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As purely virtual care models become more popular, physical therapy startup Kins wants to give patients the flexibility to choose between seeing a therapist in person and online.
Dan SmithThe New York-based startup just raised $7 million in Series A funding to bring its hybrid concept to more states, Kins co-founder and CEO Dan Smith told Endpoints News exclusively.
The round was backed by Healthworx, the investment arm of Blue Cross Blue Shield insurer CareFirst, along with Redesign Health, W Health Ventures and Asahi Kasei Ventures. It brings Kins’ total funding to $14.2 million.
Investors have poured money into digital health startups providing musculoskeletal care. Sword Health in June nabbed $130 million, bumping its valuation to $3 billion, and last month, a report from the non-profit Peterson Health Technology Institute suggested that virtual physical therapy programs can work as well as in-person ones.
Smith founded Kins in 2021 with the help of accelerator and investor Redesign after he experienced having to visit a clinic in person twice a week to get physical therapy from a therapist who was juggling multiple patients at the same time.
“It’s this nondescript clinic in a strip mall, and it just struck me as something that just hasn’t changed at all in literally the last 25 years,” he told Endpoints in an interview.
Kins’ licensed therapists see patients one at a time. And while other musculoskeletal treatment startups such as Hinge Health prioritize a digital-first approach, Smith said, Kins believes in giving patients the option to get care wherever they want.
Kins therapists typically meet patients in their home for their first session. After that, patients can choose to see therapists in person as much as they want, or see them virtually. The ability to switch between the two is meant to help elderly folks with mobility issues, busy young professionals who might travel a lot, and those with families save time, Smith said.
Today, Kins matches patients with physical therapists in New York and Massachusetts. With the new funding, it’s planning to expand to DC, Maryland and Virginia. Kins sells to Medicare and commercial health plans, and sees patients referred from hospitals either before or after surgeries.