Aiming to become an enterprise-wide provider of information technology, healthcare information systems firm Eclipsys announced its intention to acquire radiology information systems (RIS) provider eSys Medical of Toronto.
Eclipsys, of Boca Raton, FL, said a key reason it wants to purchase eSys is to acquire its RIS system, known as RadioLogic. Eclipsys plans to rename the product as Sunrise RIS.
"Eclipsys' vision is that it is extending beyond looking at (the eSys acquisition) as a radiology solution, in that we believe that images are an enterprise asset," said Michael Valante, director of the new business group, Eclipsys Diagnostic Imaging Solutions, which is responsible for the company's PACS and RIS.
Eclipsys signed a co-development agreement early in 2003 with PACS company Sectra of Linköping, Sweden. The goal is to open new PACS and RIS sales opportunities by integrating with other HIS systems.
"As an enterprise asset, you need to consider how you image-enable the clinical system, because of the wide array of image consumers today," Valante said, adding that not only radiologists but referring physicians, surgeons, and nurses want to see images.
"Images need to be part of your patient record," he said. "Nurses want to see it, clinicians, orthopedists. And rather than having radiologists just having to interpret studies based upon what image data they are looking at, they should have easy access to other clinical data."
Eclipsys has about 1,850 employees in Boca Raton, while eSys has only 30, divided between facilities in Toronto and Montreal. Valante said both those sites will remain.
According to the company, Eclipsys scouted more than 50 RIS vendors, performing extensive due diligence research on them before moving to acquire eSys. The result, its managers believe, will be an opportunity to provide single-vendor systems for enterprise-wide HIS/RIS/PACS.
The newly branded Sunrise RIS and its partner, Sunrise PACS, will be bundled, but Eclipsys and its distributors will also sell Sunrise RIS as a standalone system that can be interfaced with PACS or other systems from other vendors.
"The benefits aren't always just outbound from radiology," Valante said. "We see the benefits of closing the loop and bringing radiology much more closely into the cycle of patient care."
By Robert Bruce
AuntMinnie.com contributing writer
November 11, 2004
Related Reading
eSys adds to installed base, September 21, 2004
eSys Medical signs new customers, September 2, 2004
PACS still a bridesmaid at HIMSS, February 27, 2004
Eclipsys, Sentillion partner, November 18, 2003
Sectra joins forces with Eclipsys, February 5, 2003
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