NEWSROOM

CatTrax – innovation improves access to cataract surgery

CatTrax, co-founded by University of Auckland graduates James McKelvie and Eddie Rosser, alongside Andrew Emery, is a cloud-based application that streamlines all aspects of cataract surgery. CatTrax is showing impressive results – less than 12 months after placing second in the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s 2016 Velocity $100K Challenge.

Cataracts are a leading cause of vision loss in older adults in New Zealand. Over 30,000 New Zealanders have cataract surgery every year, which makes cataract surgery the most frequently completed surgical procedure in New Zealand by far. There are criteria that patients need to meet to be eligible for government funded surgery for cataracts with referrals coming from community-based optometrists.

The aim of CatTrax is to improve the patient experience through enabling rapid access to cataract surgery and delivering improved visual outcomes, patient safety and reduced surgical complications. CatTrax has a vision to make a real difference to the lives of New Zealanders by delivering better healthcare, faster, and more cost effectively.

The current pilot in the Waikato, serving a catchment of half a million people, has produced some outstanding results, replacing a paper-based system.

• Time to process referrals has decreased from approximately four weeks to instant online processing.
• Time spent on processing referrals by clinical and administrative staff has significantly reduced, allowing staff to focus on other tasks.
• Patients know instantly if they are likely to qualify for surgery when they are seen in the community by their optometrist.
• Optometrists are finding that CatTrax allows them to spend more time with patients and less time doing paperwork.
• Despite careful attention to detail by trained staff, CatTrax has highlighted errors and mistakes associated with manual processing of referrals.
• CatTrax is improving access to surgery. More optometrists are checking eligibility for surgery using CatTrax for a lot more of their patients.

It has been a year of rapid development for CatTrax, the team has grown to include 17 experts who have developed an innovative idea into a ground-breaking Health IT company with some big goals and aspirations. The team are currently negotiating to deploy CatTrax nationwide and then offshore. This Velocity alumni team are definitely one to watch.

Learn more about CatTrax at www.cattrax.co.nz