Silverlink In the News

As state and federal regulations insist on more use of electronic records in hospitals and physician practices, local software and service companies are finding that this unusual brew is providing a robust financial kick.

“There’s never been a better time to get into health care technology,” said Stan Nowak, cofounder and chief executive of Silverlink Communications Inc., a provider of audio medical and pharmaceutical messages in Burlington. “Governments are making greater investments, and deals are being made in the private sector. ... With new regulations in 2006, including Medicare Part D, we expect more business in the future.”

Silverlink, which employs 40, recently produced an audio message for a national health-care insurer designed to minimize confusion among senior citizens about upcoming changes in Medicare benefits.

One driver of this niche is the federal government’s growing insistence on e-solutions. About 10 percent of U.S. physicians have invested in electronic medical records, according to the Medical Records Institute of Boston.

Industry figures also show that one-third of medical practices have an EMR project in their plans over the next two years.

There are about 600,000 physicians nationwide.

In 2004, President George W. Bush established the Office of the National Coordinator for Information Technology, which dispenses funds for pilot programs in health reform. Its purpose is to “encourage adoption of electronic records and coordinating federal health information technology expenditures, and to foster creation of local facilitators of clinical data exchange known as regional health information organizations.”

“The industry approach will be looking at effective standards, not big vendors per se,” said Mitchell Adams, executive director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a key driver of the e-health initiative in Massachusetts. “There will be a huge market for all kinds of solutions.”

‘A national leader’
Another reason for the mini-boom in software opportunities is the vigor with which Massachusetts nonprofit agencies and medical centers are embracing the move to e-health. (Public health officials broadly define “e-health” as providing computer-based connectivity for services including scheduling, prescribing, billing and archiving.)

Fully 34 institutions - from Partners Healthcare to the Massachusetts Medical Society — are working together to develop concrete methods for overcoming the inertia often found in the health-delivery system.

The issue of ineffective health-care delivery has been recognized by those who write the checks: The coalition’s work has been facilitated by a $50 million grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

State health officials say that $2.48 billion can be saved annually by using emerging technology (though installation and training would cut into that figure).
“This state is a national leader,” said Charlotte Yeh, an administrator for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who chaired a panel at the recent Massachusetts eHealth Conference. “Organizations in many states are watching what is done here.”

Such platitudes might be inspiring for the infirm, but words in themselves don’t do much for private companies. Yet John Glaser, chief information officer for Partners Healthcare, one of the largest health providers in the state, says opportunity will follow government regulation.

“It is generally agreed that government leaders don’t want just one vendor or platform,” said Glaser. “Each state and region has different players. It is my sense that there will be a lot of opportunity for software companies.”

One company that has contracted with top health agencies to help change the terrain is Meditech Information Technology Inc., with offices in Westwood and Canton.

Meditech provides integrated software products for hospitals, ambulatory care centers, physicians’ offices, long-term care and behavioral health facilities, and home health organizations. It employs 2,200, and had revenue of $280 million in 2004.

Founded in 1969, the privately held company has 2,000 customers and expects more in the future.

“The federal government sometime works at glacier pace but right now is moving relatively rapidly to encourage e-health,” said Paul Berthiaume, a spokesmen for the company, which offers both proprietary and Microsoft platforms.

“Every medical provider, whether a small doctor’s office or a hospital with 1,000 beds, is going to have to explore options for change. It’s getting to be big business.”

Another growing software and services provider in New England is IDX Systems Corp. in Burlington, Vt. In September it was purchased by GE Healthcare for $1.2 billion.

Other national players include Cerner, McKesson and Siemens.

Locally, Athenahealth is one of the fastest-growing e-health companies in the country, with five-year revenue growth of more than 1,400 percent, according to data from Deloitte & Touche LLP. The Watertown-based physician-billing enterprise has ramped up to 500 employees in just five years.

E-ClinicalWorks, based in Westborough, also offers billing services to doctors. Its employee count recently reached 175, much of it in the past two years.

Medaptus in Waltham offers dictation, electronic prescribing, ambulatory orders and the archiving of clinical content.

Medical Systems Inc. in Peabody offers software that includes registration, billing, scheduling and insurance verification.

Escription Inc., based in Needham, offers speech recognition and other medical transcription products to aid medical professionals in logging and transporting information.

Copyright © 2007 Silverlink Communications. All Rights Reserved.

Site design by Labor Day Creative

Site developed by Skylar Design