Leading vendor of cloud-based services for physician practices
and inpatient settings,
Athenahealth, Inc.
(
ATHN
) recently revealed that Lowell General Physician Hospital
Organization had chosen Athenahealth's health information
management offering, HDS. This selection is expected to lead to
better configuration with the Accountable Care Organization model
and improved insight into provider performance.
Lowell General Physician Hospital Organization therefore
graduates to an information engagement model that will enable it
to manage financial, patient and provider data at the same time.
HDS was chosen due to its capability to amalgamate clinical data,
claims and routine data into a solitary view deployable across
the network.
Athenahealth should benefit from its extensive athenaCollector
client base, as only a minority of its subscriber base also
utilizes athenaClinicals. Cross selling represents a real growth
opportunity in the near term. In this regard, Athenahealth has
made rapid strides in capturing the EHR business of physician
practices. However, this segment is shrinking, as hospitals
increasingly absorb physician's medical practices.
Athenahealth is geared to enter the enterprise segment through
its strategic alliance with
Microsoft
(
MSFT
) and the acquisition of Proxsys, both completed in 2011. The
company has recently signed on, and executed several
enterprise-sized deals, which provide it with a credible and
referenceable client base. In early Jan 2013, Athenahealth signed
a definitive agreement to take over Epocrates, a provider of
point-of-care digital solutions in the healthcare industry. The
acquisition will enable Athenahealth to increase its user network
and improve its brand awareness.
Though the federal stimulus will gradually wind down, the
replacement market has been growing. Competition is fierce and
larger competitors may benefit from the incumbency factor.
Industry stalwarts such as
Cerner Corporation
(
CERN
) offer long-standing seamless products which integrate inpatient
and ambulatory-care systems.
Quality Systems Inc.
(
QSII
) and
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.
(
MDRX
) are two other well-known players in a crowded field.
The stock currently retains a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell)
rating.
ATHENAHEALTH IN (ATHN): Free Stock Analysis
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CERNER CORP (CERN): Free Stock Analysis
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ALLSCRIPTS HLTH (MDRX): Free Stock Analysis
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MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis
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QUALITY SYS (QSII): Free Stock Analysis
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