ARMONK, N.Y., - 03 Feb 2010: IBM (NYSE: IBM ) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Initiate Systems, a market leader in data integrity software for information sharing among healthcare and government organizations. Initiate's software helps healthcare clients work more intelligently and efficiently with timely access to patient and clinical data. It also enables governments to share information across multiple agencies to better serve citizens.

Initiate Systems is a privately held company based in Chicago, IL and marks the 30th acquisition IBM has made to advance its capabilities in information and analytics. Financial details were not disclosed.

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Initiate has issued a press release about the implementation of Initiate Interoperable Health at Intermountain Healthcare, an organization that is often referred to as a “model for health reform ” by President Obama. “Intermountain is really tapping into the strength of Initiate’s technology,” said Lorraine Fernandes, vice president and industry ambassador for Initiate. “Initiate Interoperable Health will facilitate the exchange and coordination of patient medical records and provider data across the enterprise clinical information system to help Intermountain deliver more patient-centered service.”

CHICAGO (October 30, 2009) - Initiate, Inc., a leader in data management solutions for information sharing and improved data quality, has acquired Accenx Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of health information exchange solutions. This acquisition furthers Initiate’s growth strategy and expands its offerings in the healthcare market. The terms of the deal are confidential. By acquiring Accenx, Initiate expands the breadth and reach of its proven interoperable health solutions enabling a broader set of healthcare stakeholders to connect and share information as market dynamics require greater focus on establishing well integrated healthcare communities.

At the Connected Health Symposium in Boston this week, Myca Health described its offering as a platform for physicians and patients, called MycaHub, which delivers a set of automated tools, intuitive interfaces, integrated systems, and the capacity for doctor and patient to engage in real time, any time, online or offline.

Earlier this month the company announced that Blue Cross Blue Shield Ventures and Sandbox Industries had made a strategic $5 million investment into the company, which has a well-known and highly publicized subsidiary named Hello Health that offers the platform to physicians.

Myca Health also offers its Myca Hub to employers with in-house clinics — self-insured employers like Qualcomm. Interestingly, Qualcomm actually developed the Myca platform in-house before turning it over to entrepreneur Nat Findlay who now leads the company as CEO, Qualcomm’s VP of Health and Life Sciences, Don Jones told mobihealthnews on the sidelines of The Connected Health Symposium in Boston this week. Qualcomm knew that EMRs probably wouldn’t reach the level of patient-doctor interactivity that Myca offers today for years to come — so it decided to build the platform on its own. How long do you think it will be before EMRs allow patients and doctors to exchange video messages? Myca does that today.

“You might guess from my title that I had a little bit to do with Qualcomm’s decision to [use Myca Health's platform], but really it was a human resources-driven effort to put it in place,” Jones told attendees at the event. “I like to describe Qualcomm’s health plan as ‘110 percent PPO’ because it covers everything, including deductibles and even things like LASIK. The company uses the health plan for retention and recruiting and it’s quite effective. Qualcomm is recognized as a top 100 employer in America and its health plan is a key reason,” Jones said.

While discussions around employers interest in connected health offerings typically stems from cutting healthcare costs, Jones said Qualcomm’s main reason for adopting the Myca Health platform is to maintain or increase employee productivity and activity. Qualcomm’s workforce is highly educated and therefore very expensive: 77 percent of the company’s employees have PhDs and Masters, which means if they have to leave their desks to go home, get their car and go to the doctor’s office, it can be extraordinarily expensive for the company. The cost of productivity drove Qualcomm to the Myca platform. Care can be conveniently provided to the employees, who on some occasions can check-in with their doctor via email or even video message, Jones said.

Jones closed his remarks about the Myca platform by sharing some research that Qualcomm did about the key to developing medical services for the consumer market place. In order to have a successful offering, Jones said, five things must be present: Hope, Guilt Reduction, Peace of Mind, Trust and Fun. The offering must supply hope to the consumer so he or she believes the offering can change their condition. The offering must supply or meet a level of guilt reduction — maybe it makes it easier for a patient to see their doctor by offering it online, while before taking the time to go to the doctor was taking them away from work. The solution must also allow patients to build trust and Jones said Myca does that by increasing the personal relationship between patient and doctor. The service must provide some peace of mind: In this case the doctor is available to receive questions via email or video message anytime and anywhere. Finally, Jones said that the service must provide some element of fun, which “is something that the medical device guys just don’t get at all.”

Phreesia, the Patient Check-In Company, announced a Copay Collection Service, at the Health 2.0 Conference in San Francisco. Co-founders Chaim Indig and Evan Roberts demonstrated how medical practices nationwide will soon be able to take advantage of the swipe-card enabled PhreesiaPad to process payments made with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. In January 2010, Phreesia will launch its Copay Collection Service to the public, creating an efficient way for practices to increase revenue.

