Healthcare Technology Leader Ivo Nelson Launches Next Wave Health

Healthcare Technology Leader Ivo Nelson Launches Next Wave Health

Wendy Horn, 612-770-6046Media RelationsorIvo Nelson, 713-443-3571President and CEO

Healthcare pioneer and investor announced today the launch of his latest venture, . Next Wave Health will help start-up healthcare information technology companies succeed with management advice, operational support and capital.

"Big ideas are at the heart of any successful healthcare technology company. But smart visionaries need more than big ideas. They need capital and they need advisors who understand their industry and their business,” said Nelson. “Next Wave Health will bring some of the brightest minds in healthcare together to work with start-up and early stage companies on their vision and managing their growth."

“The healthcare industry is in the perfect storm right now. The levels of change are unprecedented,” said Nelson. “Risk is shifting, fee-for-service reimbursement models are being replaced with wellness and new discoveries are ahead with big data solutions. Nimble and innovative new companies are pouring into the healthcare market to address these opportunities. Next Wave Health exists to help these entrepreneurs navigate the healthcare industry and succeed step by step as they grow.”

For 30 years, Nelson has been a leader and an innovator in the healthcare industry. He introduced large-scale outsourcing to the provider segment of healthcare, and pioneered new approaches for improving clinical process through technology.

In 1988, he helped start the healthcare division of Perot Systems, an outsourcing company founded by Ross Perot. In 1992, he helped start the Houston-based Insource Management Group (IMG), later renamed Healthlink. As CEO, Nelson grew Healthlink to be the largest privately held, provider-focused healthcare technology consulting firm in the industry when IBM acquired it in 2005. Following IBM’s acquisition of Healthlink in June 2005, Nelson served as the leader of IBM’s Global Healthcare Provider business.

In 2009, he co-founded Encore Health Resources with Dana Sellers to assist healthcare organizations in mining the business intelligence accrued after decades of process and technology improvements. Encore is one of the fastest-growing consultancies in the industry and has been named one of “Best Places to Work in Healthcare” three years in a row.

Nelson is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Leadership Award, and was named to the HIMSS "50 in 50" list, recognizing the top 50 contributors to the healthcare IT industry in the past 50 years. He also won the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2005), one of the most prestigious business award offered.

Next Wave Health currently serves as a strategic advisor or investor for several healthcare technology companies including , a leading provider of business intelligence solutions; , which helps physicians increase market share and improve patient care; , which delivers cloud-based healthcare booking solutions and which delivers software that enables hospitals to better manage their physician alignment strategies and reduce operating costs. Nelson also continues to serve on the board of

‟This is an incredible moment to work in the healthcare industry," said Nelson. "I am very excited to bring together great new ideas and seasoned leaders. I look forward to applauding the results of their work."

Next Wave Health provides start-up healthcare technology companies with initial funding, experienced industry advisors and operational services that support growth. For more information, visit .