to patients in need

AUSTIN, Texas, April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Iris Telehealth, a leading provider of telepsychiatry services for health systems and community health centers across the U.S., announced today that they have raised $40 million in Series B funding to accelerate their vision of improving outcomes for patients with serious mental illness. Founded in 2013, Iris is dedicated to delivering quality, sustainable behavioral healthcare so their partner organizations can better support the patients who need it most. 

With behavioral health patients accounting for 56% of total health costs and 77% of U.S. counties facing a psychiatrist shortage, providing timely, quality care to patients with serious mental illness has never been more critical – or challenging. With this funding, Iris intends to further assist their partner healthcare organizations in solving this challenge by helping care for and triage patients across the continuum, matching each patient with the right next level of care.

"For the past nine years, our goal has been to provide high-quality virtual behavioral health services to help healthcare organizations increase access to life-saving care and improve their patient outcomes," said Andy Flanagan, CEO of Iris Telehealth. "This funding will help us quickly scale our services to support more healthcare organizations. We plan to leverage this funding to create a positive, long-term impact on mental healthcare in communities across the country." 

Through this additional capital, Iris plans to invest in four main areas to accelerate the expansion of their behavioral health services: 

• Growing their clinical operations team to meet the growing customer demand and ensure long-term customer success
• Scaling their go-to-market strategy to deliver quality, sustainable behavioral healthcare to more enterprise health systems and community health centers
• Expanding their product and technology capabilities to help health systems manage patients across the continuum, ensuring the right patient is receiving the right care at the right time
• Augmenting their team of clinical and corporate employees to meet the increasing needs of patients and partners while maintaining a culture that is supportive, connected, and rooted in the shared mission of helping organizations meet their goals through exceptional care

Leading this funding round are Concord Health Partners and Columbia Pacific Advisors. In 2019, Concord Health Partners collaborated with the American Hospital Association (AHA) to launch their AHA Fund to help hospitals and health systems innovate and transform the way they deliver healthcare.

"Iris has an impressive track record of partnering with health systems and other providers to enhance behavioral health services by facilitating access to the appropriate level of care," said James Olsen, Founder and Managing Partner of Concord Health Partners. "We are excited to support Iris, expand its reach, and further enhance its technology capabilities."

Columbia Pacific Advisors was an initial Iris investor and is now expanding their commitment to further support the company as they work to expand access to much-needed behavioral healthcare services.

"We have seen Iris grow for many years and believe they are just getting started," said Stan Baty, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Columbia Pacific Advisors. "We look forward to helping them scale to support more healthcare organizations and patients in need of quality behavioral healthcare."

Now serving almost 200 hospitals and community health centers, Iris has grown exponentially over the last 18 months as healthcare organizations seek to provide timely, quality care to their patients. Iris's combination of high-quality providers, best-in-class support, expertise to optimize care models, and technology has enabled customers to reimagine how behavioral health services are provided across the continuum of care.

Iris Telehealth helps healthcare organizations consistently increase access to quality mental healthcare for their patients by providing the clinicians, staff support, and knowledge to build a sustainable telepsychiatry department. With clinical grounding and emphasis on human relationships, Iris Telehealth identifies best-fit providers for each unique organization and ensures long-term commitment to meeting their partner's needs, allowing them to provide the highest quality care to their patients and community. For more information, please visit iristelehealth.com. 

SOURCE Iris Telehealth