Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Register For Free
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HLTH 2024
    • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Innovators Awards
    • Diversity Leaders
    • Leading Women
    • Best in Business Awards
    • The 2030 Playbook Conference
    • Innovations in Patient Experience
    • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
    • Leadership Summit
    • Workforce Summit
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2025
    • - Financial Growth
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Looking Ahead to 2026
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Skilled Nursing Facilities
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
    • Sponsored Content
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Information Technology
June 25, 2013 12:00 AM

Tenet, Vanguard deal could be boon for their vendors

Beth Kutscher
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Fetter

    Tenet Healthcare Corp.'s plan to buy Vanguard Health Systems creates new opportunities for the vendors that work with the two companies.

    One of the clear winners would be Tenet subsidiary Conifer Health Solutions. On a conference call to discuss the deal, Tenet President and CEO Trevor Fetter noted that Vanguard's 21 hospitals would become revenue-cycle management clients for Conifer.

    He anticipated a 28% increase in Conifer's revenue, which would bring it to more than $1.14 billion, from $890 million estimated for 2013 without Vanguard.

    “The combination with Vanguard will add substantially to Conifer's size and scale,” Fetter said. “We think this will be very helpful in growing Conifer and attracting new clients, and it really solidifies our leadership position in that market.”

    For Vanguard, working with Conifer is expected to improve collections and therefore cash flow, executives from both companies said on the call.

    But Vanguard will also lend its own expertise in health plan operations to help build Conifer's growing population health management business.

    Analysts also saw new opportunities as well as potential risks for other vendors used by each company.

    Tenet uses several of MedAssets' technologies, including ChargeMasterManagement, Contract Manager and CarePricer, Richard Close of investment bank Avondale Partners wrote in a note to clients. He added that the hospital giant also has a supply chain contract with MedAssets that runs through 2016.

    Executives singled out revenue-cycle management and supply chain as two of the key areas where they expect to see synergies after the deal closes.

    Fetter also highlighted both companies' relationships with Cerner Corp., pointing to it as an example of the “very thorough integration” it plans to make in information technology systems and other areas.

    “There's a degree of complementary strategy and overlap with respect to the selection of the systems,” he said.

    One question mark, analysts said, is what the deal means for Vanguard vendor Athenahealth, which provides electronic health records, medical billing and practice management software. Tenet uses competing services from McKesson Corp.

    Close pointed out that Vanguard has delayed moving Detroit Medical Center to Athenahealth's medical billing product, AthenaCollector, which it was supposed to do in April 2012—signaling that Athenahealth's relationship with Vanguard could be a casualty of the deal.

    Yet analyst Sean Wieland of Piper Jaffray wrote that Athenahealth could enjoy another $10 million a year in revenue if Tenet chooses its ambulatory-care offerings, which he saw as superior to McKesson's product. Athenahealth stands to lose $5 million if Tenet sticks with McKesson, Wieland said.

    Follow Beth Kutscher on Twitter: @MHbkutscher

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Racial disparity hospital
    Providers confront racial bias engrained in EHRs
    Judy_Faulkner_Epic_HIMSS17_edit_i.jpg
    Epic outlines what's ahead for patient portal, Cosmos
    Most Popular
    1
    UnitedHealth Group to cut Medicare drug plan commissions
    2
    PBM limits could finally pass, if Congress moves its tax-cut bill
    3
    ACOs call on Oz to fix Shared Savings Program benchmarking issue
    4
    Where top executive search firms are seeing changes in demand
    5
    Investors welcome a maturing digital health market
    Sponsored Content
    Digital Health Intelligence Newsletter: Sign up to receive a twice-weekly (T, F) morning newsletter featuring the latest reporting on technologies, trends, players and money fueling the rapid changes in how healthcare is developed, paid for and delivered.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2025. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HLTH 2024
      • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
    • Opinion
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Innovators Awards
        • Diversity Leaders
        • Leading Women
        • Best in Business Awards
      • Conferences
        • The 2030 Playbook Conference
        • Innovations in Patient Experience
        • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
        • Leadership Summit
        • Workforce Summit
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2025
        • - Financial Growth
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Looking Ahead to 2026
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Skilled Nursing Facilities
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing
      • Sponsored Content