Intuit Inc., the Mountain View, Calif.-based provider of financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Medfusion, of Cary, N.C., which makes front-office and back-office software designed to improve patient-to-provider communications.
The cash transaction is valued at approximately $91 million.
Medfusion offers enhanced online solutions that enable healthcare providers to offer superior service to their patients while improving office efficiency and generating revenue. The acquisition will accelerate Intuit's healthcare strategy by combining its easy-to-use consumer and small business solutions with Medfusion's patient-to-provider communication products.
Together the companies will be able to resolve healthcare provider and consumer concerns, such as:
- Enabling more effective and efficient patient interactions online.
- Accessing and managing their personal health information.
- Creating more efficient ways for patients to settle and track their healthcare expenses.
"This transaction expands our software-as-a-service offerings with a solution currently used by more than 30,000 healthcare providers, the vast majority of whom are essentially small businesses," said Brad Smith, Intuit's president and chief executive officer. "The combination of Medfusion's industry-leading patient-provider communication solutions and Intuit's expertise in creating innovative solutions that improve the financial lives of small businesses and consumers, will help us create new solutions that make the clinical, administrative and financial side of healthcare easier for everyone."
Medfusion's online solution helps patients communicate with their providers to schedule appointments, pay bills, request prescription refills, complete medical forms, review lab results and clinical summaries, receive reminders and exchange secure messages for related care and administrative issues.
After the transaction closes, Intuit will build upon its existing Quicken Health solutions to make it easier for patients to understand their medical bills and for providers to get paid faster. The companies plan to combine Intuit's user interface and design expertise with Medfusion's broader portal offering and bill presentment and payment solutions.
Medfusion's patient-to-provider communication solution, combined with an electronic health record system, gives patients timely electronic access to their health information. This is one of the current requirements for eligible providers to receive the $44,000 per provider payment funded in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
When the transaction closes, Stephen Malik, Medfusion's founder and CEO, will become a senior vice president and general manager reporting to Smith. Malik will continue to run Medfusion and will lead Intuit's healthcare business from Medfusion's headquarters in North Carolina, an area considered a hub of healthcare technology innovation and talent.
"Our mission is to enable healthcare providers to better serve their patients through enhanced communications," said Malik. "As part of Intuit, we'll be able to build upon the innovation, stability, and trusted brand of a company that has a distinguished history delighting customers."
Medfusion already uses Intuit solutions to provide some of its services. It offers an online bill payment solution to its customers using the Intuit Payment Solutions division's software development kit. In addition, Medfusion solutions can be offered to approximately 75,000 Intuit QuickBooks medical practices and thousands of healthcare practices that already use Intuit Web sites.
The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of Intuit's fiscal year 2010, which ends July 31, and is subject to customary closing conditions. The acquisition is expected to reduce Intuit's fiscal year 2010 GAAP and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share by approximately 1 cent. Intuit does not expect the acquisition to have a material effect on fiscal year 2011 earnings.