12 Australian hospitals buy NZ software

Emendo's CapPlan system is also being used in hospitals in New Zealand, the UK and Canada. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Kiwi software development firm Emendo has signed multi-million dollar contracts with 12 Australian hospitals which will use its CapPlan system.

CapPlan uses complex algorithms to match staff and physical resources with patient demand.

The company, which expects to have revenue of between $5 and $10 million this year, said the Australian deals had a combined value of several million dollars over the next three years.

Emendo chief executive Dave Tinkler said the deals signified the next stage in the firm's growth.

"Now we're starting to win deals which, rather than being single hospital sales, are multi-hospital, regional sales," he said.

Tinkler said the CapPlan system was installed in Perth's Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in 2007 and was introduced to other hospitals around the same city last December.

The company's software had been used in South Australia's Royal Adelaide Hospital since 2006, and was being introduced into five other hospitals around Adelaide, he said.

Combined, the 12 hospitals serviced 3.7 million people, or 16 per cent of the Australian population.

David Swan, director of health operations in South Australia, said the use of Emendo software in the state's hospitals would aid the control, planning and management of health resources.

"The people who manage hospital facilities will now have an accurate long-term forecast, allowing them to proactively plan ahead for major public events," he said.

The use of Emendo's software was part of South Australia Health's Capacity Management and Access Strategy, which was designed to improve long-term contingency planning, remove bottlenecks in patients waiting for beds and introduce consistent performance monitoring across the region.

Tinkler said the CapPlan system was also being used in hospitals in New Zealand, the UK and Canada.

Emendo's next challenge was to enter the lucrative US market, he said, and it was starting a roadshow around that country in two weeks.

"We will go fully live into the States early next year," he said.