Barti Software has received a $12 million investment via Series A funding to enable the advancement of its electronic health record (EHR) platform for eyecare professionals (ECPs).
First, a rundown on Barti.
Operating out of San Francisco, California, Barti is a venture-backed software startup that was initially launched to provide an EHR exclusively for optometry practices (take note: its co-founder and chief operating officer, Kelly Cai, OD, is an optometrist).
Since 2021, the company has curated its all-in-one practice management platform designed by (and for) ECPs—optometrists (ODs), ophthalmologists (MDs), opticians, and others from across the United States.
- Its mission: Simplifying (customizing) EHRs for eyecare practices to enable ECPs to reduce the time they spend on their EHR and, instead, focus more on patient care.
- And to date: Barti’s software has been integrated in over 200 practices.
Before we get into this software, let’s talk financing.
The $12 million investment was led by Five Elms Capital, a Kansas City, Missouri-based growth investor in software businesses that has reportedly already invested over $3 billion in 70+ software platforms across the globe.
What it offers to companies (aside from capital): Strategic and operational expertise to assist its investments in advancing their “growth, retention, product, and AI” for long-term success.
Now to the Barti platform—what sets it apart in the industry?
Two words: artificial intelligence (AI).
Specifically, Barti’s flagship platform offers native AI-assisted charting for ECPs through the use of an AI scribe.
The scribe’s role: Transcribing during consultations and generating accurate medical notes for clinicians to review afterward.
And its capabilities?
The platform is equipped with a range of unique components for ECPs, all intended to enable easy practice integration as well as support the workflow and needs of subspecialty practices (such as myopia management, vision therapy, and binocular vision).
Digging into a few of its features, the basic version of this software offers the following services:
- Billing and inventory
- A clearinghouse integration for submitting medical claims as well as tracking invoices and claims in one system
- Calendar
- Real-time viewing of ECPs’ availability for patients and digital appointment requesting
- Exam
- Flexible, auto-populated notes and machine integration for faster and simplified charting (plus dedicated specialty templates)
- Messaging
- Two-way messaging platform sends customized, HIPAA-compliant, automated reminders to patients
- Optical and contact lens ordering
- Integrated frames and contact lens supplier system that tracks and notifies clinicians of their frame inventory
- Sends patient notifications of pending orders
- Patient intake
- Customizable and mobile-friendly patient intake form accessible for patients to complete ahead of an appointment
- Voice call log
- Automated scheduling via an AI Office Copilot (launched in partnership with Google Cloud Platform) that books patient appointments as well as answers and manages call logs
Plus: The company also rolled out an industry-first component last fall: a Voice over Internet (VoIP) system that enables ECPs to make and receive phone calls over the internet via the platform.
Impressive! And didn’t the platform receive another investment in the last year or so?
An investment and endorsement, to be specific.
That investor: AOAExcel, a for-profit subsidiary of the American Optometric Association (AOA).
Specifically: The organization’s financial investment in Barti was its first (ever) in an EHR company.
- Check out our coverage on that.
Nice! So, with this new funding, what’s next for the company?
Thanks to its partnership with Five Elms Capital, Barti plans to continue expanding its EHR platform into ophthalmology practices by:
- Scaling its go-to-market efforts
- Growing its team across key functions
- Accelerate the development of new AI capabilities and workflow automation
Plus: This expansion will also extend to rolling out more integrated features for “greater efficiency” across its eyecare practice users.
- As Colton Calandrella, CEO and co-founder of Barti, noted: "Our goal is to automate 80%+ of routine admin work through our tools, including AI agents, to enable practitioners to prioritize patient care without being bogged down by tedious administrative tasks."
As always, stay tuned!