Acquisition-happy Ingenix Buys Again

Ingenix, a software vendor owned by UnitedHealth Group, will acquire A-Life Medical of San Diego, which sells computer-assisted coding software, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is Ingenix's sixth announced buy of 2010.

A-Life Medical's LifeCode application uses national language processing technology to "read" clinical documentation, decipher the meaning and context of words, identify diagnoses and procedures provided during an encounter, and recommend appropriate ICD-9 and CPT-4 codes.

Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Ingenix has a presence in the revenue cycle management, transactions processing, coding, ambulatory software, ancillary inpatient software, data analysis and benchmarking, physician credentialing, consumer health, regulatory compliance and insurance markets. It established a strategic alliance last year with A-Life Medical to augment its suite of coding software with computer-assisted coding technology.

Now, buying A-Life Medical will enable deeper integration and accelerate Ingenix's development of advanced coding applications for inpatient and ambulatory providers and billing services, according to the vendors.

Ingenix's other buys this year include:

* Axolotl Corp., a vendor of health information exchange technology.

* Executive Health Resources, a medical necessity compliance consultancy;

* Picis, which sells emergency, surgical and intensive care information systems;

* QualityMetric, a vendor of health outcomes measurement software; and

* CareMedic, which sells a range of revenue cycle management applications.

More information is available at ingenix.com and alifemedical.com.

--Joseph Goedert