Exclusive
By Scott Wright
A GLASGOW-based company which has developed an app that records medical interactions between clinicians and sports people has raised several hundred thousand pounds of investment to drive its global expansion plans.
ScribePro was created by emergency and sports medicine consultants including Jonny Gordon, men’s team doctor at the Scottish Football Association and consultant in emergency medicine at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, to improve player welfare and safety.
The technology provides a portable digital solution that records clinical interactions between athletes and medical staff, removing the need for paper records, with the information made instantly accessible and transparent to all clinical staff in any location.
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The platform is said to improve communication between medical teams and serve as a tool to improve care, as players can be screened without the need for face-to-face engagement with a clinician.
ScribePro is being used by major sporting associations such as the SFA, FIFA and the Scottish Rugby Union, as well as teams in the Scottish Professional Football League ad Scottish Women’s Premier League. National associations across Europe and the Middle East have also adopted the app, while last month ScribePro worked with 20 of the 32 Rugby League World Cup teams to enhance the medical care of players competing in the tournament.
Now, following an investment of £400,000 from consultant and orthopaedic sports surgeon – and one-time Rangers player – Gordon MacKay and wife Jackie, the company is looking to accelerate its expansion plans as it targets international markets.
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Further investment in product development and research is planned, with the company forecasting revenue of £4.5 million in 2025.
Dr Gordon, who founded ScribePro alongside David Lowe, an academic consultant in emergency medicine and co-director of EmQuire Research, said sports clubs and associations have described the system as a “game changer” when it comes to tracking players’ injury histories, trends, and rehabilitation, noting that it can be used to screen for problems with mental health as well as physical injuries.
And he said the investment has “come at exactly the right time for us”.
Dr Gordon, who has been working with FIFA at the World Cup in Qatar, told The Herald: “The company is ready to expand but without the capital investment this would have been delayed thus inhibiting our growth potential and market penetration.
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“We have opportunities now that we may not have been able to take such as presenting ScribePro to 250 clinicians at the UEFA Medical Symposium in Frankfurt in January next year. This is a huge opportunity for us to increase the profile of ScribePro, generate sales and also crucially get feedback from users and potential users to allow us to prioritise our next work streams so we are constantly developing features that enhance the user experience.”
Professor MacKay, formerly the official surgeon for Celtic and Rangers, the SRU, Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup, said ScribePro can engender a significant leap forward in the safety of players and their treatment.
The surgeon, whose own football career was cut short by injury in 1990, said: “When I was a footballer, I realised the insecurity of injury and just how devastating it can be. Simple problems can become a serious disability if they’re not addressed or identified at the appropriate time.
“I was also very aware of the lack of continuity or recording or evidence-based advice for players, not just in the footballing world, but in other sports and other disciplines.
“So, when I heard about ScribePro and about what Jonny was trying to do in the world of sports medicine, I immediately saw the potential and the importance of this. I have a lot of confidence in Jonny’s clinical ability and when he explained the vision for ScribePro, I was very keen to do whatever I could to support their venture.”
“The vision is also very timely – sport is looking for someone to take the lead in this field and provide something that allows medical information to travel with the player, to ensure that continuity. If medics have instant access to that information, it can dramatically improve the outcome for those involved in sport and ScribePro is really going to address this very successfully.
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if in due course it becomes the norm that clubs and associations expect people to be able to provide that kind of information and I believe ScribePro is clearly going to lead in this area of sports medicine.”
ScribePro currently employs five people and Dr Gordon said the investment would allow the company to “expand in a faster manner”.
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