Even though more than 1 million women across the U.S. undergo menopause each year, only 20% of OB/GYNs receive training on how to address questions related to this natural transition in life or how to treat complications arising from it.

HerMD was founded in 2015 to address this problem by erecting women’s health centers in which 100% of clinicians are trained in menopause and sexual healthcare. On Monday, the company raised $18 million to expand its care model and open more of these health centers.

The oversubscribed Series A-1 round was led by JAZZ Venture Partners, with participation from B-Flexion and Amboy Street Ventures. The round brings HerMD’s total funding to nearly $30 million.

HerMD’s headquarters are in Cincinnati, where it opened its first women’s health center in 2015. The company operates another three health centers in Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee, and it is preparing to open a fifth one in New Jersey next week.

“Women from 35 states and three countries traveled to HerMD’s first location in Cincinnati due to a lack of access to providers who are trained in menopause and sexual healthcare and who take insurance. HerMD is solving this tremendous gap in healthcare by creating a patient care model that offers evidence-based solutions in brick-and-mortar locations within an insurance-based model,” said Somi Javaid, the company’s co-founder and chief medical officer.

Under HerMD’s care model, patients can receive comprehensive women’s healthcare via both in-person visits and virtual care offerings, with an emphasis on menopause and sexual healthcare, Javaid explained. 

HerMD’s staff members consist of OB/GYNs, nurses and nurse practitioners — all of whom are trained in handling questions related to and/or complications arising from menopause and sexual healthcare. They provide general gynecologic care, menopause care, sexual healthcare and medical aesthetics services, as well as imaging, phlebotomy, minimally invasive surgery and retail products, Javaid explained.

“We have solved both sides of the health care dilemma — we have given providers mission-driven work and the time they deserve to practice medicine. We have delivered on exceptional providers, who are expertly trained in a beautiful space for patients. In this scenario, both provider and patient are seen and deliver an exceptional model of healthcare that is revolutionary, not just repackaged,” Javaid declared.

HerMD offers virtual care options across the four (soon to be five) states that it currently operates brick-and-mortar locations. Patients can make an appointment for a virtual consultation and their HerMD provider can then create a care plan, Javaid said. 

She also pointed out that patients can travel to a HerMD location and then continue their care for up to a year virtually. The company offers follow-up appointments via virtual care as well. 

HerMD accepts private insurance and Medicare. The company also offers self-pay options, and there are some products and services that are not covered by insurance, such as medical aesthetics like laser hair removal and Botox injections.

Women’s health is an area ripe for innovation, and HerMD is certainly not the only company seeking to transform the space. One of its main competitors is Tia, a startup providing hybrid primary care, OB/GYN services and mental health care to women. Both HerMD and Tia accept private insurance, but Tia does not accept Medicare.

HerMD also differs from Tia because it is physician-founded, Javaid said. She added that HerMD’s care model incorporates data to ensure better patient outcomes.

“Our research is presented at major healthcare conferences yearly. Data is the only way we will smash the status quo and expand modern minimally invasive care within an insurance-based offering,” Javaid declared.

She also acknowledged that there are telehealth companies that focus on menopause care. Some include Gennev, Evernow and Upliv. Javaid argued that HerMD is “truly one of the only companies offering this type of care within a brick-and-mortar model.”

Photo: HerMD