Behavioral health startup announces acquisition, name change

Behavioral health tech firm ABPathfinder is blazing a new path thanks to a recent acquisition.

In addition to a name change, the Overland Park-based firm announced Thursday that it purchased Phoenix-based Ensure Billing to beef up the company’s services. The new entity has rebranded to become Pathfinder Health Innovations.

Jeff Blackwood

Acquiring an insurance billing company allows the firm to serve clients from their first point of care with patients until final reimbursement from the insurance company, said Jeff Blackwood, founder of Pathfinder. The company’s software meets the industry’s growing demand for measurable patient progress, he added.

“We now have the ability to take data all the way from the point of care through the entire revenue cycle process until the autism therapy centers can get paid for their services,” Blackwood said. “This gives us an end-to-end solution that will take care of full outcome measures for autism insurance reimbursement.”

Pathfinder created a cloud-based platform that helps autism therapists manage a patient’s care. The software creates lesson plans, collects performance data, schedules services, helps file insurance claims and monitors outcomes.

Blackwood said the new company name better resonates with the autism therapy market the software can serve.

“The AB part of our name indicated that we were part of applied behavior analysis,” Blackwood said. “Because of the way we built the software, we can actually reach a much broader therapy profile for individuals with developmental disabilities. We can work with speech therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists and more, and fit a much broader range of therapy needs than applied behavioral analysis.”

As a result of the acquisition, Pathfinder has grown its headcount from 14 to 23 employees —  retaining Ensure Billing staff and hiring four more staffers. The additional staff are needed for the company’s burgeoning client base, which grew from 80 to 140 after the acquisition, Blackwood said. Pathfinder has clients across the nation and internationally.

Blackwood declined to comment on the value of the acquisition. He maintained, however, that the future of the company was bright and that Pathfinder plans to soon close on a round of capital.

“We’re very confident in where we’re going in the next couple of years,” Blackwood said.