Elation Health, which offers tools for telehealth, patient engagement and an EHR geared toward primary care providers, announced on Thursday that it had acquired billing and practice-management company Lightning MD.

Elation said it would combine the billing and revenue cycle software with its tools to offer an all-in-one product in beta starting this summer. Practices who use other management and billing software through Elation's API will still have that option. 

Founded in 2017, Lightning MD partnered to integrate with Elation's services last year. 

"Healthcare technology is rapidly evolving, particularly in the primary care sector where we have the greatest opportunity to improve patient outcomes and raise the standard of our healthcare system for everyone," Kyna Fong, cofounder and CEO of Elation Health, said in a statement.

"With this acquisition and Elation’s plans for its all-in-one solution, primary care practices will be better equipped to achieve financial success while delivering high quality patient care – without administrative burden and distraction that is so common in this industry."

THE LARGER TREND

Elation was founded more than a decade ago by siblings Kyna and Conan Fong. Last year, the company raised $50 million in Series D funding, bringing its total raise to more than $108 million.

Though access to primary care is linked to better health outcomes, many Americans don't have a primary care provider, and the workforce is shrinking as physicians choose higher-paying specialty care. 

According to a Commonwealth Fund issue brief published last year, access and care coordination in U.S. primary care lags behind other wealthy nations, with only half of providers reporting adequate levels of coordination with specialists and hospitals about changes in their patients' care plans.

Other companies offering technology and practice support services include UpStream Healthcare, which recently raised $140 million, and Tebra, which scooped up $72 million.

Primary care has also become a larger focus for retail companies pushing into care delivery. CVS Health recently announced plans to acquire Oak Street Health, a primary care company geared toward the Medicare population, in a deal worth approximately $10.6 billion. It also invested in Carbon Health, a hybrid primary and urgent care company. 

Walgreens has a stake in primary care provider VillageMD and Amazon has signed a deal to acquire One Medical for $3.9 billion.