FOR VENDORS in the healthcare finance sector, 2008 was perhaps best defined by a blockbuster merger that was announced in March and nearly derailed by financial concerns in September before coming to a successful close in October.
In the end, the union of Chicago-based Allscripts and Britishbanking giant Misys to create Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutionscame about because “the market (believed) in the underlyingfundamentals of this transaction,” said Allscripts CEO Glen Tullman.
The deal, designed to create a healthcare giant offering bothAllscripts’ electronic medical record systems and Misys’ practicemanagement systems, among other products, points to an industryincreasingly interested in the bottom line.
Companies like NextGen Healthcare and Healthland (formerly DairylandHealthcare Solutions), for instance, launched new revenue cyclemanagement interests, and Passport Health and Medtral sought to attractinterest in medical travel services. Other established vendors, likeathenahealth and Benefitfocus, launched new initiatives to improve therelationship between payers and providers.
And Emdeon Business Services, pitting its reputation against anuncertain market, announced plans in September (which were reaffirmedin November) to raise as much as $460 million through an initial publicoffering of common stock.
Among the other big deals this past year:
• Ingenix and Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. announced apartnership in February to deliver technology-based decision supportand consulting services to states’ Medicaid Management InformationSystems (MMIS).
• Eclipsys announced the acquisition of Enterprise Performance Systems, Inc. (EPSi) in February.
• McKesson picked up RelayHealth in May, adding that company’sportfolio of financial clearance and settlement services for hospitals,health systems and physician practices.
• MEDecision merged with the Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), also in July.
• And Revolution Health was acquired by Waterfront Media in October.