New MarketScape Report from IDC Health Insights Evaluates Evolution of Health Information Exchange Platform Solutions

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

A new IDC MarketScape report from IDC Health Insights highlights the rapid evolution of the health information exchange (HIE) market. The comprehensive study, IDC MarketScape: U.S. Health Information Exchange Platform Solutions 2012 Vendor Assessment (Doc #HI235816), provides an evaluation of 16 vendors that offer a platform solution for Health Information Exchange. IDC Health Insights defines a platform as having development tools, published APIs, education of technical staff, a broad ecosystem of partners, and professional services. Vendors evaluated for this report include: AT&T, AxSys Technology, Caradigm, Carefx, Certify Data Systems, Covisint, dbMotion, IBM, Infor, InterSystems Corp., Medicity, OptumInsight, Oracle, Orion Health, RelayHealth, and Verizon.

The health information exchange market continues to evolve with the focus shifting from connecting the ecosystem to exchange data and qualify for meaningful use incentives, to turning data into "actionable information" that enables emerging accountable care or collaborative care initiatives. This shift has lead to additional market consolidation among HIE vendors. Since the IDC Health Insights report Vendor Assessment: Industry Short List for Health Information Exchange Technologies was published two years ago (March 2010, Doc #HI222529), seven HIE vendors have been acquired or merged and new, nontraditional players have entered the market including payers and telecommunication companies.

"The IT requirements for health information organizations and evolving care delivery and reimbursement models are too extensive for any one vendor to satisfy," said Lynne Dunbrack, program director, Connected Health IT Strategies at IDC Health Insights. "To address the business and technical requirements of accountable care, in addition to providing core HIE technologies, vendors are responding by developing, partnering, or acquiring analytics, collaborative care, and patient engagement technologies."

Platform-as-a-service will increasingly play an important role in delivering HIE capabilities as vendors look to create an ecosystem of strategic partnerships. Platforms will evolve over time to meet the needs of customers and partners in the ecosystem, often through self development. In contrast, packaged solutions are designed to meet a very specific set of requirements. The IDC MarketScape vendor assessments for HIE technology are not all inclusive as there are other vendors that provide either a packaged or platform solution for HIE. Additional HIE vendors are covered in IDC MarketScape: U.S. Health Information Exchange Packaged Solutions 2012 Vendor Assessment (Doc #HI235830), which covers ten vendors that offer a packaged solution for HIE.

IDC MarketScape criteria selection, weightings, and vendor scores represent well-researched IDC judgment about the market and specific vendors. IDC analysts tailor the range of standard characteristics by which vendors are measured through structured discussions, surveys, and interviews with market leaders, participants and end users. Market weightings are based on user interviews, buyer surveys and the input of a review board of IDC experts in each market. IDC analysts base individual vendor scores, and ultimately vendor positions within the IDC MarketScape, on detailed surveys and interviews with the vendors, publicly available information and end-user experiences in an effort to provide an accurate and consistent assessment of each vendor's characteristics, behavior and capability.

For additional information about this study, or to arrange a one-on-one briefing with Lynne please contact Julie Crotty at 978-877-0053 or Julie@attunecommunications.com. Reports are available to qualified members of the media. For information on purchasing reports, contact insights@idc.com; reporters should email Julie@attunecommunications.com.

About IDC MarketScape

IDC MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT (information and communications technology) suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor’s position within a given market. IDC MarketScape provides a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of IT and telecommunications vendors can be meaningfully compared. The framework also provides technology buyers with a 360-degree assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective vendors.

About IDC Health Insights

IDC Health Insights assists health businesses and IT leaders, as well as the suppliers who serve them, in making more effective technology decisions by providing accurate, timely, and insightful fact-based research and consulting services. Staffed by senior analysts with decades of industry experience, our global research analyzes and advises on business and technology issues facing the payer, provider and life sciences industries. International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology market. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology, media, research, and events company. For more information, please visit www.idc-hi.com, email info@idc-hi.com, or call 508-935-4445. Visit the IDC Health Insights Community at http://idc-insights-community.com/health

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Community Health Centers -- Providing A Base Of Care

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Under the Affordable Care Act, millions of new patients will have access to the health care system. One concern – where will all of these people obtain their health care? Because of fee for service and the inequitable tilt toward specialty care, the primary care system in our country has been decimated and will take years to rebuild.

Fortunately, the ACA puts a lot of money and effort toward correcting this imbalance. But even with all the dollars in the world, it would take many years to repair decades of damage.  The section of the ACA intended to repair our primary care system thankfully started rolling out right after the law was passed.  Primary care physicians are working hard to become certified medical care homes, which expands the role of staff and ancillary providers to pick up the workload of important but mundane tasks that do not require the work of a physician brain.  This will increase capacity, but there is still so much that has to be done to handle the new patients coming into the system.

