Half a decade before the coronavirus pandemic, Loyal CEO Chad Mallory understood the increasing need for hospitals to automate personalized experiences with patients.
His health technology startup had rolled out a series of services for health systems over the years, including a data management platform, a chat box and a physician search tool.
“As the pandemic took hold, more and more people were engaged with their health system through digital channels,” Mallory said. “Health systems were really coming to us.”
By October 2020, the company’s software was used by over 30 hospitals, including Northwestern Medicine and UCLA Health. That same month, the company raised a $12.5 million in a Series A round used to enhance their platform.
Now, about 290 hospitals across 35 health systems and 55,000 providers use Loyal. Customers include LifePoint Health, a Tennessee-based health system with more than 85 hospitals and $6 billion of revenue. Since January of 2021, Loyal has grown from 35 to 170 employees, and its revenue has quadrupled.
That growth came when Loyal released a new product — a software that health systems can use as patient-specific operating systems. The service allows patients to know who are their providers, what appointments are available or message reminders for upcoming appointments.
The company plans to hire 100 employees by the end of the year to continue innovating new products.
“The vision of a full experience for the patient is the Holy Grail of our industry,” said Mallory. “We’re excited to be doing it and just want to keep building off of that momentum.”
Mallory founded Brightwhistle in 2010, a digital marketing company that helps health systems get new patients through search and social media. The company was acquiredby Birmingham, Ala.-based Influence Health in 2015.
Later that year, Mallory launched Loyal.
Approximately a third of Loyal 170 employees are based in Atlanta with the remaining team members working remotely. Loyal has an office in Technology Square’s Coda Building.