PainChek’s continued growth is powering better care delivery worldwide. As we expand our reach, more care providers are improving their pain assessment and management practices, and delivering personalised care to those who need it most.
Our most recent quarterly update shows strong progress with several key highlights:
- Positive clinical results continue from clients, with reports of less pain, distress, resident altercations, and reduced use of unnecessary medications due to better pain detection and management using PainChek®.
- PainChek is helping registered providers prepare for the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, which will take effect in Australia from 1 July 2025, with personalised pain profiles that enable tailored care for every individual, supporting better outcomes.
- A new PainChek® pain report allows clients to measure the quality of their pain management practices, both internally and against wider industry benchmarks. The tool supports continuous improvement for clients, delivering even more value from PainChek®.
- The PainChek Infant app is now available to the public in Australia through the Apple App Store. This marks the app’s first market launch and an exciting step toward a wider rollout.
Global aged care snapshot
- 10,270,000 cumulative PainChek® clinical assessments conducted as at 31 March 2025, an increase of 105% over the previous year.
- Pain assessment data now spans over 150,000 residents globally, representing a unique global pain assessment database.
- 101,000 global contracted PainChek® licences across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Canada, a 12% increase on the year prior.
- Most PainChek customers have continued using our pain assessment technology year after year, with over half having been with the company for more than three years.
This shows that customers find real value in PainChek® — demonstrating strong long-term use and integration into care processes and compliance efforts.
Strong growth and clinical impact across Australia and New Zealand
In Australia and New Zealand, PainChek continues to grow steadily across the aged care sector, with further expansion into the home care sector.
We are working closely with long-term clients to analyse the clinical outcomes of using PainChek®. One study at a 70-bed aged care facility showed substantial improvements from increased monthly pain assessments, including:
- 8% drop in psychotropic medication use
- 54% drop in opioid pain medication use
- 82% drop in as-needed (PRN) opioid use
From 1 July 2025, new Aged Care Quality Standards will come into effect under the rights-based Aged Care Act in Australia, with a focus on person-centred care and the need to assess, monitor, and manage pain. PainChek® is supporting registered providers in meeting – and exceeding – these Standards with our personalised pain profiles that enable tailored care for every individual, driving better outcomes.
A new PainChek® pain report allows clients to measure the quality of their pain management practices, both internally and against wider industry benchmarks. The tool supports continuous improvement for clients, delivering even more value from PainChek®.
We recently showcased our AI-enabled technology at the ITAC and BESTMED conferences, highlighting PainChek®’s role in the evolving digital healthcare system. At the BESTMED conference, a panel discussion on AI in aged care featured PainChek® as one of the first clinically used AI tools, demonstrating real-world benefits in care environments.
In May, PainChek’s Chief Scientific Officer, Prof. Jeff Hughes will present at the 3rd Biennial Conference of the College of Gerontology Nursing in Auckland, sharing insights through two abstracts on the company’s clinical journey and the impact of pain on caregiver burden. In June, we will also present research at the ANZSGM Annual Scientific Meeting, reaching over 800 clinicians focused on dementia care improvements.
UK momentum continues with major rollouts and government endorsement
Leonard Cheshire, a leading UK provider of specialist disability support, has signed a 3-year contract to roll out PainChek®, helping to improve care for people with complex needs.
Northcare Scotland, known for its high-quality dementia care, has adopted PainChek® across 540 beds, supporting residents in both nursing and residential settings.
Dovehaven, a major UK care group supporting over 1,100 residents, has implemented PainChek® across 23 homes, conducting 165,000 pain assessments in just six months. This led to improved clinical outcomes, including reduced pain, distress, altercations, and benzodiazepine use. Read the full case study.
B&M Care is expanding its use of PainChek® to 235 more beds after a successful trial at Ryeview Manor, where it was shown to improve care efficiency and deliver strong return on investment. Read the case study here.
PainChek® has been recognised as a key digital innovation by the UK Health and Social Care Committee at the House of Commons, underlining its role in shaping the future of aged care. Read more here.
PainChek on track for expansion in North America with FDA clearance and key partnerships
We are anticipating FDA De Novo clearance by June 30, 2025, which would enable PainChek’s expansion into the US, the world’s largest healthcare market. It would also make PainChek® the first FDA-regulated pain assessment app for nursing homes in the US.
