Athenahealth completes acquisition of Epocrates

Health information technology company Athenahealth announced the completion of its acquisition of mobile application developer Epocrates.

Athenahealth, based in Watertown, Mass., first announced its plans to acquire the San Mateo, Calif.-based company last September for $293 million cash, or $11.75 per share.

The acquisition strengthens Athenahealth's position in the cloud-based sphere, expanding its current base from 40,000 clinicians to more than 1 million, and allowing Athenahealth to build on its data network with the mobile capabilities afforded by Epocrates.

“Epocrates is king at supporting physicians at the point-of-care when immensely consequential clinical decisions are being made and additional clinical insight is needed,” Jonathan Bush, chairman and CEO of Athenahealth, said in a release. “We are committed to preserving the mobile experience that Epocrates has instilled at the point-of-care and will work to make mobility in healthcare even more meaningful through the introduction of workflows and capabilities that haven't yet been part of the caregiver mobile toolset.”

Modern Healthcare named Epocrates to the top spot of its Most Important Mobile Healthcare Apps competition in 2012.

Athenahealth, founded in 1997, offers medical groups and health systems services that include cloud-based electronic health records, practice management and care coordination. The health IT company also acquired Boston-based Healthcare Data Services, a data analysis and population health management company, in October for an undisclosed amount.