In a recent local interview, the CEO of athenahealth, Bob Segert, said the converted company has created a significant amount of value and was able to list shares again after the transition. private in 2019.
WHY IT IMPORTANT
While he declined to share the exact annual revenue, Segert said the company has added nearly 2,000 customers a year over the past three years, and that revenue runs into the billions, according to the company’s website. Boston Globe.
“When you think about athena, it’s a great public company and it’s been a bit disorienting,” Segert told the paper. Globe. “We’ve transformed that, creating a lot of value. It’s ready to list again if we choose that path.”
Segert, the chief executive of Virence Health, stayed on when Virence merged with athenahealth in a $5.7 billion private equity deal by Veritas Capital and Evergreen Coast Capital nearly four years ago.
That deal tackles challenges that began when activist investor Elliott Management bought a 9.2% stake in the Watertown, Massachusetts-based company, founded in 1997 by Jonathan Bush and Todd Park.
As pressure mounted, the company made changes – laid off 9% of employees, closed offices, and sold corporate jets. Leadership has been restructured and there have been several acquisition bids prior to the Veritas deal.
In a 2019 interview with Healthcare IT News, Segert described a way forward after years of tumultuous change. He cited “good synergies” between athena and Virence’s products, and introduced new innovation plans in athenahealth’s cloud and analytics technology.
Segert oversaw the sale of the company’s Watertown campus for more than $525 million, rebranding the company’s consolidated revenue cycle portfolio to athenaIDX, and slashing businesses to focus on software and Network support services for medical groups and health systems.
In late 2021, private equity firms Hellman & Friedman and Bain Capital announced they would buy athenahealth for $17 billion.
“Throughout our successful partnership with Bob and the management team, athenahealth has driven tremendous growth and transformation, cementing our position as the leading healthcare IT company that powers the network. largest network of healthcare providers in the nation,” said Ramzi Musallam, CEO and managing partner of Veritas Capital, in a statement on this year’s private acquisition.
TREND TO BIGGER
In other athenahealth news this week, the company also announced a new clinical advisory board, with 30 new members starting to work with athenahealth’s product team to provide guidance on the long-term direction. , clinical features, etc.
Board members are appointed to terms of one or two years. They meet almost every two months and meet in person every year. The company says customers provide feedback and validate ideas to improve clinical workflows for providers, staff and patients.
“Feedback is critical to athenahealth as we work to improve and enhance the customer experience, and build new capabilities for our platform, and the clinical advisory board provides a channel Another extremely effective way for us to hear from people who use our products every day,” said Dr. Nele Jessel, medical director of athenahealth, in a statement.
According to the company announcement, the new clinical advisory board, which includes providers and clinical IT administrators, recently met at athenahealth’s Thrive Summit in Austin, Texas, which was attended by more than 2,000 guests. Customers, partners, exhibitors and staff gather to exchange ideas and best practices. .
ON PROFILE
“Members of the clinical advisory board are very interested in influencing athenahealth’s decisions and development pathways, while prioritizing the biggest bottlenecks present in the workflow,” said Dr. Katherine Gregory, OB-GYN in San Francisco, said gynecology, in the statement.
Andrea Fox is the senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS.
