Health technology pioneer Invatech Health has announced the sale of its care homes electronic medication administration record (eMAR) system, Atlas.

The ground-breaking software has been bought by care home management specialists Person Centred Software (PCS). The acquisition marks the end of a 20 year journey for Invatech Health CEO Tariq Muhammad, a pharmacist who started working on care homes back in 2002 and first conceived the concept of electronic medicines system for care homes in 2006.

Following the transition of Atlas to new ownership, Bristol-based 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.

Mr Muhammad 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 today, there’s another one growing rapidly which needs our full attention.”
PCS, which is based in Guildford in Surrey, confirmed that as part of the acquisition it would retain Atlas’s full team of 15 staff, all of whom work remotely.
Atlas is currently deployed in 700 care homes across the UK, and serviced by a 170-strong network of independent pharmacies, now has the opportunity to be further implemented across PCS’s client base of 3,000 care homes in total.

Jonathan Papworth, co-founder of PCS, said: “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.”

Mr Muhammad said: “This deal has come at the right time for both parties and, as such, the process has been quick, and straightforward. The relationship between both parties is strong and we’re looking forward bringing the benefits of our joined expertise to PCS’s existing and future customers.”