Athenahealth, the technology company that offers electronic health records and other practice management software, has bought scheduling company Arsenal Health from its own accelerator program.
Arsenal, formerly known as Smart Scheduling, uses predictive analytics and machine learning to help providers predict no-show appointments and cancellations. It claims that the bottom-line benefit is as much as $700 per provider per month. Athenahealth plans to integrate the technology into its care-coordination platform, athenaCoordinator.
Financial terms were not disclosed. But Boston-based Arsenal represents Athenahealth's first investment through its More Disruption Please Accelerator, a program that helps guide entrepreneurs during their company's early stages.
Healthcare organizations have taken a more active role in developing young firms as they seek to get a jump on technologies that can solve their complex business problems. These startups, in turn, get access to key industry leaders and a living laboratory in which to pilot their offerings.
Working with Watertown, Mass.-based Athenahealth, Arsenal has grown its client base to more than 700 providers, including both large health systems and small physician offices. Under the deal, Arsenal CEO and co-founder Chris Moses as well as the company's data scientists and developers will join Athenahealth, working under Doran Robinson, who leads athenaCoordinator.
Athenahealth itself also has been rapidly adding new technologies through acquisitions.
“The goal here is to be the healthcare Internet,” CEO Jonathan Bush said on the company's most recent earnings call in February. “We start with: Hey, let's give you a business service that you like, doctor, that makes you more cash at the end of the month. We've been doing that very well."
Athenahealth last year reported $856.8 million in revenue, an increase of 24% over $690 million in 2014.
