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GHX Buys Contract Management Software Firm

Posted on: Thursday, 23 March 2006, 06:00 CST

Healthcare supply chain vendor Global Healthcare Exchange LLC continues to show an aggressive acquisition streak, now snapping up contract management software maker Ideal Systems Inc.

Westminster, Colorado-based GHX was provides supply chain products and services to help buyers and sellers of healthcare products to reduce their costs. The company connects over 2,500 hospitals to over 180 suppliers worldwide, making it the largest exchange hub in the sector.

Ideal, which is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, is a logical buy for the company, which has been seeking to bolster its contract management capabilities for some time. Ideal's flagship contract management system, called IdealCMS, is geared up specially for pharmaceutical manufacturing firms and gives then control over complex rebate processes with healthcare providers.

Ideal also develops applications for prescription claims processing and dispute reconciliation and management as well.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. GHX also inherits Ideal's customer contracts and intellectual property.

Earlier this month GHX acquired San Jose, California-based rival Neoforma Inc for $200m. One of GHX's closest rivals MedAssets Inc also announced it was buying Atlanta-based group purchasing organization Shared Services Healthcare Inc (SSH).

The frenzied acquisitions come at a time when the group purchasing organization (GPO) industry is coming under increasing scrutiny from the US Senate over its controversial "voluntary ethics" initiative that's aimed at averting federal legislation regulating business practices in the sector.

Source: Datamonitor

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