"The team is on the cutting edge of AI," says Ivana Naeymi-Rad, IMO's chief operating officer.
The Melax platform adds to IMO's patient data software, which integrates with all major electronic health records and is used by nearly 90% of all U.S. clinicians, across organizations like Duke Health, Texas Children's Hospital and pharmaceutical and diagnostics company Roche. IMO says the software allows clinicians to specify more accurately — instead of vaguely summarizing — a patient's condition at the point of care, while also standardizing notes into data points that can be used for analytic insights.
The addition of Melax will also help IMO expand into the life sciences industry, Naeymi-Rad says.
"Not only are we gaining some of this key technology, but (we are) also starting to really get a stronger foundation to expand into other markets," she said.
Not a Modern Healthcare subscriber? Sign up today.
Discussions to combine with Melax began last year, Naeymi-Rad says. She declined to disclose the purchase price. IMO also declined to share revenue figures.
Last March, IMO sold a majority stake to Boston-based private-equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners in a deal worth more than $1.5 billion. At the time, IMO said the deal would help finance its expansion, foreshadowing today's deal.
"We went into this partnership with Thomas H. Lee really focused on development of a comprehensive data-quality platform, and Thomas H. Lee very much bought into it," Naeymi-Rad says, adding that IMO is on the hunt for more companies to acquire.
The Melax deal adds about 25 workers to IMO's staff of 350. Naeymi-Rad says IMO will not lay off any staff and will maintain Melax's Houston office.
"The team is really synergistic," she says. "We're really excited."
This story first appeared in Crain's Chicago Business.