Doctor Care Anywhere has delivered a profit for the first time after posting a £500,000 surplus in the first half of 2025, compared with a £2.7m loss in the same period of last year.
However revenue and the number of consultations conducted were down with reasons including Axa Health client losses and closing its secondary care pathway.
Doctor Care Anywhere is the telehealth partner for Axa Health.
Consultation volumes were 349,900 in H1 2025, down 12.2% on the same period last year.
The firm said this was in line with management expectations due to the impact of the closure of the Axa Health secondary care pathway in the second half of 2024, Axa client losses in 2024 which have now stabilised, and the mild UK winter in the first quarter of the year.
However activated lives were 1.2 million, up 13.7% on the previous period.
The firm added 61,100 lives in H1 2025 compared with the last six months of 2024, although this was slower than a year ago.
It attributed the decline rate of new additions as primarily due to lower marketing activity.
Revenue fell from £21.8m to £19.2m over the same period, with business as usual (BAU) revenue up from £18.7m to £19.2m.
When excluding the impact of closing the firm’s secondary care pathway, BAU revenue was 1.6% up.
Transformation programme
However, the medical group noted the completion of a major phase of its transformation programme focused on streamlining operations and reducing costs which was completed in the first quarter of the year.
It added these changes had enabled it to post profits and set it up for growing profitability in the coming quarters.
But the firm also pointed out that further “cost optimisation initiatives” were underway to identify additional opportunities to reduce the cost base and support the company’s long-term growth strategy.
In 2024 Doctor Care Anywhere noted significant improvements in cost margins through introducing further categories of advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs) to undertake more consultations than doctors.
These additions to the consultation service included pharmacists and paramedics, alongside its advanced nurse practitioners (ANPs).
As a result it increased the proportion of consultations performed by ACPs to 40%, with GPs still conducting the majority (60%).
With these initiatives continued to evolve in the first half of the year the provider noted.
In Q2 it further expanded this clinical model by onboarding mental health practitioners and physiotherapists, “enabling better alignment of patients with the most appropriate care pathways”.
It added these enhancements are expected to support improved patient outcomes while further reducing the company’s cost to serve over time.
“Enhancements to the booking journey on the Doctor Care Anywhere app were also successfully implemented in the second quarter, significantly reducing the time taken to book appointments,” it continued.
“These changes have vastly improved the patient experience and contributed to increased engagement, leading to an increase in appointments.”
CFO departure
At the end of July chief financial officer (CFO) Seema Sangar stepped-down after just over a year at the business, having joined in March 2024.
Niall Dore was appointed interim chief financial officer in her place.
Doctor Care Anywhere chairman John Stier, said: “Seema has significantly contributed to the progress of our business through a period of transformation.
“As chief financial officer of DCA she has successfully instilled and embedded strong financial disciplines and controls to support our ambitious development and growth objectives.
“We thank her for her contribution and wish her well in her future career.
“Niall’s considerable experience in financial leadership across digital and IT-based service enterprises, notably Fairplay Sports Media, Betfair and Experian, further strengthens DCA’s executive team.”
Doctor Care Anywhere is still waiting for the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to review its rating following improvements it made last year. This followed the CQC downgrading its rating in October 2023.
