Digital Assent Gets Additional $7.5 Million in Funding for its PatientPad Automated Patient Check-in System

Imagine this. You’re checking in for a follow-up  on your knee replacement. Instead of signing in on a clipboard, you simply touch a wireless screen that shows you’re there, then delivers targeted health information (and advertising, to interested patients), all while you sit in your healthcare provider’s waiting room, exam room or treatment room.

It’s happening now, and thanks to a $7.5 million second round of funding, Digital Assent’s tablet-based, patient check-in service has just been handed $7.5 million in additional funding to expand product development and sales, according to Brian Dolan at mobihealthnews.com.  

The companies which are involved in the second round of financing are Sanan Private Equity, the BIP Opportunities Fund and Buckhead Investment Partners (BIP). Returning investors are Imlay Investments and BLH Venture Partners. These two companies led the first round of funding for Digital Assent earlier this year, as reported in the story by Brian Dolan. According to SEC documents, the company brought in a total of $2 million in February, the online story says.

Digital Assent describes its PatientPad as a similar offering to the tablet-based patient check-in service offered by Phreesia, which has secured tens of millions of dollars in funding over the past few years, according to Dolan at mobihealthnews.com, and making an investment in Digital Assent seem like a very good idea. Both PatientPad and Phreesia make their own tablet devices instead of using off-the-shelf consumer products, the online story reports.

The PatientPad simplifies the gathering of patient information by automating the patient intake process, according to the company’s web site. Patients can register online before their visit or use the portable touch screen tablet to check in with their healthcare provider at the point of care, much like using a grocery store touchscreen kiosk; verify that their insurance covers the visit, and at the same time, sign any required consent forms right on the screen.

The VA Healthcare System uses this kind of system to help veterans sign in quickly and easily when they come for treatment, according to the Veterans’ Administration.

“We are pleased to receive this investment and validation from Sanan Private Equity and BIP, along with our existing investors, who clearly recognize the rapidly growing market opportunity we are addressing,” Andrew Ibbotson, president and CEO of Digital Assent said in the company’s press release at mobihealthnews.com. “Since launching PatientPad, the demand has been tremendous. It’s now available in doctor’s offices across half of the nation and this funding will help us realize our potential even faster.”

The company claims it has sold almost 1,500 PatientPads to 175 practices in 25 states this year alone, Dolan says in the article. Digital Assent plans to expand the product into major metropolitan markets nationwide including Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco and Washington D.C., according to Digital Assent.

“Digital Assent’s rapid growth – supported by an adoption rate north of 90 percent – is very impressive considering the company secured its Series A funding just a few months ago. Clearly this solution is one that is fulfilling a growing marketplace need,” said Chemain Sanan, managing director at Sanan Private Equity in the press release.

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