San Francisco – October 6, 2009 – Myca Health Inc., the leader and innovator in web-based health care platforms for health practices, today announced a strategic $5 million investment in the company by BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners LP and Sandbox Industries. Myca Health has developed a platform for physicians and patients, MycaHub, that delivers a set of automated tools, intuitive interfaces, integrated systems, and the capacity for doctor and patient to engage in real time, any time, online or offline.

“Today, physicians are overwhelmed and frustrated by the administrative burden of practice. Patients are equally frustrated by the lack of access and poor communications that seems to be part of visiting the doctor. We set about to change that,” said Nathanial Findlay, CEO of Myca Health. “We’ve created a proprietary technology that for the first time harnesses the power of social networks and provider management tools to deliver something that really has the power to improve health care.”

Everything about MycaHub is designed to simplify the engagement between a provider and the patient, let the physician concentrate on care and enable a higher quality of practice. MycaHub seamlessly integrates with today’s communication tools like PDAs and smart phones, as well as remote monitoring devices and leading Electronic Health Records solutions, ensuring a seamless flow of both patient communication and data.

“We saw in Myca a company and a platform dedicated to the needs of physicians and patients,” said Paul Brown, Managing Director of BlueCross BlueShield Ventures. “MycaHub is an innovative and effective way to increase access and satisfaction for Blue Cross Blue Shield members, and to enable physicians to do what they do best—provide care.”

MycaHub, flexible and scalable, is as relevant to the smallest primary care practice as it is to large group practices, corporate care clinics and hospital-run clinics. Through Hello Health, a wholly-owned business that provides a practice and business solution for micro-practices, and larger practice applications being developed for Ascension Health and Qualcomm, Myca has brought to market a web-based healthcare platform that works.

The strategic investment has been made jointly by BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners and by Sandbox Industries. “We’re excited to be able to accelerate the adoption of MycaHub. We believe Myca’s platform will increase quality of care while reducing cost.” said Matt Downs, Managing Partner of Sandbox Industries.

“We are delighted and honored by the decision to invest by BlueCross BlueShield Ventures and Sandbox Industries,” said Mr. Findlay. “They share our vision of a revitalized health care experience for both doctors and patients, one that is at the heart of the reinvention of care for all Americans.”

Initiate, Inc., a leader in data management solutions for the exchange of health information, announced today the launch of Initiate Catalyst Patient Registry, a self-contained virtual software appliance to accelerate data interoperability for electronic medical records (EMR), portals, radiology information systems (RIS), picture archival communications systems (PACS) and other healthcare information exchange (HIE) solutions. The new software appliance provides independent software vendors (ISVs) and solution providers in healthcare with entity resolution and search capability that can be embedded in their information exchange applications and portals to improve patient care.

New York, NY - February 17, 2009 - Phreesia, the Patient Check-In Company™, the leader in patient-intake, announced today the close of an $11.6 million investment, bringing total investment to date to $25 million. BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, L.P., a corporate venture fund of the BlueCross BlueShield Association, and Sandbox Industries led the round, joining existing investors Polaris Venture Partners, HLM Venture Partners, and Long River Ventures. As part of the investment, Paul Brown, Managing Director of BlueCross BlueShield Ventures, Inc. and Matthew Downs, Managing Partner of Sandbox Industries will join the Phreesia board of directors.

"This investment by BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners and Sandbox Industries is a validation of Phreesia's successful growth as the Patient Check-in Company and as a leading healthcare information technology company. Phreesia will use this funding to expand its rapidly growing footprint of thousands of doctors in 49 states," said Chaim Indig, Phreesia's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Given the push by the new Administration towards advanced healthcare IT adoption, this is an exciting time to be at the forefront of technology for patient-centered care. We are proud to have such a strategic partner lead this round."

Paul Brown, Managing Director of BlueCross BlueShield Ventures, Inc., said, "BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners is committed to ensuring that providers are able to deliver the best care possible to patients. In Phreesia we are investing in a healthcare company that is demonstrating enhanced clinical outcomes for patients and more accurate, hassle-free information for physicians. Our providers and members will benefit from improved monitoring of treatment response and overall support of measurement-guided care."

CHICAGO -- BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, L.P., a corporate venture fund that is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, and Sandbox Industries announced today a $5-million investment in Initiate Systems, Inc., a leader in master data management (MDM) solutions for health information exchange.

BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners is a newly formed $116-million fund to which 11 independent Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield companies have committed capital. The fund invests in technologies, products, and services in the U.S. healthcare industry that promote efficiency, lower costs, and improve options for consumers. In a unique partnership, the fund is managed jointly by representatives from the Association, the participating Blue Plans, and Sandbox Industries, a Chicago-based venture capital firm.