Orthopedics practice management startup off and running

Flush with cash from a private equity investment, Boulder-headquartered M2 Orthopedics Partners LLC is looking to break a leg on the nationwide medical practice management stage.

The company, begun in June and called M2O by its founders, has raised a $65 million funding round led by Archimedes Health Investors, with participation from Heritage Medical Systems and the Firmament Group, and has acquired the Anderson Orthopaedic Clinic in Arlington, Virginia.

“There’s a real opportunity for an organization to come in and provide the orthopedic community with resources, access to capital and management capability so doctors can focus on being physicians and surgeons” rather than small-business administrators, M2O CEO Marshall Maran told Bizwest.

Orthopedics, a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States, “is a really, really ripe opportunity from an economics perspective,” he said.

As M2O seeks to identify additional acquisition opportunities — particularly around the Washington, D.C., metro area — the company is filling out its C-suite roster.

Along with Maran and co-founder Michael Meneghini, the leadership group includes chief people officer Michael Romano and chief financial officer Jeff Clidence.

“This is a pivotal time for orthopedic practices — and having served in clinical and higher education roles, I am inspired by M2O’S approach to supporting leaders in the orthopedic field,” Meneghini, an orthopedic surgeon, said in a prepared statement. “M2, which stands for Mobility and Motion to exemplify our mission in musculoskeletal health, is steadfast in helping physicians and clinics focus on these twin goals of orthopedics treatment, so I’m excited to be a part of this game-changing model for better supporting the best in the industry.”

M2O is launching during an often chaotic era as medical practitioners adjust to the COVID-19 world.

Orthopedic-care providers were especially vulnerable during the height of the pandemic because elective surgeries were delayed, Maran said.

“But has really bounced back nicely,” he said. “June of 2020 marked the bottom of the curve, and since then, the practice has been rebounding nicely.”