SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Francisco Partners, a leading technology-focused private equity firm, announced the acquisitions of Clinical Coding Solutions and Practice Management Associates through T-System, an existing portfolio company that delivers clinical, business and IT solutions for emergency departments. These acquisitions signify T-System’s continued growth and investment in technology-enabled solutions for emergency care and will create the first emergency department supplier to connect the upstream clinical documentation processes with downstream coding and billing processes.
“Hospitals face significant financial pressure and looming regulatory shifts in reimbursement,” said Ezra Perlman, a partner at Francisco Partners who focuses on investments in the healthcare technology industry. “The combination of T-System, Clinical Coding Solutions, and Practice Management Associates will enable hospitals and providers to address these challenges and better capture revenue while improving care.”
T-System's paper and electronic documentation systems are backed by leading clinical content that was developed and honed by thousands of emergency medicine physicians and nurses across more than 250 million emergency room visits. Patient documentation is tightly linked to hospitals' financial performance because accurate coding is critical to gain reimbursement. The acquisitions of Clinical Coding Solutions and Practice Management Associates will further extend T-System's ability to make a positive impact on a hospital's bottom line.
"Accurate coding and maximum reimbursement requires great clinical documentation to be captured on the front end followed by a collaborative effort on the part of the coders and the clinical team," said Mikael Öhman, T-System’s chief operating officer. "The marriage of these companies will allow us to provide that collaboration in a way no other company can."
Clinical Coding Solutions was founded in 2003 under the leadership of executives with extensive experience in software development for healthcare systems and hospital charge management. The company helps more than 100 hospitals across the country achieve greater compliance with hospital and CMS guidelines, increased accuracy in charge capture and coding, improved documentation in the emergency department, and increased net revenue.
Practice Management Associates was founded in 2001 by emergency medicine physician Brian Clare, M.D., a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. He has successfully improved the financial performance of its clients for the past ten years. It has built a robust technology infrastructure and advanced reporting and analytics solutions that give providers and hospitals visibility into all emergency department functions that affect cash flow, net cash and provider performance.
Continued Öhman, “In addition to the complementary technologies these companies offer, we are excited by the unique experience of each organization. Practice Management Associates was founded by an emergency department physician, providing a strong clinical background, while Clinical Coding Solutions has a broad-reaching footprint across the U.S. with expertise in information technology.”
The acquisition of Practice Management Associates was completed on January 6, 2012, and the acquisition of Clinical Coding Solutions closed on February 27, 2012. Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
About Francisco Partners
Francisco Partners is a leading global private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in technology and technology-enabled services businesses. With approximately $7 billion of capital raised to date, Francisco Partners pursues structured investments in technology companies, targeting investments in private companies, public companies and divisions of public companies, with transaction values ranging from $50 million to over $1 billion.
For further information, please visit: www.franciscopartners.com.
About T-System
T-System, Inc. sets the industry standard for clinical, business and IT solutions for emergency medicine, with approximately 40 percent of the nation's emergency departments using T-System solutions. To meet the individual needs of hospitals, T-System offers both paper and electronic systems. These tools help clinicians provide better patient care, while improving efficiency and the bottom line. Today, more than 1,700 emergency departments rely on T-System's gold-standard content and workflow solutions. For more information, visit www.tsystem.com. Follow us on Twitter (@TSystem), or become a T-System fan on Facebook.