Morning Headlines 10/17/13

Francisco Partners to Acquire McKesson’s Automation Unit

Private equity firm Francisco Partners acquires McKesson’s pharmacy automation business for an undisclosed sum. McKesson acquired the former Automated Healthcare in 1996 for $65 million.

Pace of EMR Adoption During the Past 5 Years

A HIMSS study finds that 25 percent of US hospitals have failed to raise their standing on the HIMSS Analytics EMR adoption model over the past five years. However, 20 percent of hospitals jumped four or five stages during that time.

Hospital Progress To Meaningful Use: Status Update

Health Affairs reports that as of July 2013, two-thirds of hospitals have achieved Stage 1 Meaningful Use and nearly all are engaged with the program in some way.

Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense Interagency Program Office Awards Systems Made Simple Re-compete of iEHR System Integration Contract

The office responsible for overseeing the DoD/VA iEHR development has awarded a re-compete contract to incumbent iEHR service and support vendor Systems Made Simple. As the prime on the contract, SMS will provide technical support for the iEHR project, working to develop stronger integration between the VA and DoD systems.