Our history The Diginostic journey
Pioneering preventive Digital Health Screening in Australia and beyond
Diginostic has emerged as one of Australia’s leading developers of digital health screening tools, delivering real-time data and seamless electronic medical records integration.
Built on the innovative groundwork of its sister companies, PreventionXpress Pty Ltd and Educational Message Services Inc. (EMS), Diginostic’s path reflects an evolution from early digital health assessments to national leadership in healthcare screening.
Early foundations: PreventionXpress and EMS
Diginostic’s journey began with PreventionXpress, which made significant strides in digitising health screening assessments in 2006. In collaboration with EMS, a U.S.-based sister company, PreventionXpress developed a digital screening tool to assess for postpartum depression in new and expectant mothers.
Launched in New Jersey hospitals in 2007 as part of the Prevention Pays program, this new tool enabled patients to complete the interactive educational assessments on supplied mobile devices or tablets, a digital breakthrough that increased privacy, and completion rates.
With patient results securely stored in a database, both patient care and clinician efficiency was improved. The program set a high standard for future digital screening tools with its user-friendly design and high completion rates and received high praise from the Northern New Jersey Maternal Child Health Consortium.
Low risk
Indicating a clean bill of health, backed up by some targeted health prevention information.
Moderate risk
Signalling that the patient may need to consult a doctor.
High risk
Alerting the patient to take action by contacting the appropriate local medical provider for the health issue identified.
The ‘traffic light system’ was developed in 2007 as part of the PreventionXpress Personalised Summary Report.
pXs, NightCoach ASSIST and SpineData: expanding digital screening for chronic disease
PreventionXpress continued its pioneering work with the development of the workplace-focused digital screening tool, pXs. This tool screened for conditions including mental health issues, obstructive sleep apnoea, type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and tobacco and alcohol-related harm. pXs reduced screening time to just 10 minutes, allowing one nurse to screen up to 300 workers in a 2.5-hour session. Its automated scoring system generated reports instantly in 10 languages, making it accessible across diverse populations.
Between 2010 and 2018, pXs conducted over 7,400 heath checks with Ausgrid employees (major Australia-wide energy services network). The majority of health indicators saw a reduction in self-reported prevalence, including a mentally healthier workplace, while blood sugar levels indicative of potential Type 2 diabetes were halved.
Another significant project was SpineData, developed in partnership with Denmark’s Spine Centre. From 2008 to 2018, this tool collected 23 million data points from 100,000 patients, offering multilingual, interactive health screening for chronic back pain. These advancements positioned PreventionXpress as a leader in chronic disease screening.
In 2008, PreventionXpress developed the NightCoach ASSIST smartphone app to help users identify and manage their substance use and risk levels. The app digitised the World Health Organization's ASSIST screen to detect and assess substance involvement.
Digitising the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Formation of Diginostic
By 2013, the success of PreventionXpress and SpineData laid the foundation for Diginostic, a company focused on scaling digital health tools within Australia’s healthcare system. Diginostic’s initial focus was perinatal mental health, an under-served area in early detection and screening. The company partnered with the Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE), developing the iCOPE digital screening application for perinatal anxiety and depression in 25 languages, adhering to clinical best practice guidelines.
iCOPE is the digitised Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), along with additional screens for psychosocial risks and family violence. Diginostic's technical team have integrated into maternity hospitals and clinics across Australia has enabled clinicians to intervene early with perinatal mental health issues, revolutionising mental health screening in this critical period.
In 2019, the Australian Government, led by then Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, provided a federal grant to support the national rollout of the iCOPE application on the Diginostic platform. The tool was made available to all public maternity hospitals and child health services at no cost, transforming perinatal mental health care across Australia. In 2022, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the prioritisation on mental health, initiating a second grant to further advance the digital screening program, demonstrating bipartisan support for the initiative. As of November 2024, more than 5,500 health professionals have conducted over 270,000 iCOPE digital screens on the Diginostic health platform.
Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, Diginostic adapted quickly. initially designed for use on iPads in maternity service waiting rooms, Diginostic's Software as a Service (SaaS) product was adapted to operate on patient devices, aligning with social distancing protocols, Telehealth advancements, and COVID-19 mitigation efforts. This shift not only maintained critical screenings during a challenging time but also highlighted the versatility of the Diginostic health platform and showcased the scalability of the screening program by the Diginostic implementation team.
Strategic growth and broader health impact
Diginostic has also Developed by the Ngangk Yira Institute for Change at Murdoch University and Diginostic's sister agency, Utility Creative, exclusively built to be distributed on the Diginostic platform. The app uses touch screen images and Aboriginal voiceovers to guide users through an engaging and culturally safe yarn process, enabling women to reflect on their strengths and concerns.
Diginostic’s health platform continues to expand to include additional screening tools encompassing women’s health, mental health and drug and alcohol addiction. Its comprehensive digital health solutions and seamless integration with existing medical records, make Diginostic a key provider across multiple health systems.
A major advantage of Diginostic’s platform is its real-time, automated report generation, which allows clinicians to access critical patient information instantly. The platform’s scalability and multilingual support make it an essential tool for healthcare professionals working with diverse populations.
Looking to the future
Diginostic’s journey from its beginnings in PreventionXpress, EMS, SpineData and NightCoach ASSIST to its current national rollout of the Commonwealth's Perinatal Mental Health Check initiative's screening program, underscores the power of digital health innovation. A new standard for digital health screening is established by prioritising prevention, early intervention, and accessibility.
Founder and Director David Stanley summarised Diginostic’s impact, stating: “Digital technology means we can now reach any person, at any time, in a wide range of languages. Preventive screening identifies hidden chronic health conditions and supports people onto a path of treatment and recovery, avoiding huge costs for our health system and potentially saving many lives.”
With a proven track record of innovation and effective, measurable results, driven by data and human experience, Diginostic is poised to lead the next generation of digital healthcare solutions, continuing to improve health outcomes through early screening intervention.
Want to learn more?
Get in touch and one of our digital screening specialists will contact you shortly.