A key factor driving US growth is the recent Centre for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) mandate for pain assessments in long-term care settings. This requires using validated tools like PainChek® to meet certification and reimbursement standards. The CMS’s MDS 3.0 includes pain management and quality of care requirements, making PainChek® essential for compliance.
PainChek CEO and Managing Director Philip Daffas, and Head of Business Development, North America, David Allsopp, recently attended the PointClickCare (PCC) conference in Las Vegas. The conference was a great success, building on our already strong relationship with PCC, and discussions focused on enhancements to the existing integration. PCC services about 50% of North American long-term care beds and works closely with government and acute care sectors.
PainChek’s growth also continues in Canada, with providers Bethany Seniors and Perley Health turning successful pilots into long-term agreements.
In addition, PainChek will present an abstract at the upcoming CHAA conference, Called to Care on 12-13 May in Edmonton, Alberta, alongside its partners Sherwood Care and St Michael’s, focusing on transforming pain management practices in continuing care.
PainChek Infant launches publicly in Australia with positive parent feedback
PainChek Infant has officially launched on the Apple App Store in Australia, making it the first market to access the app. This marks a key step in the app’s wider rollout. With 400 million pre-verbal children globally, including 150 million born to first-time parents each year, the infant market has significant potential.
PainChek is using a controlled soft launch strategy for the Infant app, focusing on learning from the market before scaling. This approach allows us to gather feedback, test pricing, and fine-tune the app based on real user data. A broader rollout is planned for the second half of 2025.
Parents’ feedback has been very positive. Parents value the app’s “easy-to-use” and “simple” pain assessment technology that provides instant pain scores, offering reassurance, validation, and “peace of mind” during stressful and uncertain moments. Users also appreciate the medication tracking and treatment diary features, which help identify patterns and inform treatment decisions.
PainChek Infant has primarily been used in situations when babies seem unwell, during teething, at night when children are fussy, inconsolable crying, or after exhausting other soothing methods. Based on initial research, parents view the app as complementary to their existing baby tools, positioning it as a situation-specific resource similar to a thermometer.
Other business updates
Global integration partners
We continue to work closely with our integration partners, boosting PainChek®’s value for clients..
Recently, we launched an integration with AlayaCare Cloud – the all-in-one platform built for home care and disability service providers in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. This partnership supports PainChek’s ongoing growth in the home care sector.
We are also working to enhance PainChek®’s integrations with Electronic Medication Management (EMM) partners like BESTMED and Medi-Map, helping streamline PRN medication workflows in both residential and home care settings.
In the UK, integration efforts have focused on partners like Carebeans, Log my Care, and PCS to drive regional growth.
PainChek assessments are integrated into Care Management Systems (CMS) and EMM systems, ensuring pain data fits seamlessly into clinical workflows:
Research & development
- PainChek Children with Disabilities App: Recruitment is underway at Perth Children’s Hospital for a study developing a PainChek® tool for non-verbal children with disabilities. The project is a collaboration with The Kids Institute and Child and Adolescent Health Service, funded by WA’s Future Health Research and Innovation Fund.
- Older Adults – Post-Surgery Pilot Study: At Hollywood Private Hospital (WA), a pilot study is testing PainChek®’s effectiveness in assessing pain in hospitalised older adults after orthopaedic surgery. The training impact manuscript is under review by the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
- General Medical Ward Study: Another project at Hollywood Private Hospital began in February 2025, using PainChek to assess pain in older adults with cognitive impairment. Staff usage of the tool is steadily increasing.
- Volunteer-Supported Pain Assessment Trial: A randomised controlled trial is underway exploring volunteer support and digital pain assessment for frail older adults. A manuscript is being prepared for submission to Health Expectations Journal.
- Germany – Aged Care Validation: In Germany, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSBI) is preparing to validate the German version of PainChek in aged care settings. The project is awaiting ethics approval, with training and recruitment well advanced.
- PainChek Infant – Neonates Study: A study assessing PainChek Infant in neonates undergoing frenectomy was abandoned, as the procedure often blocked the infants’ faces, preventing accurate facial analysis.
To learn more about how PainChek® could enable best-practice pain management within your organisation, book a one-on-one session with a member of our team.
