Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) has announced it acquired Australian health care information technology company, iSOFT Group, for $189 million to strengthen its global healthcare integration and services portfolio, and to add to and expand its healthcare research and development capabilities, according to web site CBR.

Three thousand iSOFT employees from around the world, including research and development centers in India, Spain, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Central Europe, will now become part of CSC, according to the story.

The acquisition is also designed to speed up CSC's “strategic growth plan and enhance its position in the global healthcare IT market,” according to the story.

iSOFT's e-health software products to manage patient information and improve core processes are used by more than 13,000 healthcare providers and governments in 40 countries, according to the story.

Its systems are installed in over 8,000 hospitals and clinics, and help customers to exchange of critical information across care settings in different locations and participating organizations, CBR writes.

iSoft’s solutions provide health professionals with accurate, timely information across many diverse settings, automating care processes and supporting workflows to improve patient outcomes, through the “transfer, storage and availability of patient information across the care continuum”.

Enabling healthcare facilities to track the flow of patients from admission to discharge, iSoft provides a shared electronic health record that contains all pertinent information about the patient.

Debra Beaulieu, a writer at fiercehealthit.com, writes that a speaker at a recent conference she attended said that “the patient-visit cycle gives practices the most potential for profitability and efficiency over any other initiative”. 

Automating patient flow management is a key way to do that, she writes. 

Fiercehealthit.com also reports that, according to a recent survey from the Medical Group Management Association, improving patient flow is a priority area that can make healthcare facilities which practice it well excel stand out from others, and excel at patient satisfaction.

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