HealthTap raises $24 million for doctor-patient mobile health network

Silicon Valley's HealthTap, the Palo Alto-based startup behind a mobile health network of the same name, announced this morning that it raised $24 million in a Series B funding round.

Khosla Ventures led the round, backed up by prior investors Mayfield Fund and Mohr Davidow Ventures.

HealthTap wants to "redefine modern healthcare" with its network, which connects regular people to a network of some 38,000 physicians in a question-and-answer format. ("Be the CEO of your own health" is how the three-year-old company puts it.)

How does it make money? By charging on the front end: about $10 for one inquiry, plus another $5 to continue the conversation. If that seems steep, consider the fact that the average co-pay in the U.S. for a visit is $30. The idea is to bridge the gap between WebMD's reference library ("You may have tuberculosis, gonorrhea or the Black Death") and an informational visit to your real, quite busy doctor.

The company's biggest challenge is ramping up to that critical mass of adoption; it's hoping the new funds will help it preserve the momentum, with better products and fresh talent. In the last year, the company says it has almost quadrupled the number of doctors in its network, and has "tens of millions of people worldwide" using its web and mobile apps.

"The future of healthcare is at the confluence of big data, smart algorithms, and simple-to-use interfaces that will provide amplification of our MD's resources," Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla said. "HealthTap is breaking ground in all three."