Birmingham, Ala. - May 3, 2011 - In a ground-breaking eHealth intelligence deal, MEDSEEK, the leading provider of enterprise eHealth solutions for hospital systems that give patients, clinicians and administrative staff an optimal 360-degree online experience, today announced the acquisition of Third Wave Research Group, Ltd., a predictive analytics company specializing in healthcare applications through its REACH3 division. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Third Wave has provided disease and market intelligence analytics applications for several Fortune 500 companies and some of the largest, well-known healthcare systems and institutions in the United States. MEDSEEK plans to market and integrate Third Wave capabilities and technologies throughout its entire eHealth software suite making its software applications "smarter."
MEDSEEK CEO, Peter Kuhn, explained the power of this acquisition, "Healthcare's rapid march to 360-degree online experiences for patients and physicians is simultaneously ushering in a new era of need for ‘smart' applications and automated, anticipatory processes. The acquisition of Third Wave and their years of experience in data intelligence applications accelerates our ability to meet this emerging demand and further solidifies our eHealth leadership role."
Initially, MEDSEEK will focus on REACH3's "disease propensity" pattern recognition software that helps hospitals improve marketing efforts, facilitate disease management and provide population health tools and analytics necessary for Accountable Care Organizations. The same software tools and predictive databases can be used to improve the decisions around and the performance of large capital asset purchasing and construction, giving institutions higher returns on investments. MEDSEEK will also feature the tools and technology needed for computer-aided physician referral and retention.
"Superior online physician interaction directly impacts satisfaction and hospital referral patterns. Our ability to integrate and use this advanced technology and approach for marketing, clinical, financial and population management elevates our involvement and importance to hospital executive leadership and strategic execution," adds Kuhn. "Adding predictive analytics and smart data applications makes hospital marketing campaigns far superior to all existing alternatives. Incorporating personalized intelligent content and empowering patients to take a more active role in managing their care creates a superior online experience that attracts patients and keeps them loyal.
Many of Third Wave's initial solutions were sold in retail and other industries that are often quicker than healthcare to adopt this type of technology. Bringing this knowledge and technological edge into MEDSEEK's eHealth ecosystem will enable hospitals to give their customers similar experiences to those they have come to expect outside of healthcare.
"We have revolutionized and simplified the way many companies have made decisions and interacted with their customers to gain market share and improve performance," said Mike Knight, founder and CEO of Third Wave. "In recent years we have focused on changing how hospitals, physician group practices, pharmaceutical companies and healthcare retailers analyze and communicate with their healthcare stakeholders. With the convergence of MEDSEEK's user experience solutions and our technology and methods, we are now well positioned to address the needs of healthcare organizations and are very excited about our future together."
The integration of the two companies' capabilities will extend to MEDSEEK's inventory of mobile health applications adding eHealth intelligence to the smartphone world. Millions of patients will interact with their personal health records in ways that anticipate their needs and automate many previously cumbersome and often manual processes.
"Reform has created access to medical records and the advent of Accountable Care calls for improvements in care coordination and disease prevention. Mobile technology demands instant information provided in a convenient, anticipatory fashion and retail industries will continue to set the bar for the online user experience. Healthcare has no choice but to quickly evolve into an intelligence-based, proactive industry able to anticipate the needs of patients and physicians in order deliver the type of experience we have all come to expect," elaborates Kuhn. "We see the acquisition of this technology, and more importantly, the infusion of talent, as the next step to serve our clients and continue to lead the charge to move healthcare in the right direction."
About Third Wave Research Group, Ltd.
Third Wave Research is a marketing research and technology firm specializing in customer analytics solutions that simplifies the complexity of customer data management and analysis, giving organizations better visibility into marketing performance. Since 1994, Third Wave Research has provided marketing information solutions to businesses and organizations in various industries across the nation, including healthcare. Third Wave Research markets its predictive analytics capabilities within healthcare through its Reach3 brand. Third Wave Research is headquartered in Verona, Wisconsin.
About MEDSEEK
Since 1996, MEDSEEK has focused exclusively on creating a 360-degree optimal eHealth experience for patients, clinicians and administrative staff by removing traditional integration and communication barriers, workflow roadblocks and redundant processes. Used by more than 800 hospitals, MEDSEEK solutions enable hospitals to execute enterprise-wide strategic objectives by improving quality of care, uncovering new sources of revenue and generating meaningful loyalty among physicians and patients with a low-risk, high-return investment that leverages existing IT investments and infrastructure. For more information, visit www.medseek.com or call 1.888.MEDSEEK.