Revenue-cycle and information services provider Experian Health announced Thursday it has acquired online scheduling service MyHealthDirect.
Franklin, Tenn.-based Experian Health said the deal strengthens its ability to provide solutions to healthcare's biggest financial and administrative challenges, including scheduling, providing cost estimates and insurance coverage verification.
"Experian Health's mission is to use data-driven insight to connect and simplify healthcare for all," Jennifer Schulz, Experian group president overseeing Experian Health, said in a statement. "Joining with MyHealthDirect will further propel how we deliver on that mission, giving us the potential to evolve our front-end patient access and patient engagement capabilities by creating solutions that improve consumer convenience while optimizing care across healthcare providers."
Nashville, Tenn.-based MyHealthDirect's technology helps patients choose providers and enables real-time scheduling online, in call centers and in provider offices. The company said it can increase providers' appointment and referral rates and cut down on no-shows using its automated management of appointment inventory.
The companies have already worked together for two years. Experian Health announced in 2017 it would use MyHealthDirect for its self-service patient appointment scheduling.
MyHealthDirect CEO Tom Cox said in a statement both companies will benefit from the deal in the form of market expansion and product enhancement.
"We are also looking forward to the resources Experian brings to the table, which will accelerate the development of very unique products and capabilities that will clearly differentiate Experian from others in the category," he said.
Experian Health has offered its price-estimator tool since 2008 to hospitals, physician groups and outpatient imaging centers. St. Clair Hospital in Pittsburgh was the first hospital to offer the tool online for patients in 2016.
More than 3,400 hospitals uses Experian Health's tools, the company said.
Terms of the deal, including price, were not disclosed. The deal did not require regulatory approval.