There is hope for the newly insured. One gem of our health care system is the vast network of community health centers.  Community health centers as we know them today started in 1965 to provide health care access to poor and medically underserved communities.  Today, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers, greater than 20 million patients are served in over 8,000 locations around the country.  These groups provide care for anyone – those without insurance pay on a sliding scale. They also take Medicaid and private insurance.

Although not widely stated, it was expected that the majority of new patients entering the health care system would be served by community health centers.  With the initial funding provided by the ACA, these centers were set to expand their capability to 40 million patients by 2015 – that is double their current number! Unfortunately, base funding for these centers was significantly cut by both the states and the federal government – they put some money in one hand and took it out of the other.  Because of this, community health centers pared their projections back to serving 30 million people by 2015.

Being simplistic, which is always my goal, of the estimated 30 million new people who will enter the entire health care system, 20 million would have been seen in the community health centers and the other 10 million in private physician offices.  Now those numbers will have to flip flop, because the decreased funding of the community health centers will only allow for 10 million more patients then they are currently serving.

This is a shame. Unfortunately, the decrease in funding is shooting our country in the foot.  Why? Community health centers are very efficient at providing primary care and preventive care.  Nationally, it costs $610 per year to provide comprehensive primary care to a patient in community health centers and $964 per year in other physician settings. This would save $354 per patient per year over the 10 million patients who now have to be seen by the private sector – that could have been a total savings of $3.54 billion per year.  This doesn’t take into account the added savings of keeping people healthy and out of emergency departments and hospitals. To put this into perspective, the total federal base budget for community health centers was $2 billion per year before funding was cut by $600 million last year.  States also cut funding by about another $200 million per year. So basically, we cut $800 million per year between the two and could have saved $3.54 billion per year? My financial planner brain cannot wrap itself around that one. Am I missing something?

There is another twist to this sordid tale. The insurance breakdown of patients seen in community health centers is about 40% uninsured and 40% on Medicaid, with the remaining 20% on other insurance. About 80% of patients seen at community health centers are under 133% poverty level and would have qualified for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.  The community health centers were excited about this – their funding would improve and not be at the whim of state and federal politicians. Governors in six states so far are refusing the federal dollars to expand Medicaid, so the community health centers in those states will still have to spend significant time and energy lobbying their legislatures for money. This seems like a counterproductive waste of time.

Some states are also refusing other funding allocated by the ACA. I spoke with Andy Behrman, President and CEO of the Florida Association of Community Health Centers,  regarding the challenges in his state. Florida has 48 community health centers with over 320 sites that provide care for 1.17 million patients. Eight of the centers rely on state funding – so they are at the mercy of the state politicians. Governor Scott has refused ACA funding to expand and improve Florida’s eight state funded community health centers. Florida community health centers are very efficient – it costs $510 per person per year to provide comprehensive primary care including lab and x-ray services.   Thank goodness only eight of the 48 centers rely on Governor Scott’s whims.

A strong health care system is important for our country’s resiliency and is a matter of national defense. It would be great if we could cut the $500 billion per year worth of wasted overhead from our health care system, and divert just a couple of billion per year to community health centers.  We would be much better for it.

Questions or comments? Please post here, reach me on Twitter @CarolynMcC, or at Carolyn.mcclanahan@gmail.com.

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Synergy Health Completes Acquisition of SRI/Surgical Express, Inc.

SWINDON, United Kingdom and TAMPA, Fla., July 16, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Synergy Health plc (SYR.L) and SRI/Surgical Express, Inc. (STRC) ("SRI") today announced the successful completion of Synergy Health plc's acquisition of SRI for approximately $25 million through a cash tender offer followed by a short-form merger of Synergy Health plc's wholly-owned subsidiary in the United States, SHM Acquisition, Inc., with and into SRI. As a result of the acquisition, SRI became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Synergy Health plc.

At the effective time of the merger, shares of SRI common stock held by the remaining SRI shareholders who did not tender their shares in the tender offer were cancelled and converted into the right to receive the same $3.70 per share price, without interest and subject to any required withholding taxes, that was paid in the tender offer. As a result of the merger, SRI shares will be delisted and cease to trade on the NASDAQ Stock Market. SRI shareholders who did not tender their shares in the tender offer will receive relevant information in the mail on how to receive payment for their shares in connection with the merger.

About Synergy Health plc

Synergy Health plc is a global leader in outsourced sterilization services to the medical device market as well as to hospitals and other healthcare providers. In addition, the business provides other outsourced services such as healthcare linen, pathology and specialist laboratory services. The business operates across health related markets in the UK & Ireland, Europe & the Middle East, Asia & Africa and the Americas. For more information, please visit www.synergyhealthplc.com.

About SRI/Surgical Express, Inc.

SRI (www.srisurgical.com) provides central processing and supply chain management services to hospitals and surgery centers across the United States. SRI serves hospitals and surgery centers in 25 states from 10 reprocessing facilities and four distribution centers located throughout the United States.

