Combination of the two systems will streamline access to medical information
by Lalee Sadighi
December 10,2009
Microsoft on Thursday said it has agreed to acquire health care IT company Sentillion for an undisclosed sum.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has made a number of moves in the health care IT industry in 2009, including a deal with the American Medical Association that gives physicians access to patent records through Microsoft's HealthVault, an online application that allows users to store their medical information.
“Combining Sentillion’s products with Microsoft Amalga Unified Intelligence System (UIS) will make it easier for healthcare professionals to deliver better patient care by streamlining access to multiple IT applications and patient data,” the company said in a statement.
Sentillion, a privately held company located in Andover, Massachusetts, supplies software to health care professionals that integrate various types of clinical, business, and personal productivity applications, regardless of whether they are Web-based or Windows-based.
Sentillion’s software is used in more than 1,000 hospitals, according to the software giant.
Unified with its own Amalga UIS, Microsoft hopes to offer an integrated technology that can help health care providers access patient data from multiple sources.
The sale to Microsoft marks an exit for Sentillion backers Newbury Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners, Split Rock Partners, Merril Lynch Ventures, Wall Street Technology Partners, Intersouth Partners, and First Consulting Group.
Microsoft is not the only company showing interest in IT health care. Google, Intel, and Oracle are some of the other contender in the growing health care IT market.
In 2008, Google launched Google Health, its own online resource for storing personal health information and sending data to doctors and other contacts. It also partnered with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in a program that would allow Medicare recipients to enter their Medicare claims into Google Health.
In July, Intel announced that it would install more connectivity options in its Intel Health Guide, a device that allows patients to record their health history and connect with a physician or health care provider. The company also announced that it would invest $250 million over the next five years to further develop health care IT technologies.
As for Oracle, it has developed the Oracle Healthcare Acquisition Corp., whose principal activity is to be in the business of health care industry through acquisitions, mergers, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchases, and other business combinations.
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