Harris To Acquire Carefx For $155 Million

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Harris, a communications and information technology company, is expanding further into the healthcare market by purchasing Carefx for $155 million.

Last week's announcement will expand Harris' capabilities to provide interoperable software solutions to government agencies operating healthcare IT systems as well as provide an entry into the commercial healthcare market.

"The acquisition addresses the global market trend toward improving healthcare information technology and interoperability between government agencies and healthcare providers, both public and private," Jim Traficant, VP and general manager at Harris Healthcare Solutions, told InformationWeek.

Carefx, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., is the developer of the Fusionfx suite, which enhances clinical and business processes and decision-making by healthcare providers.

The Fusionfx interoperability platform provides standards-based, service-oriented workflow portals for healthcare. It also gives caregivers a unified view of relevant patient information by creating composite views of data from multiple sources.

Traficant said Fusionfx will give Harris' clients at the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs the opportunity to "have a more unified view of patient data that will reduce errors, increase productivity, and improve the overall care for our troops and veterans."

According to Traficant, Fusionfx is the industry standard for interoperability solutions, and added that his company is excited at the chance to apply its functionality to customers in the federal government. The Fusionfx platform is used in more than 800 hospitals, healthcare systems, and health information exchanges (HIEs) across North America, Europe, and Asia.

The acquisition will also expand Harris' customer base. Some of the key Carefx customers Harris will obtain include the Boston Medical Center, Emory University Hospital, Northwestern Medical Hospital, the Louisiana Rural Health Information Exchange, Johns Hopkins Health System, and Cambridge University Hospitals.

Carefx also partners with the industry's leading infrastructure and healthcare IT vendors, including Cerner, GE Healthcare, IBM, and Oracle.

The acquisition of Carefx is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011.

Harris has provided interoperability solutions for large-scale HIE enterprises such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and the Social Security Administration. Harris also has effectively extended federal interoperability solutions to the private sector, where more than half of all care is provided for active duty and retired service members.

As government healthcare systems are overhauled to meet federal requirements under the health reform law passed last year, Harris has increased its participation in both state and local healthcare projects. In January, Harris was awarded a $10.6 million contract by the U.S. Information Systems Engineering Command to upgrade the communications and IT networks at 23 U.S. Army Medical Treatment facilities. In December, the company was awarded a $19 million contract by Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) to implement a statewide HIE infrastructure to enable greater interoperability among care providers as they deliver and coordinate care across the state.