Newswatch: March 2006

Acquisitions and Mergers

Allscripts to acquire A4 Health Systems

Allscripts (Chicago) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire A4 Health Systems (Cary, NC) for approximately $272 million in cash and stock. A provider of practice-management and HER solutions for small and mid-sized physician groups, A4 has a customer base of more than 1,600 healthcare organizations nationally. "Our acquisition of A4 adds an established leader with a strong product offering and robust sales channel in two significant and largely untapped market segments—small, independent physician practices and midsized medical practice groups," said Allscripts CEO Glen Tullman. "We will offer an integrated EHR/practice-management system or, where appropriate, a combination of A4's practice-management system with TouchWorks. Together with A4, we will extend our leadership to all market segments."

AssistMed acquires speech-recognition company Lexicore

AssistMed Inc (Los Angeles) has acquired Lexicore LLC (Salem, NH); terms were not disclosed. "This strategic acquisition significantly enhances AssistMed's position as a provider of total solutions for clinical documentation, practice management, knowledge extraction, and other applications related to EHRs," said Leonardo Berezovsky, MD, chairman and CEO of AssistMed. Lexicore's software enhances the output of back-end speech-recognition engines, improving transcription productivity. Advanced linguistic technology first corrects some of the errors made by the engine, and then it formats the report with all the section headings and lists desired by the client organizations. Transcriptionists, functioning as editors, are able to view the resulting output while listening to the dictation.

Diagnostic Ultrasound snaps up Saturn Biomedical

Diagnostic Ultrasound Corp (Bothell, Wash) has acquired Saturn Biomedical Systems Inc (Burnaby, BC), manufacturer of the GlideScope Video Laryngoscope, which assists with anesthesia intubations in surgery and in the emergency department. The device enables visual control of the endotracheal tube in its trajectory toward the airway with its integrated camera, anti-fogging mechanism, and 50° to 60° viewing range. "The Saturn acquisition is a great step forward for our team, the Saturn team, and GlideScope technology," said Gerald McMorrow, CEO, founder, and chairman of the board of Diagnostic Ultrasound. "We're excited about bringing this improved technology to acute care, and we're looking forward to a continued expansion of our product offerings in this rapidly growing market segment."

MIT acquires portable ultrasound company ScanView

Medical International Technology (MIT of Denver) has acquired portable ultrasound technology and manufacturing company ScanView (Montréal). ScanView was formed in 2003 to develop, manufacture, and market different models of real-time ultrasound scanners for animal and human applications. Management combines more than 30 years of experience and expertise in the development, production, marketing, and sales of this technology. "We believe ScanView has the most powerful, smallest, and lightest ultrasound diagnostic system in the world," said Karim Menassa, president and CEO of MIT. "It combines features that no other system in its category has, making ScanView the technology leader in its field.