CHARLOTTE, N.C. and NEW YORK—Investment firms Kian Capital Partners and RF Investment Partners have announced the formation of US VisionMed Partners, a management services organization (MSO) supporting established, medically-focused optometry practices nationwide. The platform focuses on serving patients who may require more complex optometric care; its locations serve patients with an emphasis on specialty and medical services and products such as exams, diagnostic testing, dry eye treatments, vision therapy and myopia management. Kian and RF invested in US VisionMed alongside Lakewood Healthcare Capital, a health care-focused investment firm, as well as the practitioners leading each location.

US VisionMed Partners CEO Vance Wells said, “We’ve gathered an outstanding group to form this leading-edge, unified MSO for the medically-focused optometry space. US VisionMed offers a unique opportunity for independent optometrists to practice at the top of their licenses, offering advanced patient care while also reducing costs within the US healthcare system by identifying and treating serious conditions sooner. With Kian and RF’s support to execute on our M&A initiatives, the deep health care experience and knowledge base from Lakewood and the world-class practitioners driving the excellence of each location, this is a supercharged platform primed for success.”

Kian and RF said they will partner with US VisionMed management to source and execute additional practice acquisitions, building density in existing markets and expanding nationwide. Lakewood will focus on enabling organic expansion through its health care industry expertise and operational optimization support for practice leaders, the group said. US VisionMed will continue to build its executive team through a combination of new hires and M&A.

Kian partner Jordan Lee said, “Optometry is a highly fragmented health care segment that has not historically offered supportive consolidation opportunities for medically-focused and specialty practices. Our goal is for US VisionMed to support partner practices in offering enhanced care by strengthening operational efficiencies and creating a collaborative group of experienced colleagues that can help improve processes and, ultimately, patient outcomes across the platform. Partnering with RF and Lakewood will only elevate the platform’s success, and we are excited to be building this together.”

RF co-founder and managing partner Peter Fidler said, “We see tremendous potential to advance patient care and improve outcomes within the eyecare sector through our work alongside US VisionMed. In partnership with Kian and Lakewood, we are committed to helping the US VisionMed team grow strategically through the expansion of medical services, and by adding compatible practices to further enhance the platform’s footprint in key regions. With the addition of Lakewood's health care expertise and our past successes investing in and growing differentiated platforms across the health care sector, we aim to support an integrated team of optometry professionals dedicated to helping remove costs from the health care system by delivering high-quality, accessible care across the nation.”

US VisionMed noted that it is actively seeking partnerships with established practice groups or doctors of optometry looking for support in their next chapter of growth.