The SRI/Surgical Express, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4997

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that are forward-looking and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to materially differ from those described. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including all statements and information regarding the intent, belief or current expectation of Synergy Health plc, SHM Acquisition, Inc., SRI and members of their respective senior management teams. All forward-looking statements are based largely on current expectations and beliefs concerning future events, approvals and transactions that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. Factors that may cause or contribute to the actual results or outcomes being different from those contemplated by forward-looking statements include: uncertainties as to the timing of the tender offer; uncertainties as to how many of SRI's shareholders will tender their shares in the offer; the possibility that competing offers will be made; the possibility that various closing conditions for the transactions may not be satisfied or waived, including that a governmental or regulatory authority may prohibit or delay the consummation of the transactions; the effects of disruption from the proposed transactions making it more difficult to maintain relationships with employees, customers and/or other business relationships; other business effects, including the effects of industry, regulatory, economic and/or market conditions that are outside of Synergy Health plc's, SHM Acquisition, Inc.'s or SRI's control; unexpected transaction costs and actual or contingent liabilities; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in documents filed by SRI with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including, but not limited to, SRI's reports on Forms 10-Q, 10-K, and 8-K that it periodically files with the SEC, and the Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO and Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 filed with the SEC in connection with the tender offer. These factors include SRI's sales process and market acceptance of its products and services, SRI's capital needs, SRI's dependence on significant customers and suppliers, risks of a new product offering, risks that SRI may incur significant costs related to self-insurance retention levels for employee benefits and workers' compensation programs, and the competitive healthcare marketplace. Neither Synergy Health plc nor SRI undertakes any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as expressly required by law.

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Health Dialog Announces Next Generation of DECISION Dialog® Program

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OPKO Health Announces Appointment of Juan F. Rodriguez as Chief Financial Officer

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

OPKO Health, Inc. (OPK) is pleased to announce the appointment of Juan F. Rodriguez as its new Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Rodriguez replaces Mr. Rao Uppaluri who is retiring.

Mr. Rodriguez brings to OPKO over 20 years of financial and business leadership experience, with over half of that in the life sciences field. Most recently, Mr. Rodriguez was serving as a consultant and advisor since 2007 to Cognitec Systems GmbH, a German software developer. From 1995 to 2007, prior to its acquisition by Abbott Laboratories, Mr. Rodriguez had been with Kos Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded, specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of proprietary prescription products. During his twelve years at Kos, Mr. Rodriguez held various positions of increasing responsibility, including serving as Interim Chief Financial Officer, and last serving as Senior Vice President, Controller and Corporate Administration. Prior to joining Kos, Mr. Rodriguez was employed by Arthur Andersen LLP from 1991 to 1994. Mr. Rodriguez is a Certified Public Accountant and obtained his Bachelor of Accounting from Florida International University.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Juan to OPKO. Juan’s industry knowledge and financial expertise will be invaluable as we continue to grow our company and execute our strategy to establish industry-leading positions in large and rapidly growing medical markets,” said Phillip Frost, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of OPKO.

Rao Uppaluri, has elected to retire from his role as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, but will remain involved as a consultant to OPKO.

“On behalf of OPKO’s Board of Directors and the entire OPKO team, I want to thank Rao for his valuable contributions to OPKO,” said Dr. Frost. “Rao has been instrumental as a founding member of OPKO and leaves behind a strong, capable financial team. Our company and its employees have all benefited from Rao’s efforts and we wish him the very best in retirement. We are also delighted that Rao will continue to be involved with OPKO, ensuring a smooth transition.”

About OPKO Health, Inc.

OPKO is a multi-national biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company that seeks to establish industry-leading positions in large and rapidly growing medical markets by leveraging its discovery, development and commercialization expertise and novel and proprietary technologies.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA), which statements may be identified by words such as "expects," "plans," "projects," "will," "may," "anticipates," "believes," "should," "intends," "estimates," and other words of similar meaning, including all non-historical statements about our expectations, beliefs or intentions regarding our business, technologies and products, financial condition, strategies, prospects, growth opportunities, and management. Many factors could cause our actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in forward-looking statements. These factors include those described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and risks inherent in funding, developing and obtaining regulatory approvals of new, commercially-viable and competitive products and treatments. In addition, forward-looking statements may also be adversely affected by general market factors, competitive product development, product availability, federal and state regulations and legislation, the regulatory process for new products and indications, manufacturing issues that may arise, patent positions and litigation, among other factors. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date the statements were made, and, except as required by applicable law, we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. We intend that all forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the PSLRA.

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Ashley's Extreme Weight-Loss Makeover

Trainer Chris Powell discusses challenges of this dramatic transformation.

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Health Future Vision

Explore how technology improves healthcare by providing seamless connections across providers and equipping patients with the control they need for a more personalized care experience. (Release: 2007)

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