It has been another productive quarter for PainChek. Between 1 April and 30 June, we wrapped up sign-ups for a Federal Government-funded PainChek trial, received regulatory clearance for our PainChek Infant App, and continued our expansion efforts in the home care, disability, and hospital care markets.
Discover the latest highlights from the past quarter below, and learn more about what lies ahead for PainChek at the start of the new financial year.
PainChek achieves 60% share in Australian residential aged care
PainChek saw strong growth over the June quarter across the Australian residential aged care market. With the end of sign-ups for the Federal Government-funded PainChek trial on May 31, we saw significant uplifts in the number of contracted clients, facilities, and beds.
Over the past quarter, PainChek achieved:
- 42% increase in contracted clients, from 288 to 410
- 58% increase in contracted Residential Aged Care facilities, from 993 to 1,569
- 61% growth in total contracted beds, from 80,037 to 129,189
Looking back over the 2020/21 financial year, PainChek achieved:
- 98% increase in contracted clients, from 207 to 410
- 117% increase in contracted Residential Aged Care facilities, from 722 to 1,569
- 110% growth in total contracted beds, from 61,571 to 129,189
Of the contracted beds, 82,982 are dementia-specific beds that have been funded as part of the Federal Government Grant. This represents a 79% increase for the quarter when compared to March 2021, and a 121% increase over the past year.
PainChek is currently licensed for use in more than 60% of Australian Residential Aged Care facilities, and is present in every state across Australia. As at 30 June 2021, more than 479,000 PainChek clinical assessments have been conducted in aged care, which represents a 253% growth year on year.
According to PainChek CEO Philip Daffas:
We continue to listen to our clients as we build a best-in-class pain assessment model. The launch of PainChek Universal – a pain assessment system for all people including adults and kids – supports this goal and is usable by healthcare professionals in all locations. We are on our way to achieving our ultimate goal: making pain a new healthcare vital sign.
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PainChek receives regulatory clearance for Infant App
At PainChek, we believe that accurate pain assessment is crucial not only for those in aged care, but also for infants and toddlers who cannot verbalise their pain. When we first started our journey in 2016, we set out with a core goal of being first to market with a clinically validated and regulatory cleared Adult and Infant pain assessment App. In May 2021, we received regulatory clearance for our PainChek Infant App in Australia (TGA), New Zealand, UK, European Union (CE Mark), Singapore and Canada.
A PainChek Infant Face-Only pain assessment study was also peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in the Lancet Digital Scientific journal in July 2021. The findings support the use of PainChek Infant for procedural pain assessment with infants aged 1 month to 12 months of age.
According to CEO Philip Daffas:
The regulatory clearance of the PainChek Infants App in Q2 2021 is another world first. Now a clinically validated pain assessment can be conducted on an infant (aged from 1 month to 12 months) in just three seconds using a smartphone. We have identified the initial target applications for the Infant App and will continue to work with key clinical collaborators to build the global acceptance and utility of the Infant App in the same manner as the Adult (Universal) App.
The PainChek Infant app will be launched in the 2021/22 Financial Year, with a focus on procedural pain indications during early life stage vaccinations, post-operative care and accessing the global markets through partnerships with medical device and therapeutic companies that provide pain treatment solutions. At the same time, we are seeking to expand the applications to children up to 3 years of age through additional clinical studies with the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) in Melbourne.
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Progress in new markets: home, disability, and hospital care
In addition to residential aged care and infant care, we are continuing to explore applications of PainChek in home care, disability care, and hospital care.
We are currently working with several residential aged providers that are also operating in the Home Care space in order to bring the PainChek app to those living with Dementia in the community.
In disability care, our partnership with Nulsen Group is now entering its fourth month, with the PainChek tool being used in several of Nulsen’s Supported Shared Accommodation Homes. As we enter the final months of the trial, PainChek and Nulsen Group are preparing to publish clinical data that validates the utility of PainChek for this vulnerable group of people and provides a platform for broader use of PainChek within the NDIS sector, both in Australia and overseas.
In hospital care, the Nurse-led Volunteer Support and PainChek Frailty Study funded through the Ramsay Hospital Research Foundation (RHRF) commenced in four wards at WA’s Hollywood Hospital in March 2021. The study aims to assess whether the interventions provided lead to better outcomes with regards to the progression of patients’ frailty during admission, and is expected to be completed in 2022.
A second study is also taking place at Ramsay’s Joondalup Health Campus, which evaluates the use of PainChek® Universal again combined with a nurse-led volunteer program across two wards that have high occupancy by patients with cognitive impairment. The study is anticipated to commence in Q3 2021 and will run for 6 months.
