Related Items
New Name, New Mission For Vendor
August 2007
For more than two decades, Companion Technologies-recently renamed HealthPort Inc.-operated as an information technology division of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina.
The Columbia-based vendor started as a claims clearinghouse before branching out to sell physician practice management software and, in the past four years, ambulatory electronic health records systems.
But 2007 has brought big changes to the veteran vendor. First, it became independent of the Blues plan in January when equity investment firms ABRY Partners in Boston and Thurston Group in Chicago acquired the company. The new HealthPort name became effective this month.
The firms, which have co-invested in other ventures, bought the company to get into the health care industry.
"The best value proposition in technology tends to be collecting money and being on the revenue side," says Mike Labedz, president of Thurston Group and now also president and CEO of HealthPort.
In mid-June, HealthPort followed that value proposition by acquiring document imaging and management software vendor SDS, formerly known as Smart Document Solutions. While Alpharetta, Ga.-based SDS primarily is used in medical records departments, Labedz believes its technology also has value in the business offices of hospitals and physician group practices.
Branching Out
HealthPort has always focused on the physician market for electronic data interchange and software services, although it has nearly 100 hospitals in the state using the clearinghouse.
SDS, with more than 1,000 hospital clients, now gives the company a solid footprint in the hospital information technology market. SDS also serves large physician group practices that use its technology to streamline the request for information process.
It all adds up to substantial cross-selling opportunities, Labedz says. Combining the SDS technology with EDI and associated revenue cycle management software will make an attractive product line for business offices, he contends.
The offices could use the imaging software to digitize remittance advice and other paper documents, he says. HealthPort's claims management software, integrated with SDS' technology, could automatically request information from the medical records data repository necessary to complete or correct a suspended claim.
"Hospitals are looking to reduce days outstanding on claims. We think this will be an unique way to solve the problems," Labedz says.
SDS' technology combined with HealthPort's electronic medical records software also could improve EHR sales, Labedz hopes. The company has had about 70 implementations since introducing the EHR about four years ago.
The EHR interfaces with HealthPort's practice management software. Soon, the products will be fully integrated and share the same database. Labedz hopes offering full integration and document imaging to digitize remaining paper records will increase interest in the EHR.
Some physicians, he believes, will find value in using document imaging and management as their EHR system because it enables them to continue paper-based processes while digitizing data.
Pay For Performance
Pay-for-performance programs will drive physicians to become more digital to ease collection of information necessary to demonstrate compliance, he believes. "But vast quantities of information will remain on paper for quite some time because there's no return on investment to convert them to data elements. Nobody wants to go cold turkey without the paper."
HealthPort also is setting its sights on expanding its geographic reach and further expanding the product line.
The company also sees acquisitions as a way to expand. One area of interest is another clearinghouse that can give a bigger EDI footprint outside South Carolina.
Acquisitions also could rapidly expand the product line, particularly the revenue cycle management arena, Labedz says. Areas of interest could include coding products and other tools to further speed the completion of large claims and resolution of suspended claims. "HealthPort will continue to be an opportunistic acquirer," he adds. "We're always looking."
I.T. Spotlights
- About Us
- Advertising/Media Kit
- Reprints
- Editorial Calendar
- Contact Us
- Customer Service
- Privacy Statement
©2008 HealthDataManagement and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.
SourceMedia is an Investcorp company.
Use, duplication, or sale of this service, or data contained herein, is strictly prohibited.
