Industry Insight

eMDs Acquires Aprima

eMDs, Inc announces that it has acquired Aprima Medical Software, a provider of EHR and practice management software and revenue cycle management solutions to ambulatory care organizations. The acquisition creates a world-class provider of fully integrated financial, administrative, and clinical solutions that are utilized by more than 63,000 providers in more than 26,000 practices and hospitals across the world.

“eMDs’ acquisition of Aprima represents an exciting growth opportunity for both of our businesses,” says Derek Pickell, eMDs CEO. “The unique combination of our technologies and services prepares us to offer the most powerful and comprehensive portfolio of solutions available—and that means greater impact, increased productivity, and less operational burden for health care providers. Our bottom line is about facilitating the best patient outcomes, and together our companies clear the path for providers to do their best work while enhancing their financial strength.”

eMDs and Aprima independently embarked on platform modernization programs prior to the acquisition. The marriage of these efforts promises to facilitate the deployment of new technology across their client bases, as well as position the new company to deliver some of the most modern and capable solutions available to the market.

The combined company will operate as eMDs and Aprima, an eMDs company, until the integration is finalized. It will be headquartered in Austin, Texas, with additional facilities throughout the United States and India. Pickell will lead the combined organization, while Michael Nissenbaum, the current Aprima CEO, will serve in an advisory role during the integration. The remainder of the leadership team will be drawn from the executive teams of both companies.

— Source: eMDs

WEDI Announces New 2019 Chair and Chair-Elect

WEDI, the nation’s leading nonprofit authority on the use of HIT to create efficiencies in health care information exchange and a trusted advisor to Health and Human Services (HHS), announces Jay Eisenstock as chair and Nancy Spector as chair-elect of the Board of Directors. In the role as chair, Eisenstock will help lead the group of executives as the organization promotes the use of HIT to improve health care information exchange—enhancing quality of care, improving efficiency, and reducing costs.

“WEDI membership, comprised of payers, providers, vendors, and government regulators, is uniquely positioned to influence the practice of HIT nationwide. As an advisor to the secretary of HHS and as the respected voice of all participants in health care information exchange, WEDI works closely with key agencies overseeing the industry, including the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, HHS, and others,” Eisenstock says. “WEDI will continue to be actively engaged in transforming industry best practices and enhancing our nation’s health care system.”

“As chair-elect, I am looking forward to working with the WEDI board of directors and members in advancing our role as an industry convener, collaborator, and resource on the top priorities we are facing,” Spector adds. “Reducing administrative burden and improving the efficiency of health care is critical for delivering patient care, which at the end of the day is the true focus of our work.”

Eisenstock is a seasoned consultant, speaker, contract negotiator, and management professional with more than 30 years of recognized experience in health care and technology. He is currently principal of JEConsulting, helping clients make the process of health care more effective and efficient.

Among Eisenstock’s previous accomplishments, he was recognized by Healthcare Payer News as one of 11 top executives and thought leaders in the HIT industry, was a finalist for Aetna’s highest employee recognition award, and won the WEDI Leadership in Technology award. He was also the 2018 recipient of the prestigious WEDI Chair’s Award and the 2017 recipient of WEDI’s Andrew J. Melczer Leadership award.

Currently, Eisenstock is a commissioner for the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission and serves on several committees with the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare.

Spector is the coding and HIT advocacy director at the American Medical Association (AMA), supporting more than 200,000 physician members. She manages and coordinates AMA’s positions on administrative simplification related to HIT and coding by monitoring industry activities and developing internal strategy and educational content. She is the chair of the National Uniform Claim Committee, which is a HIPAA-named advisor to HHS on the development of standards. Prior to her position with the AMA, she held business and clinical roles in patient safety and quality improvement in academic medical centers, including six years as a staff nurse in neonatal intensive care. Spector also serves on the Board of Directors for the Quinnipiack Valley Health District in Connecticut.

With more than 20 years of combined business and clinical experience working in provider advocacy, patient safety, and quality improvement, Spector has a track record of successfully combining leadership, team building, and communication skills with a dual passion for patient safety and provider advocacy to empower stakeholders, ease providers’ administrative burdens, and improve the quality and safety of patient care.

— Source: WEDI