Merge Healthcare Inc. (MRGE) recently expanded its contract with InSite One, a leading service provider of medical data archiving, storage, and disaster-recovery solutions, to provide a universal viewing solution for the latter’s InDex archiving services. InSite One’s centralized offsite InDex Enterprise Archive and family of related storage services provide a comprehensive and flexible platform for sharing patient information throughout multiple departments and entire healthcare communities.
The new zero-footprint technology facilitates the distribution of images over a wide area network. Physicians can use InDex Web along with integrated Cedara WebAccess technology to obtain patient information via a web browser at the point-of-care through their laptops, tablets and smart phones.
Medical images help clinicians minimize multiple scans and thereby reduce a patient’s exposure to radiation by accessing his imaging history and understanding the diagnostic rationale.
Merge is a healthcare software and services company focused on integrating radiology workflow to improve productivity, profitability and patient care by fusing business and clinical workflow, and intelligently managing and distributing diagnostic images and information throughout the healthcare enterprise. Merge was paralyzed by several issues in the past like a dwindling cash balance, management turnover, accounting miscues and litigations. The real turnaround started from the second quarter of 2008 when the company received a much needed cash infusion of $20 million from Merrick RIS, LLC in May 2008.
Merge Healthcare recently tapped the Chinese healthcare market when it formed an alliance with Shanghai Kingstar Winning Co., a leading healthcare IT provider in China. The alliance is likely to widen Merge’s customer base and increase its top line. Congress’ approval of more than $20 billion in spending on health information technology is also likely to benefit the company. However, a majority of the spending in the U.S. will be felt between 2011 and 2015. Merge’s main competitors include AllScripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions (MDRX) and Amicas, Inc. (AMCS).
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