D.C.-based health tech startup Kit Check is built around tracking and processing pharmaceuticals and medications. The right technology can massively improve inventory tracking and usage, which is vital in hospital administration. The cloud-based software and RFID tags Kit Check offers is designed to simplify that process, and is attracting plenty of new clients for the startup.
"Our headline number is how many hospitals are using Kit Check and we're nearing 200," said Kit Check co-founder and chief product officer Tim Kress-Spatz. "We're starting to move out of early adopters. More conservative healthcare workers are starting to recognize the benefits of what we do."
Pharmacists can quickly scan the RFID tags when restocking, making sure that the right medicine is used in them and keeping track of issues like if new orders are needed or if the medicine is close to expiring. The software also means there's no paperwork needed, as it can print out the necessary details all in the same process. According to the testament of one of its clients, Kit Check has cut the time for pharmacist kit replacement by more than 90 percent.
Kit Check has raised over $22 million since it was founded. A good chunk of the money has gone into new research and development, which recently earned Kit Check several patents for its data tracking software. The research also led to the company's development of Anesthesia Check, which works similarly to the flagship product, but specifically for anesthesia in syringes used during operations. Anesthesia Check offers doctors a regulation-compliant syringe label, that ensures the right medication is being used and noted on inventory lists.
"Anesthesia Check builds on top of what we already do. It leverages the fact that there's already a kiosk in the operating room," Kress-Spatz said. "It's a record for the administration and an extra safety check."
"Hospitals are always looking for ways to boost efficiency and cut down on errors"
Kit Check has also been expanding its data analytics reporting. Using the information, clients can improve safety and efficiency. For instance, the data gathered by Kit Check allows hospitals to better monitor expired medicine to make sure they don't use it by accident. It can also be used to better plan out inventory stocking, so that there won't be as much expired medicine accumulating out of mistakes about how much is used.
"There's a lot of interest in how the analytics can improve workflow," Kress-Spatz said. "Hospitals are always looking for ways to boost efficiency and cut down on errors."
Kit Check's clients are scattered across the U.S. and Canada. There are several in the area using Kit Check's technology, including Georgetown, the University of Baltimore and some hospital systems in Virginia. The startup has been adding new staff at a rapid clip as the number of clients has grown. There are more than 80 people working for the company now, mostly in the D.C. headquarters, but with some sales people working remotely. Karaoke outings and other office gatherings help to bring the team together.
"We're still hiring across the board. There's at least one new person coming in every week," Kress-Spatz said. "We had to take up more room in our office building just to fit everyone in."
Despite the growing interest in Kit Check's technology, there's not much in the way of competition as of now, Kress-Spatz said. Some companies use bar codes instead of RFID chips, but that's not really the same thing, he said. And while that may change, Kit Check's lead in the field puts any potential competitor at a severe disadvantage.
"When we started, no one else was doing this," Kress-Spatz said. "But it's becoming obvious to hospitals that it's the kind of technology that they'll come to rely on."
