Nightingale to Acquire HealtheNetMARKHAM, ON, Nov. 14 /CNW/ - Nightingale Informatix Corporation (TSX- V:NGH) today announced it has entered into a binding letter of intent (LOI) to acquire the US and Canadian assets of HealtheNet Inc., a leading healthcare information technology (IT) provider, its affiliate, Scribes Inc., and both their respective subsidiaries (together referred to as "HealtheNet"). Pursuant to the transaction, HealtheNet shareholders will receive $7.125 million Canadian payable in a combination of cash and Nightingale shares escrowed over a two year period; a component of which is conditional on future financial performance targets.
HealtheNet reported total revenues of approximately $5.5 million Canadian for the latest twelve month period ended August 31, 2005, based on unaudited statements.
This transaction forms part of Nightingale's core growth strategy and provides Nightingale access to the US healthcare market through HealtheNet's loyal client base, where Nightingale technologies can be quickly deployed to provide HealtheNet's clients with best of breed tools. Similarly Nightingale clients in Canada will benefit from the expanded service and technology currently delivered by HealtheNet to the US market.
Nightingale is planning to amalgamate operations of both HealtheNet and Nightingale in the US and focus immediately on leveraging HealtheNet's client base to expand its offering to other similar facilities.
HealtheNet is focused on building a central point of access for disparate healthcare information systems which enhances workflow and creates efficiencies by reducing data duplication, and saves healthcare providers time and money. By building a structured data environment HealtheNet enables physicians and caregivers to access electronic patient data critical to providing better healthcare more efficiently.
"The combination of Nightingale with HealtheNet will create a leading healthcare IT vendor, in Canada and the United States, offering one of the most comprehensive suites of physician desktop tools for practice management, clinical data distribution and parsing, and clinical transcription systems on the market," stated Sam Chebib, President and CEO of Nightingale.
"Nightingale and HealtheNet share a vision on how to accelerate the adoption of electronic health records and physician technology tools and services across North America," said Chebib. "We are extremely excited about joining with HealtheNet and believe our combined offerings demonstrate where healthcare solutions are headed to better meet the needs of our customers and prepare them for the future."
"Nightingale has grown substantially in recent years and we believe our opportunities for continued growth and expansion will be best realized through the additional technologies and tools that Nightingale can provide," said Reuben Buckareff, Chief Executive Officer of HealtheNet. "As part of Nightingale, we believe we will be able to capitalize more fully on the rapidly expanding opportunities in the North American healthcare IT industry and establish ourselves as the undisputable leader in "physician satisfaction" through innovative technologies. HealtheNet currently provides services to over 18,300 users in 5 major U.S. markets. Nightingale will expand our offering of services substantially with these current users which should lead to enhanced revenues per user."
HealtheNet is moving toward being an aggregator of patient centric information by becoming the premier source for efficient medical data collection. The ASP model incorporates a transaction fee structure which eliminates the need for costly capital expenditures by healthcare providers.
Brookwood Medical Center located in Birmingham, Alabama and part of Tenet Healthcare has been a leading HealtheNet client and has deployed much of the new technology developed in the last 18 months. "We've been very pleased with the operational and productivity enhancements we have realized by implementing HealtheNet at Brookwood, and we look forward to further enhancing our ability to better serve our patients with the addition of the Nightingale suite of products," said Garry Gause, CEO, Brookwood Medical Center.
Currently HealtheNet services clients in Northwestern New York such as the Kaleida Health System in Buffalo and the Erie County Medical Center; a top rated Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan which is rated as one of the top facilities in the U.S., and has been a client of Scribes / HealtheNet since 1996. HealtheNet has recently established relationships with a major Healthcare System in Pensacola, Florida which operates facilities along the Gulf Coast from Mobile, Alabama to Panama City, Florida, and St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.
The transaction, which is subject to TSX Venture Exchange and regulatory approvals, and other customary conditions, is expected to close by early 2006. In connection with the transaction, The Boards of Directors of Nightingale and HealtheNet have approved the transaction.
About Nightingale
Nightingale (www.nightingale.md) is Canada's largest healthcare application service provider (ASP). Nightingale's internet-based Electronic Health Record (EHR), Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and practice management solutions are designed to help physicians, clinics, hospitals and other healthcare organizations manage their practices, as well as their patient records through a secure internet browser. Nightingale's solutions offer multi-location, enterprise wide management and reporting capabilities. Nightingale's suite of products offer Canadian and United States physicians leading edge functionality for patient scheduling, resource scheduling, billing, claims processing, work flow tools, clinical documentation, laboratory interfaces, document management and patient portals, and other real-time patient services.
About HealtheNet
HealtheNet (www.HealtheNet.md) is a Delaware Company focusing on building a central point of access for disparate healthcare systems which enhances workflow and creates efficiencies that save healthcare providers time and money. HealtheNet technology and services are being used in major markets in the United States by leaders in the healthcare market. HealtheNet has integrated its physician desktop technology with Scribes medical transcription services, offering its clients a seamless integrated process for dictating clinical documents and distributing finished products to all stakeholders.