Ukrainian Toloka.vc invests $615k in British medtech startup Scan.comUkrainian venture syndicate Toloka.vc has announced its another investment to AIN.Capital. This time, the syndicate invested $615,000 in Scan.com, UK’s marketplace for self-pay MRI scans. The investment will accelerate its expansion into the US market.Founded in 2017 by Dr. Khalid Latief, Mark Nissim, Charlie Bullock, Oliver Knight, and Joe Daniels, Scan.com is an online platform that helps users compare, view, and book medical scanning services. Scan.com team consists of 45 people and builds the infrastructure to seamlessly connect doctors and patients with medical imaging centers in the UK and US.“American healthcare system is fraught with insurance roadblocks, poor provider-to-patient communication, and logistical nightmares. This can make getting the medical care you need feel frustrating, exhausting, or impossible; medical imaging is no exception

Anyone in the U.K. who has tried to book an NHS medical appointment of late will know just how much of an ordeal it can be, with median waiting times for consultant-led elective care (i.e. pre-planned clinical treatment) currently sitting at around 14.6 weeks in England. This has led to a spike in people turning to the private medical sector, a trend some argue heralds the start of a two-tier healthcare system where those with financial means effectively pay to fast-track their treatment.In tandem, a floundering public healthcare system has created fertile ground for healthtech startups to flourish, addressing everything from staffing shortages to improving radiologists’ tech stack.One such company is Scan.com, a London-based medical imaging startup that connects patients with scanning centers, covering MRI, ultrasound, CT, and X-ray. The company today announced it has raised $12 million in a Series A round of funding, as it looks to build on its recent U.S. launch.Waiting timesThe problem, according to Scan.com, is that even if a patient is able to book a doctor’s appointment in the first place (a procedure that is becoming increasingly difficult in itself in the U.K.), the subsequent referral process to get an appropriate scan can take several months, after which they may have to wait even longer to receive the results.Scan.com has partnered with hundreds of scanning centers to enable individuals to access medical imaging services with or without a GP’s referral, with user-friendly reports replete with clickable diagrams delivered within a week.Scan.com report Image Credits: Scan.comTo use Scan.com’s online referral system, users pay up-front to secure their scan, and then they are booked in for a virtual consultation with a clinician within 48 hours.Prices vary based on a number of factors such as location and the type of scan required, but rough ball-park figures run anywhere from £180 to £395 or more, and includes the consultation, the scan, and all the follow-on reports.If a scan identifies a serious problem, the patient enters Scan.com’s “urgent findings pathway,” where a clinical team contacts the patient and their doctor to explain the results and offer guidance on what to do next.But the ability to bypass a GP (general practitioner) and self-refer for a medical scan surely could lead to all manner of time-wasting endeavors — what if a patient doesn’t actually need a scan?“Our clinical team offers consultations and guidance to all patients once they’ve booked, which is a core part of the service we offer,” Scan.com CEO Charlie Bullock explained to TechCrunch