C-STATS CEO Derek Streat. Photo from C-STATS.
C-SATS CEO Derek Streat. Photo from C-SATS.

C-SATS, a Seattle-based startup that facilitates performance reviews for surgeons, has raised $3.2 million in new funding, according to an SEC filing released today. The funds come after a $2.5 million round last year.

In the medical field, traditional performance reviews can be costly and slow, often meaning surgeons are barely reviewed on the job. “We really compete with a broken system right now,” said C-SATS CEO Derek Streat.

Streat said that the usual method of reviewing medical practitioners is an internal peer review, which can easily be biased because reviewers are often friends or colleagues. These peer reviews are often only conducted after an incident, he said.

C-SATS, which stands for Crowd-Sourced Assessment of Technical Skills, provides and alternative to this stystem, using operating room cameras to review a surgeon’s performance without an incident to provoke a review.

C-SATS uploads video from these cameras to a secure cloud, then pays verified experts to review surgeons’ skills and suggest improvements. In March, the program was adopted by the University of Washington(UW) Medical School’s Urology and Orthopedics departments, and is now being used at about 100 hospitals around the country, Streat said.

The program is also expanding into other kinds of medical settings, including the UW Autism Center. Streat said that the system is being studied for use in a variety of environments, including as a tool to evaluate interpersonal communication between medical staff.

The company will use the new funds to support its growth through increasing staff and adding new technology, Streat said.

C-SATS was spun out of the UW in 2014 by co-founders Dr. Thomas Lendvay, Dr. Timothy Kowalewski, Dr. Lee White, and Derek Streat.

 

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.