Earlier today, QuadraMed, a Reston, Va.-based provider of various healthcare technologies, dipped its toes into the interactive patient product space when it acquired NCR Corporation’s healthcare solutions division for an undisclosed price. The NCR’s healthcare employees who sell, develop, and service these solutions will join QuadraMed on January 5, 2012 and will remain in Lake Mary, Fla., and Hyderabad, India.
According to QuadraMed chief executive officer and president Duncan W. James, the move was about adding to the company’s existing Access and Identity Management solutions and combining the products with its Enterprise Scheduling . QuadraMed will be getting NCR Corporation’s MediKiosk patient access software, NCR Payment Manager, Patient Portal, Patient Tracking, Physician Referral Portal and eForms software items.
James answered questions from Healthcare Informatics assistant editor Gabriel Perna about the move and why it reflects the changing direction of healthcare.
How does this move reflect the healthcare IT industry’s direction?
As patients assume greater financial responsibility for care, they continue to desire more interaction and control over the entire healthcare experience, whether from their home, phone, or within the four walls of a hospital or physician’s office. In response to this trend, the industry is moving toward patient-facing solutions like MediKiosk that can address this growing demand and improve access processes while also enhancing a provider’s ability to capture time-of-service collections and maximize revenue.
What kind of new markets can you appeal to with the MediKiosk and other NCR products?
NCR markets healthcare solutions both domestically and internationally and is transferring all customers on the NCR MediKiosk platform to QuadraMed. As a result, QuadraMed will be able to further extend its presence beyond North America in healthcare organizations in other countries like the United Kingdom and Germany.
In addition to enlarging QuadraMed’s global footprint, the acquisition also expands QuadraMed’s Access and Identity Management assets and gives its existing customer base more solutions for improving workflow and driving efficiency throughout the patient access process.
What kind of changes could you make to MediKiosk and other NCR products that would make them more appealing to the market?
No comment since it’s too soon to discuss
What are the company’s plans going forward – will there be more acquisitions in the industry to grow the product portfolio?
QuadraMed is always looking for ways to improve its offerings for clients, but our main focus at this time is to quickly integrate NCR’s healthcare products, staff and client base.
