Phreesia, a patient intake software company, has bought patient engagement startup Insignia Health for an undisclosed amount, according to a news release Monday.
Insignia has an exclusive license for the Patient Activation Measure survey, a clinically-validated measure of a patient's ability to self-manage their care. Clinicians can use this information to understand and respond to a patient's care needs. It's the only patient activation measure endorsed by the National Quality Forum and used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Phreesia's leadership hopes the move will help providers get more out of its patient intake platform, boosting their performance in risk-sharing agreements like accountable care organizations.
"Phreesia's core strength is putting tools in the hands of patients to take on tasks—from self-reporting data like social determinants of health to making payments to signing consent forms—that they can do better than anyone else, and that align with the convenient digital experience they want," Phreesia CEO Chaim Indig said in a news release. "This acquisition will help us deliver on our mission to create a better, more engaging healthcare experience."
Mergers and acquisitions have emerged as a popular strategy for digital health startups looking to scale their operations. Startups that offer complementary products and services often find it easier to gain traction among hospitals and health systems looking for ready-made solutions to implement for immediate clinical and financial returns.
"Phreesia's expertise in empowering patients to gain more control over their health and care experience through technology was hugely appealing to us," Chris Delaney, co-founder of Insignia Health, said in a news release. "The number of patients we can reach in a single week through Phreesia's platform would otherwise take us months."
There were 67 mergers and acquisitions among digital health companies during the third quarter of 2021, according to data from Digital Health Business & Technology. There were just 49 during the same period last year.
