Eclipsys Corporation is not one of those companies with a lengthy or complex mission statement. And according to R. Andrew Eckert, president and CEO, the company has only one mission. "To become the most respected company in healthcare information technology, by inspiring our people to exceed client expectations." Whether the company achieves its goal is subjective, but it certainly does appear to be making a respectable effort.
Founded in 1995, Eclipsys provides advanced clinical, financial and management information software and services solutions. The 2,000-employee HIT-only software company, spent $71.9 million in 2005 on R&D, and has a variety of partners including Microsoft Corporation, MedQuest and Wolters Kluwer. What sets Eclipsys apart from its competitors, according to Eckert, is agility. "I think we are a bit nimbler than the bigger companies. Because of our heavy R&D spending, we have a very fresh product suite, based on the latest and greatest of technology standards."
In an effort to hit its mark, Eclipsys has gone outside of the typical HIT arena. "We have made extensive use of technology tools that are well know in the corporate sector, and less well known in the healthcare sector, such as Web services and other interoperability tools," Eckert says, acknowledging that many competitors have not "had the wherewithal to develop into their product suites as of yet."
In the last year, the company did a bit of internal restructuring, rolled out a few new products, and hired its present CEO. In 2005, Eclipsys released the pocket XA, a wireless companion to provide access to real-time clinical data, as well as a new version of Sunrise Clinical to provide evidence-based content and practice interoperability. As for the future, Eclipsys is looking to expand its presence. "We have a very blue chip set of customers," Eckerd says. "We're very well known in the inpatient setting, and now we're focused on expanding that image to include the ambulatory aspects of healthcare providers as well."
