Growing up, I knew that there were differences that set me apart from others. It wasn’t until I was older that I recognized my identity could inhibit me from receiving the health care I need.

I’m a gay man, an Indian immigrant, and I grew up on Medicaid. I saw firsthand how my own family wasn’t given the same level of access as others. I’ve even experienced health care discrimination as an adult, like when I tried to get my PrEP prescription refilled from a self-attested LGBTQ-friendly doctor in Manhattan who actually did not know about PrEP.

Today, culturally diverse patients can’t find the inclusive care they deserve, even though 50% of Americans will be members of at least one culturally diverse community by 2045.

This lack of inclusive care is a medical emergency.

That’s why I brought together a diverse team of health equity experts to create Violet: the first-ever platform for standardizing and increasing cultural competence in clinicians.

We all deserve care that makes us feel safe, respected, and understood. Our team of queer, BIPOC, immigrant, and disabled individuals have experienced receiving care that is the opposite. We are personally driven to offer a seamless solution to power every part of the health care industry to provide inclusive care, from digital health orgs, to payors, and hospital systems.

Cultural competence impacts every aspect of a patient’s health care journey, from how much patients trust their clinicians, to the questions they ask, to their actual health outcomes. Every part is improved when clinicians deliver care that’s centered around the patient’s identities. And we’ve proven culturally competent, inclusive care results in better patient engagement, experiences, and health outcomes. We call this identity-centered care.

This is how identity-centered care works: We measure a clinician’s cultural competence using a clinically-researched framework, benchmark them relative to their peers, and publicize earned credentials so that patients can find the right care for their identities. Plus, we upskill clinicians on our platform to keep growing their ability to deliver inclusive care.

I’m thrilled to announce that Violet has raised $5.3M in seed funding, led by SemperVirens, and with additional investments from Northwell Health and Naomi Allen, CEO of Brightline. This funding will be used to expand our clinically-backed proprietary framework that measures the cultural competence of physicians. And since inclusive care equals better health outcomes, these measurements are a powerful first step to successfully building health equity.

Early customers like Brightline, Parsley Health, NOCD, Northwell, and more are already proving that investing in the cultural competence of clinicians moves the needle on health outcomes.

I am so grateful to this community for joining us in reimagining health care at a time when clinicians are battling multiple public health crises. With every passing headline, the public health landscape becomes more inequitable. It makes our work challenging yet vital.

Together, we can harness the solution through Violet.

I can’t wait to see a world where everyone receives inclusive health care. After all, it is a human right.