Intelligent Medical makes software that integrates with over 90% of acute and dynamic electronic health records. The company says the software allows clinicians to more accurately specify a patient’s condition at the point of care, while also normalizing notes into data points that can be used to analyze insights. Using the software, clinicians can avoid vague summaries of a patient’s condition and care, Intelligent Medical says.

“We help them record in their own language,” said CEO Ann Barnes. “We allow doctors to record all the information they want to capture about their patients in the way they say and say.”

Intelligent Medical Objects says more than 740,000 doctors use its software every day. In addition to making it easier to share patient information among clinicians, its software can help reduce clinician burnout and unnecessary care, and ensure accurate billing and reimbursement, the company said.

This isn’t the first time private equity firms have invested in smart healthcare. In 2016, New York-based growth investor Warburg Pincus bought a majority stake in the company directly from founder Frank Naeymi-Rad. Barnes would not disclose the size of the deal with Warburg Pincus, but said it was “much smaller” than Thomas H. Lee’s investment today.

Download the Modern Healthcare app to stay informed as industry news emerges.

Barnes, who joined Intelligent Medical as CEO in 2018, said Warburg Pincus is now a minority shareholder through the Thomas H. Lee deal. Naeymi-Rad is now Chairman of the Board.

Since Warburg Pincus’ initial investment, Intelligent Medical has grown to more than 300 employees, the majority of whom work in the Chicago area, Barnes said.

The company said Thomas H. Lee’s investment will help fund further growth, enabling it to develop new products and expand commercial relationships with hospitals and other healthcare providers.

“This is a very exciting time for growth for Intelligent Medical,” said Barnes. “COVID is very focused on data quality and healthcare and how we can no longer accept not improving clinical data quality. We are sitting right in the That crossroads.”

Private equity deals in Illinois healthcare companies will grow to $35 billion in 2021, according to PitchBook, a figure inflated by a massive acquisition by hospital provider Medline Industries. Excluding the deal, private equity deals in Illinois totaled about $1.7 billion in 2021, about the same as in 2020 but down from $2 billion in 2019.

Since its founding in 1971, Thomas H. Lee has raised more than $30 billion in equity capital and invested in more than 160 companies. Mainly in healthcare, fintech and other tech services.

Thomas H.Lee buy a lot of shares In 2017, Chicago-based Guaranteed Rate, one of the largest mortgage lenders in the United States. More recently, Thomas H. Lee Led a $100 million funding round FourKites, a logistics software company also based in Chicago.

This story first appeared in our sister publication, Crane’s Chicago business.