The prospect of billions of dollars of federal subsidy payments flowing into the healthcare industry for information technology has so piqued the interest of a foreign IT company that has acquired an American firm to gain instant entry into the U.S. market, according to a news release.
Cegedim, a global technology services company, said it has completed a deal to acquire electronic health-record system provider Pulse Systems. The acquisition's total cost, excluding a capital increase and including a portion contingent upon meeting growth targets over the next two years, will not exceed $58 million, according to Cegedim's news release.
The deal represents Paris-based Cegedim's first foray into the U.S. EHR market. "Pulse provides Cegedim an optimal entry and platform into the rapidly growing U.S. healthcare computerization market,” Alain Missoffe, chairman of the Cegedim Healthcare Software business unit, said in the news release. Cegedim also cited the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 as offering "considerable opportunities" for health IT companies in the U.S.
In addition to its EHR products, Wichita, Kan.-based Pulse provides practice management and e-prescribing systems and revenue-cycle management services for office-based physicians. A Pulse EHR system and child-health module have been tested and certified by the
Certification Commission for Health Information Technology.
Cegedim will invest $13.5 million in Pulse for research, development, sales and marketing, according to the news release. The deal, while finalized July 27, was announced Wednesday.
