We began our journey at PainChek in 2016 with a mission to give a voice to those who cannot reliably verbalise their pain.

Since then, we have delivered on our mission by enabling best-practice pain assessment and management for thousands of people worldwide, including those with dementia, cognitive impairment and disability.

PainChek® is contracted for use across a wide range of organisations who provide care for more than 120,000 people around the globe. As the world’s first clinically validated medical device for the assessment of pain, we are proud to be empowering carers and clinicians to harness the power of medical technology and deliver the highest standard of care.

Below, we reflect on our phenomenal growth and our plans for continued expansion.

A history rooted in research & development

A leader in clinical pharmacy education and practice, Professor Jeff Hughes (PainChek’s Chief Scientific Officer) had observed that medication was being used inappropriately in care settings, and sought a path to more accurate pain assessment and management.

In 2012, Professor Hughes, within the School of Pharmacy at Curtin University in Western Australia, started a research project with his colleague Dr. Kreshnik Hoti and PhD student Mustafa Atee to find a better alternative to paper-based pain assessment tools within the aged care sector. The research company ePAT Pty Ltd was formed.

By 2015, a prototype ePAT (electronic pain assessment tool) had been developed and in 2016 clinical trials were completed to validate the utility of ePAT in the aged care sector.

In October 2016, this promising technology led to the company being listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Philip Daffas joined as CEO and MD, and has led the company since, bringing with him more than 25 years of experience leading blue-chip healthcare corporates and novel technology start-up companies.

In 2017, ePAT Pty Ltd was renamed PainChek to represent the purpose of the technology, and a board of directors with relevant skillsets was appointed to further build the business.

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From strength to strength

PainChek® is rapidly expanding its presence across the UK, North America, Singapore, New Zealand, and other regions.

Today, PainChek®’s innovative pain assessment technology is utilised in a diverse range of settings including aged care facilities, hospitals, the disability support sector and the home. 7,000,000+ clinical assessments have been completed using PainChek® to date.

MARKET PENETRATION – RESIDENTIAL AGED CARE (RAC)

Key highlights from the past five years include: 

  • September 2017: PainChek achieves its first residential aged care sale and agreement.
  • March 2018: The PainChek® app receives CE Mark and meets regulatory standards for use in Australia.
  • September 2018: PainChek® is contracted for use across 1,000 beds.
  • 2019: PainChek UK is established, and new licence agreements are achieved overseas in New Zealand and Singapore.
  • June 2019: The Australian Government awards PainChek a $5M grant to extend the use of PainChek® to 100,000 residents living with dementia.
  • June 2019: PainChek® is contracted for use across 10,000 beds.
  • March 2021: PainChek® Universal, a complete point-of-care solution that combines the PainChek® app with the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), is launched.
  • May 2021: Regulatory clearance is received for the PainChek® Infant app in Australia (TGA), New Zealand, UK, European Union (CE Mark), Singapore, and Canada. FDA clearance is currently in progress in the USA.
  • May 2021: An independent evaluation finds PainChek® to improve pain management outcomes in Australian aged care settings.
  • June 2021: PainChek® is contracted for use across 100,000 beds.
  • July 2021: PainChek® achieves 60% market share across the Australian residential aged care sector.
  • August 2021: The Lancet Digital Health, the world’s leading medical informatics journal, publishes a study demonstrating the validity and reliability of PainChek® Infant to assess pain in preverbal children.
  • September 2021: PainChek® is contracted for use across more than 120,000 beds in Australia and 3,000 beds in the UK.

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Establishing key integration partnerships

A core focus for us at PainChek has been on establishing integration partnerships with leading healthcare software and technology providers to better support the delivery of quality care. PainChek® integrations are two-way, both receiving information from the integrated system and sending back pain assessment data. This gives critical time back to staff and helps ensure data consistency and integrity across clinical systems.

PainChek® is integrated with care management systems covering more than 180,000 beds in Australia, 25,000 beds in New Zealand, and 90,000 beds in the UK. Current integration partners include AlayaCare, AutumnCare, CareLynx, Person Centred Software, Sarah Software Solutions, HealthMetrics, LeeCare, Management Advantage, Telstra Health, VCare, Medi-Map, Access Care Management, and MPS among others, with several more on the horizon.

Achieving industry recognition

We are proud to have received a number of prestigious awards in recognition of PainChek®’s innovative technology, vision and impact on the healthcare sector:

Growing our international footprint

Since our inception, we have established a significant presence across the Australian market and further abroad, backed by innovative, clinically-validated pain assessment technology.

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As PainChek® CEO Philip Daffas said:

“Within five years, PainChek has successfully commercialised its technology… and is now on the cusp of establishing it within multiple international markets.”

Moving forward, our focus remains on growing our international footprint to enable best-practice pain management and quality care for more people around the globe, with multiple new products scheduled for launch over the next two years.

If you’re interested in learning more about using PainChek®, submit your expression of interest and a member of our team will be in touch.