Toronto-based Akira has been acquired by Right Health.
Right Health, which is still in beta, launched in 2016 with the mission of combining face-to-face and virtual healthcare. The company is working on partnering with healthcare providers to build a consumer-facing portal and app linked with a patient’s electronic medical record.
Akira’s platform allows users to access doctors and nurses through an app to diagnose common medical problems, and says it has facilitated 20,000 consults across Ontario. As Right Health has a vision to build out physical primary care clinics, the goal is for Akira to power the virtual side of the service.
Right Health will continue to operate the Akira platform under its original name, while co-founders Dustin Walper, Taha Bandukwala, and Matt Zukowski will join Right Health in leadership positions.
“We believe that the future of healthcare is a combination of great technology and well-designed physical spaces,” said Walper, co-founder and CEO of Akira. “Up to 75 percent, of the time, you’ll be able to start and end your healthcare journey entirely on your smartphone – but if you need to be seen in-person, you’ll go to a modern, tech-enabled clinic unlike anything in Canada today. It’s a throwback to the original Akira mission and a model that’s been very successful in other parts of the world.”
Right Health was launched by co-founders John Mozas and Dan Pawliw, both past executives at corporate health-focused Medcan Clinic.
“There’s no doubt that healthcare in Canada is going through a transformation,’ says Mozas. “New models are shifting control from the system to the patient, and Akira not only provides patients access to practitioners but also a digital connection to their medical record.”
The Akira service will continue to operate normally, though Walper wouldn’t disclose when a physical clinic would launch.
“It’s sort of the ultimate combination – John Mozas and Dan Pawliw bring decades of experience in the healthcare industry, particularly around clinical operations and physical spaces,” Walper said. “The Akira team brings great technology and product expertise into the mix – I personally think this is the team that can make digital health mainstream across Canada.”