A company called First Opinion has raised $6 million in Series A, bringing its total funding to $8.6 million (with $2.6M seed round). Early-stage health investor Polaris Partners led the round and got a seat at the board; also participating were True Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Scrum Ventures and Monashees Capital.

The company makes a mobile app that lets patients communicate with physicians via SMS. What could seem as somewhat awkward way to speak to your doctor in the age of video calls is best suited solution to address the majority of the population, according to First Opinion.

While 90% of the American population owns a cellphone, only 58% uses a smartphone.“We’re really just going to where the population lives. The population will never pay $40 for half of a doctor visit through any type of communication method, including video,” says CEO McKay Thomas.

A plethora of video call services would say otherwise, but figures from Pew Research may prove Thomas’ point. It is estimated that while 90% of the American population owns a cellphone, only 58% uses a smartphone, leaving a good chunk of the population unserved by modern virtual visit services.

The application allows users to text the doctor questions they have about their health and get a response in 24 hours. Those opting for a $9 monthly subscription will get their answers within five minutes.

With the entire remote care market poised for growth, we tend to think there’s room for a text-only service such as the one First Opinion provides…

[Via: TechCrunch]