Bristol healthtech pioneer Invatech has sold its ground-breaking care homes software system 20 years after the idea of revolutionising the way they dispense medicines came to its CEO.
Pharmacist Tariq Muhammad first spotted a gap in the market for the software in 2002 when he started working with care homes and saw for himself how problems with prescriptions and incorrect dosing could occur.
Four years later he had conceived the concept of an electronic medication administration record system (eMAR) system.
That system, called Atlas, has now been sold to Guildford-based care home management specialists Person Centred Software (PCS).
It is currently used in 700 care homes across the UK and serviced by a 165-strong network of independent pharmacies.
Under now PCS’s ownership, it has the opportunity to be further implemented across its client base of 3,000 care homes.
PCS is to retain Atlas’s full team of 15 staff, all of whom work remotely.
Following the sale, Invatech Health will concentrate solely on further growth of Titan, its cutting-edge software for pharmacy management.
Today Titan is making similar waves in the rapidly developing pharmacy sector to those made by Atlas in the management of care home medication at the start of the century.
Tariq said he was proud to see his purpose-driven business given an opportunity for further progress.
“It’s a bit like being at a child’s graduation,” he said. “I set up Atlas to tackle a dire need in the care homes sector for a system which could prevent incorrect dosing, mismanagement of prescriptions and administration errors of important medication.
“For me Atlas has always been about the end user – care homes and their residents. It’s taken a long time to perfect it and, as with any business, there have been bumps along the way.
“Now I’ve taken Atlas as far as I can, so I’m delighted to see it under new ownership, with a company whose values I share and who can allow it to reach greater heights as part of a new ecosystem.
“It’s a clean acquisition, with a complete continuation in staffing and functionality, so it couldn’t have happened any better for all involved.
“My management team and I will oversee the transition over coming months to ensure Atlas is properly bedded in. We can then focus all our efforts into the exciting development of Titan – a similarly cutting-edge product and the equivalent in the rapidly-growing pharmacy sector.
“The potential for Titan is massive. So while I’ve seen one brainchild flying the nest, there’s another one growing rapidly which needs our full attention.”
PCS co-founder Jonathan Papworth added: “I have been impressed with the proven capabilities built into Atlas, alongside the unique level of integration across GPs and pharmacies.
“Atlas is joining our family of social care products to provide best-in-class clinical software for our global customers, from digital care records to medication management and beyond.
“This will provide our joint customers with the opportunity to have full interoperability across our products, as well as the most comprehensive and capable integration with healthcare systems.”
The Bristol offices of accountants GS Verde and law firm GL Law advised on the deal, financial details of which have not been disclosed.
Pictured: Tariq Muhammad of Invatech Health, right, with Jonathan Papworth of PCS
