Brightree receives charge from private equity firm

DULUTH, Ga.--Brightree secured “a significant investment” from a private equity firm in July, giving the software vendor the wherewithal to make acquisitions, expand into new markets and boost spending on product development. Brightree received funding from Battery Ventures, a Boston-based firm with $3 billion under management. “The industry continues to be under fire, in terms of reimbursement cuts, but this is another vote of confidence from the capital market,” said Dave Cormack, president and CEO of Brightree. Thanks to the financing, Brightree is in “active discussions” to acquire a “number of competitors,” Cormack said. The software vendor would make the acquisitions with an eye toward converting their customers to its Internet-based solution. “There's room for consolidation,” Cormack said. “It's an extremely fragmented market with probably 20 to 30 systems out there, some of them 20 or more years old.” Brightree also plans to expand its customer base to include the home health, retail pharmacy and long-term care markets. Currently, it serves the home medical equipment, orthotics and prosthetics, and sleep therapy markets. “We've done a bit of test marketing on the retail pharmacy side, and any pharmacy that does $250,000 or more of HME business on an annual basis can justify using Brightree,” Cormack said. “We feel like we've tapped into a rich vein of return in that area.” Additionally, Brightree plans to offer a “complete solution” for providers of any size that includes a GPS point-of-delivery system; a shipping integration system for providers who use FedEx; and a full point-of-sale system with cash draw and credit card capabilities.