Netsmart Builds Out its Community Care Platform

Netsmart Technologies is expanding into long-term and post-acute care. The company announced its acquisition of HealthMEDX®, which develops electronic medical record (EMR) solutions for long-term and post-acute care providers, including continuing care retirement communities, assisted living, independent living, skilled nursing and home care providers. Netsmart Technologies provides post-acute electronic health records (EHRs) and technology for health and human services providers. It was acquired in March 2016 by a joint venture between Allscripts Healthcare Solutions and private equity firm GI Partners for $950 million. The addition of long-term care capabilities establishes Netsmart as... Read More »

Q3:16 Health Care M&A Results: Context Is Everything

Brace yourself. The third quarter results for health care mergers and acquisitions  signal a hard tap on the brakes, both in deal volume and value. That’s compared with the robust second quarter, and the same quarter a year ago. Before we go any further, though, we must note that, compared with all previous third quarters stretching back to 2000, the third quarter of 2016 doesn’t look that bad. Some 369 transactions are now on the books for Q3:16, which ranks this quarter as the second-highest in deal volume for any previous third quarter. The top-ranked third quarter, coincidently, came a year ago, when Q3:15 racked up 411 transactions. So Q3:16’s deal volume slid 10% compared with the... Read More »

Pharmacy Software Companies Merge

Specialty pharmacies have attracted a lot of interest from private equity firms in 2016. Now it’s specialty pharmacy services companies that are beginning to see consolidation. In October, Rx30, a portfolio company of GTCR since June 2015, merged with another pharmacy software supplier, privately held Computer Rx. Rx30 develops and supplies pharmacy management software solutions to the independent, hospital, long-term care and specialty pharmacy markets. Computer Rx has a similar focus, which includes community pharmacies. Rx30’s CEO Steve Wubker will lead the combined business. Roger Warkentine, founder of Computer Rx, will continue as an advisor to the combined business, and... Read More »

Digital Health Deals on Track to Pass 2015

So far in 2016, eHealth is only four deals away from surpassing 2015’s total of 126, and nearly $20 billion has been spent (out of 20 disclosed prices). Nine deals have been announced in September, most of which exemplify how eHealth touches many areas of healthcare, beyond the expected revenue cycle management (RCM), electronic health records (EHR) etc. On September 15, 2016, privately-held RightEye LLC, a provider of eye-tracking technology that captures and scores eye movements and helps to predict, evaluate and improve outcomes of its users, purchased rights to two eye movement tests from the University of California, San Diego, and Virginia Commonwealth University. The GeoPref Autism... Read More »

Specialty Pharmacy Extends Reach in Healthcare

Genoa, a QoL Healthcare Company, a leading behavioral health specialty pharmacy company, has acquired the behavioral health and residential care services division of Advanced Care Pharmacy Services, including 13 of its pharmacies in Michigan. Genoa is a portfolio company of Advent International. In November 2015, Genoa acquired 1DocWay, the nation’s largest outpatient telepsychiatry provider, for an undisclosed price. Advanced Care Pharmacy Services is a privately-held Alabama-based provider of specialized pharmacy services for a variety of care settings. Genoa’s purchase, which did not disclose a price, increases its number of Michigan-based pharmacies to 24, and 325 nationally.... Read More »

First Half of 2016 Shows Strength in M&A

Ever since the rally in health care mergers and acquisitions began in 2014, we’ve been waiting for the inevitable slam-on-the-brakes quarter. That rally was sparked by the advent of newly insured families and individuals entering the healthcare market, beginning on January 1, 2014. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, passed in 2010, health care M&A topped 1,000 transactions that year and has never looked back. Isn’t it about time for the party to end? Not according to our data for the first six months of 2016, compared with the same period in 2014 and 2015. (But if you read our monthly M&A roundup on page 18, you may have second thoughts.) In the first half of 2016, deal volume... Read More »