Huron expands HIT consulting with new purchase

Huron Consulting Group, Chicago, announced Thursday that it will acquire healthcare information technology consulting firm Vonlay, Madison, Wis., in a move that is anticipated to expand Huron Healthcare's IT consulting reach.

Vonlay specializes in clinical information systems and the implementation, optimization and maintenance of electronic health-record systems for health systems, hospitals and physician practices. Other services in Vonlay's portfolio include assistance in converting to ICD-10 and meeting the requirements for meaningful use.

“The addition of Vonlay introduces a new set of capabilities for Huron Healthcare to deliver value … enhance our performance improvement and clinical transformation solutions, and will enable our clients to better realize a return on the significant investment that many of them have made in automating electronic health records,” Huron Consulting Group President and CEO James Roth said in a release announcing the deal.

Aaron Carlock and Mike Kolpien, both managing partners at Vonlay, and Farhan Ahmad, development director at Vonlay, will become managing directors at Huron. Roughly 130 other Vonlay employees also will join the company. The acquisition is expected to close in May, subject to certain closing conditions.

No financial terms were released, though Huron Consulting Group reported that its Huron Healthcare division accounts for more than half of the firm's overall revenue.

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