HealthStream, workforce management company, buys competitor for $88 million
Purchase of HealthLine will add a new line of credentialing, privileging, quality management and contact center optimization options.
HealthStream's Nashville headquarters (Google)
Nashville-based healthcare workforce management company HealthStream will acquire competitor HealthLine, of San Diego, for $88 million in cash, the companies announced.
Upon closing, HealthLine will add a new line of credentialing, privileging, quality management and contact center optimization options to HealthStream, and Michael Sousa, a senior executive at HealthLine, will oversee the new division.
The company said it will keep open HealthLine’s San Diego offices.
[Also: Tracking 2015 mergers and acquisitions]
“By expanding this healthcare-specific area of our talent management offering, HealthStream will provide a complete source for provider data management, streamlining the credentialing, privileging, and provider enrollment processes with powerful task automation and workflow management tools,” HealthStream chief executive Robert Frist said in a statement.
According to the company, increasing pressures on hospitals to deliver quality care, or risk fines and trimmed reimbursements, are making credentialing services more important for healthcare providers to ensure new hires are vetted properly.
It’s especially important since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services occasionally checks physician credentials to make sure they are eligible for reimbursements.
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