|
An interesting deal was struck Wednesday by software-as-a-service pioneer Salesforce.com, to grab a piece of a company providing cloud computing services for the healthcare arena. Salesforce has purchased a minority stake in Practice Fusion, a San Francisco startup that provides electronic medical record (EMR) applications and other applications aimed at physician practices over the Web.
Financial details of the investment were not released, but according to the companies Practice Fusion’s offerings will be transferred to the Saleforce.com cloud computing platform. In return, Salesforce gets its foot in the door into what could be one of the best opportunities for cloud computing services.
Earlier this year the Obama administration passed a federal stimulus bill which included about $30 billion in incentives to spur hospitals and doctors to adopt electronic medical records systems. Since that time a wide range of technology companies have jockeyed to grab a piece of what is expected to be a lucrative market.
In July Cisco announced it was partnering with health insurer UnitedHealth Group to build a nationwide network to support the exchange of health record information. In June, GE launched a program called Stimulus Simplicity, aimed at providing physician offices and hospitals with access to interest-free funding with deferred payments, to purchase GE EMR products. GE says it plans to invest $3 billion over the next six years on various healthcare technologies.
Earlier in the year Google and Microsoft launched online personal health record initiatives that allow patients to store their own data. And even Wal-Mart is attempting to grab a piece of the action, announcing in March that it was partnering with Dell and a startup called eClinical Works to sell an EMR offering to physician practices through its Sam’s Club stores.
Practice Fusion was launched in 2005 and claims to now have more than 18,000 physicians using its services. A key plank in its business model is the fact that it offers its applications, including the EMR offering, for free – yes, free. The company serves up medical advertisements along with the application, but if physicians would prefer to not to have the ads, they can opt for a $100 per month version.
The real money, however, may very well be in having access to a large database of medical records. Even if that information is served up anonymously, it could prove to be a treasure trove for a wide variety of pharmaceutical and other healthcare firms.
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
