Web-based healthcare information provider HealthGrades announced Wednesday that it has reached a definitive agreement to merge with CPM, a customer relationship management solutions firm.
The combination will create a single online company with more than 200 million annual visitors, providing consumers the ability to find, select and connect with physicians and hospitals by accessing its comprehensive information about clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and patient safety, according to a press release announcing the merger.
"With more than 1.5 billion physician appointments and 36 million hospital admissions annually, consumers need objective information to select a doctor or hospital," said John Hallick, Madison, Wisc.-based CPM's CEO, in the press release.
"Hospitals are under increasing pressure to improve their clinical as well as financial performance," said Kerry Hicks, HealthGrades' CEO, in the press release. "CPM is the relationship management platform hospitals trust to measurably improve the performance of their patient health management and physician alignment initiatives."
“The company will remain ‘HealthGrades,’ with James, John and Erick Hallick of CPM becoming the three largest shareholders in HealthGrades. Kerry Hicks will remain as HealthGrades’ CEO. The Madison offices of CPM will remain there – business as usual. HealthGrades will continue to be headquartered in Denver,” Marsha Austin, Healthgrades’ director of public relations/communications told Healthcare Finance News.
“During the past year CPM and HealthGrades had been looking for ways to expand the breadth and value of their offerings to hospitals,” added Austin. “A collaborative project for a hospital client led to the realization that by combining their respective products and services the two companies could create a data-driven, end-to-end growth solution for hospitals.”