Healthtech business secures more funding to enhance patient app

A HEALTHTECH business with an app that helps patients communicate with clinicians remotely has raised a further £ 2m to help expand its use.

Advanced Digital Innovation ( ADI) has raised money from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse

Investment Fund, the UK government’s Future Fund and the company’s chairman and founder Bob Gomersall.

The Saltaire- based company says the pandemic has boosted interest in its MyPathway app, which removes the need for appointment letters and calls, allowing patients to agree care plans with clinicians, who can then monitor their progress and receive feedback. Over 55,000 patients are now signed up to the system, which is already used in hospitals in Sheffield, the North West and Essex, and most recently has been adopted in Leeds. The firm has completed a successful initial trial in Northern Ireland.

The investment will allow ADI to enhance the product to make it easier for patients to sign up remotely and to achieve further accreditations to extend its use in other areas of the NHS. The business, which currently employs 15 staff, is planning to create 20 new jobs at its headquarters in Saltaire in the next 12 months.

John Eaglesham, CEO of ADI, said: “MyPathway has really proved its worth during the lockdown. With routine appointments having to be cancelled, it has made it so much easier for hospitals to communicate with patients and keep track of their condition.

“The pandemic has also led to a major shift in mindset as clinicians and GPs recognise there is not always a need to see patients in person and are more open to new technology. Ultimately this will lead to lower costs and, since MyPathway increases feedback from patients, will allow better evaluation of care pathways and more effective treatment.”

David Strachan and Lucy Holroyd of Schofield Sweeny provided legal advice to the company on the investment while Adrian Ballam of Ward Hadaway acted for the fund.

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union.