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HCA To Acquire PatientKeeper
Hospital operator HCA announced this morning that it will acquire privately held physician systems vendor PatientKeeper. Terms were not disclosed.
HCA Chief Health Information Officer Jim Jurjis, MD said in the announcement, “HCA is investing in advanced, forward-looking informatics approaches to healthcare to improve usability, quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of care. The acquisition of PatientKeeper is an important step in that direction. It gives us important influence in the layer of the electronic record that the doctor sees, creating an innovative platform for workflow improvement.”
I spoke to PatientKeeper President and CEO Paul Brient ahead of the announcement. “HCA is a longstanding customer of our view-only portal, our clinical review tool,” he said. “Now HCA will deploy all of our software – CPOE, clinical documentation, and medication reconciliation – over top of their Meditech systems. They will invest to make it even more useful to their doctors.”
Brient will serve as CEO of PatientKeeper, which will be operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of HCA. Its 160 employees will continue to work from company headquarters in Waltham, MA, supporting the company’s 58,000 physician users.
Brient confirmed that PatientKeeper will continue to market its products (Charge Capture, Clinical Results Review, CPOE, eSignature, Medication Reconciliation, NoteWriter, and SignOut) to prospective clients. “There will be no change except the board members will be from HCA,” he said.
The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the year.
Mr. H, Lorre, Jennifer, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan, Dr. Travis.
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What does this say about the likelihood that the HCA/Epic pilot, will ever be anything more than just that?
No surprise. Patientkeeper has been sale for years and this isn’t surprising for several reasons including HCA have received almost all of its MU incentive payments already. Only imagine the $$$ that it would take to connect the roughly ~250 hospitals and surgery centers it has scattered across 20 states.
Is this the unofficial nail in the HCA / Epic pilot and relationship, and re-commitment to Meditech with HCA bolting on PatientKeeper as go forward solution?
If so, HCA must believe Meditech limitations that drove Epic evaluation/pilot can be resolved with Meditech and PatientKeeper interfaces, e.g orders?
How much will PK with HCA ownership support other sales and EMR/HIS integration – will efforts be focused on HCA internal goals or broader market?
HITlaw contributor to HIStalk chiming in here. Worked with PatientKeeper three years ago about Meditech intro. Thought it would be a good technical fit. Big undertaking and best wishes for success.