Orion Health makes acquisition
Auckland, NZ - 17 October, 2011
Orion Health to acquire Microsoft's HIS and RIS/PACS assets to address needs of Asia Pacific hospital market; Orion
Health and Microsoft collaborate to provide HIE solutions to the global eHealth market.
In two complementary agreements, Orion Health and Microsoft Corp. have joined efforts to address the eHealth needs of
care delivery systems worldwide.
In Asia Pacific, wholly owned subsidiary Orion Health Asia Pacific has signed an agreement to purchase Microsoft's
Hospital Information System (HIS) software assets, including RIS/PACS, previously known as Amalga HIS.
In addition, the two parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining their intent to co-market their health
information exchange (HIE) and data aggregation and analysis products-Orion Health HIE and Microsoft Amalga Unified
Intelligence System (UIS)-to the public and private HIE and integrated delivery network (IDN) markets.
Orion Health will sell and market the HIS and RIS/PACS software as Orion Health HPM (Health Process Management) suite.
The new software will complement the company's existing range of clinical workflow and data integration applications.
The Microsoft HIS and RIS/PACS products were marketed in Southeast Asia under the brand name Amalga HIS and Amalga
RIS/PACS until July 2010 when Microsoft discontinued development and sales of the products. Microsoft continues to
develop and market Amalga UIS (Unified Intelligence System), a data aggregation and analysis platform, worldwide.
Orion Health CEO, Ian McCrae, described the acquisition as transformative for Asia Pacific healthcare as well as Orion
Health, representing a significant milestone in the company's vision to develop a next-generation suite of eHealth
technologies that enable patient engagement in their own care.
"The addition of the Microsoft's HIS assets is a natural extension of Orion Health's portfolio of products that enable
us to offer a complete solution to a wide range of hospitals and health organizations in Asia Pacific", he said. "The
health sector in a number of Asia Pacific countries is overdue to make the transformative leap to the next generation of
systems which integrate the complete healthcare ecosystem rather than siloing information in individual organizations or
facilities".
Bumrungrad, Thailand's most well known private hospital, has a long history with the Amalga HIS product. "It has enabled
us to develop a more streamlined healthcare organization and we are excited about the opportunity this announcement
represents", said Dennis Brown, Corporate CEO, BHPCL. "It's a positive move that is consistent with our vision for
building a world class healthcare organization".
The acquisition of Microsoft's HIS assets is another key building block in the expansion of Orion Health's world class
engineering organization. "The Thailand HIS development operation is absolutely world class and will be Orion Health's
fourth development centre, the others being Auckland, Christchurch and Canberra" said Ian McCrae. It will also provide
the company with a base from which to expand its Southeast Asian organization.
Speaking about the collaboration with Microsoft, Paul Viskovich, President, Orion Health North America, said, "As the
HIE market matures and the US Accountable Care Organization (ACO) market heats up in the face of the changing
reimbursement policies, HIEs and health systems are seeking to not only effectively exchange patient information, but to
analyze, model and report on it too. Bringing together Orion Health's software and healthcare expertise with Amalga UIS,
Microsoft's proven data aggregation and analysis product, gives healthcare organizations the industry's most powerful,
best-in-class health data management solution."
The collaboration between Microsoft and Orion Health will enable public and private HIEs and IDNs to deploy Orion
Health's broad health information exchange and workflow solutions alongside the powerful data aggregation, analytics and
reporting capabilities of Microsoft Amalga UIS. The combination of the solutions will enable HIEs and IDNs to more
easily view and report on a broad set of individual and population patient data, helping to improve quality of care and
care coordination across the community while also reducing costs.
"Microsoft is fully committed to improving the delivery and economics of patient care in global and evolving healthcare
markets. Through our joint efforts with eHealth leaders like Orion Health, we are addressing the unique needs and
challenges of regional healthcare delivery with the right combination of complementary software solutions," commented
Nate McLemore, General Manager, Health Solutions Group, Microsoft Corp.
ends