USA – Phressia announced that it has acquired Insignia Health, LLC, a mission-driven company dedicated to improving health outcomes through patient activation.

The agreement is a natural extension of the company’s commitment to empowering patients to be active participants in their own care.

Insiginia will bring its exclusive worldwide license for the Patient Activation Measure, which was developed by a team led by Dr. Judith Hibbard at the University of Oregon and is supported by over 700 peer-reviewed studies.

PAM is used as a patient reported outcome measure to improve risk identification, guide patient support, and evaluate impact.

The Portland, Oregon-based startup developed a Patient Activation Measure survey to assist in determining where patients are on their care journey.

The levels include “Disengaged and overwhelmed,” “becoming aware but still struggling,” “taking action and gaining control,” and “maintaining behaviors and pushing forward.”

These levels can then assist care teams in meeting the needs of a patient. Insignia can assist organizations in developing resources and coaching patients based on where they are in their care journey.

It also assists caregivers in developing action and treatment plans, as well as setting goals that are consistent with a patient’s behavior.

Significance of the acquisition

Phreesia believes its clients will be empowered to better involve patients in their healthcare.

“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 aligns with the convenient digital experience they want,”  Phreesia CEO Chaim Indig said in a statement.

“We’ve long admired Insignia’s expertise in understanding and activating patients, and we believe this acquisition will help us deliver on our mission to create a better, more engaging healthcare experience.”

After raising more than US$100 million from investors, Phreesia went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019.

Since its inception in 2005, the company has expanded to include services such as patient intake, payment, appointment scheduling, and other administrative tasks.

In July, the company unveiled Appointment Accelerator, a new tool that can automatically fill canceled appointments.

While an increasing number of digital health companies choose to exit through an IPO or SPAC, mergers and acquisitions remain a popular option.

According to a Rock Health research article, there were 79 mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the third quarter of 2021, and 216 total M&A deals during the first three quarters of 2021.

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