PatientSafe Solutions raised $7 million from EDBI, the investment arm of Singapore's Economic Development Board. This completes a $27 million round for the company and brings its total funding to around $70 million. MobiHealthNews covered the first part of this round back in January. It was led by Merck GHI with additional contributions from Camden Partners, TPG Capital and Psilos Group.
The strategic investment coincides with PatientSafe, formerly known as IntelliDot, consolidating its hardware manufacturing and global supply chain in Singapore. This will enable the company to establish a local presence in the Asian and Pacific (APAC) market. The development and design teams will remain in San Diego.
The company will use the money to market its new PatientTouch system, a point-of-care clinical software suite that runs on an iOS device enclosed in a waterproof case, both in the US and in Asia. PatientSafe Solutions shared data supporting its decision to reach out into the APAC market.
"According to a recent Frost & Sullivan analyst report," the company wrote in a press release, "APAC healthcare expenditures are projected to almost double in the next six years, with the largest share coming from China, Japan, and India. In addition, the APAC region will consist of more than 2.3 billion people aged 65 or older in 2013, comprising 9.8 percent of the population. In Singapore specifically, over 80 percent of hospital beds are publicly owned and operated, creating significant demand for innovative ways to contain costs, enhance productivity, and improve quality."
The PatientTouch platform includes both an app and a waterproof case for an iPod Touch or iPhone 5. The case also adds a barcode scanner that nurses can use to identify themselves and access patient information. From the app, care team members can keep track of and coordinate medications, vitals, and care plans for patients as well as message each other, physicians, and hospital administrators. The system also collects data about how nurses using it allocate their time, which the hospital can use to staff more efficiently.