Orion Health has been named the lead technology provider for the US state of Maine's HealthInfoNet health information exchange project.
The privately-held, Auckland-based software company – now New Zealand's largest, with around 250 developer
Orion Health has been named the lead technology provider for the US state of Maine’s HealthInfoNet health information exchange project.
The privately-held, Auckland-based software company – now New Zealand’s largest, with around 250 developers – landed the contract after taking place in a pilot project.
Maine received $US6.2 million from the US federal government for healthcare information eacchange.
$US4.2 million of the total is going to HealthInfoNet, which will link six healthcare organisations, and their affiliated doctors and hospitals.
Currently, HealthInfoNet covers around half of Maine’s 1.3 million citizens. By 2015, the state government wants its electronic patient record system to cover 80% of Maine’s physician practices.
Paul Viskovich, Orion Health President of North America, said his company had experience implementing similar projects in New South Wales, a number of Canadian provinces and Spain.
The Obama administration has ear-marked $US22 billion to “advance the use of health information technology” as part of President Barack Obama’s push to move the US to e-records by 2014.
$100 million revenue
Orion Health chief executive Ian McCrae recently said his company was on track to book $100 million revenue this year - a big leap over 2009’s $58 million. Around 95% of revenue has been booked overseas.
The company’s fortunes received a major boost in June when an Accenture-led consortium, including Orion, Oracle and HP, won the $S200 million ($NZ205 million). tender for the Singapore National Electronic Health Records project.
Writing in NBR's print edition on the NZTE Healthcare Challenge, Cranleigh Merchant Bankers’ director David Clarke said the US medical technology market is estimated to be worth around $NZ160 billion a year.
New Zealand companies only export a total of half a billion dollars' worth of goods globally – or around 0.3% of the US market.
With the right support and direction our healthtech entrepreneurs could be New Zealand’s next billion-dollar industry, said Mr Clarke.
Orion's Mr McCrae sees his company alone reaching the $1 billion revenue mark.
The chief executive credited Trade Minister Tim Groser with helping Orion secure a role in the Singapore government's e-record project.
