Healthtech firm Accolade is buying telemedicine start-up 2nd.MD for $460 million, sources say

Healthtech firm Accolade is buying telemedicine start-up 2nd.MD for $460 million, sources say

Raj Singh, chief executive officer of Accolade speaks during the GeekWire Summit event in Seattle, Washington, Oct. 3, 2018.David Ryder | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAccolade, a health care technology company that helps employees navigate their medical plans, is buying telemedicine start-up 2nd.MD to bolster its ability to provide users with second opinions, CNBC has learned exclusively.Accolade is close to announcing the acquisition of Houston-based Innovation Specialists, parent company of 2nd.MD, for about $460 million, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The transaction will be half in cash and the rest in Accolade shares, a portion of which is contingent on revenue targets, and will close next month, said the people, who declined to be identified speaking about the deal.The move is said to nearly double Accolade's addressable market to about $46 billion by giving the company a provider of expert medical opinions from a network of U.S. doctors. Founded in 2011, 2nd.MD automates the process of getting second opinions so they happen within days over video or telephone, rather than taking weeks to schedule as is more typical."At a critical moment in someone's health care journey, when you're making a decision about whether to get a surgery or