Irvine-based Quality Systems Inc. will get a bump from the growing revenue cycle management sector in coming years, according to a recently issued analyst report.
Quality makes software that doctors and dentists use to manage their practices. It also provides electronic medical records software for smaller hospitals.
Analyst Greg Bolan of Birmingham, Ala.-based investment bank Sterne, Agee & Leach Inc. said Quality has a big opportunity in revenue cycle management, which uses software and computers for coding and documenting insurance claims to help doctors manage payments and cash flow.
“Of the 90,000 physicians on [Quality’s] NextGen Ambulatory [software] network, only 6% are using NextGen [revenue cycle management software],” Bolan said in his note, adding that two-thirds of those doctors aren’t using any sort of revenue cycle or outsourced billing services.
The analyst wrote that Quality restructured its NextGen Ambulatory sales force over the past year in order to allow them to cross-sell revenue cycle management software.
Quality could incrementally add nearly $370 million in revenue if it’s successful in selling revenue cycle management software to current NextGen Ambulatory clients, Bolan said.
He also wrote that Quality “stands to win” as the electronic healthcare record replacement cycle starts to unfold and hospitals give greater power to the physician groups they own when it comes to making buying decisions.
Startup’s Device Gets OK
San Clemente-based Sensory Medical Inc. said in late May that the Food and Drug Administration granted it commercial clearance for a medical device known as Relaxis, which is used to improve sleep quality for patients who suffer from restless leg syndrome.
The syndrome is a neurological condition that causes discomfort, pain and sleep deprivation. An estimated 12 million Americans have the disease, according to statistics from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Relaxis is a pad that provides 30 minutes of vibratory counterstimulation after a patient places it at the site of the discomfort. The pad gradually ramps down and shuts off without waking the patient.
Sensory Medical said Relaxis will be available on a prescription-only basis in the U.S. in the third quarter.
Institute Teaming With Caltech
La Palma-based Innovation Institute has signed a memorandum of understanding with the California Institute of Technology.
The deal allows the institute to collaborate directly with Caltech researchers to develop healthcare products.
The institute was founded in 2013 by Irvine-based St. Joseph Health. It’s intended to develop products and services; includes an incubator for medical technology; and will have an arm designed to invest in emerging businesses and assets.
Alliance agreements aren’t new to the institute. It’s also allied with Cleveland Clinic Innovations.
It said in a news release that it’s received more than 40 idea submissions that are in various stages of evaluation, including for medical devices, information technology, apps, wearable devices and consumable items for patients.
New GC at MemorialCare
Terri Cammarano is the new general counsel for Fountain Valley-based MemorialCare Health System. She replaces Helen Fabian.
Cammarano most recently served as a senior vice president and special adviser at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian following its affiliation with Irvine-based St. Joseph Health.
MemorialCare is an integrated healthcare system that includes Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, with campuses in Laguna Hills and San Clemente. It also includes Seaside Health Plan, outpatient health centers and medical groups, such as Greater Newport Physicians and MemorialCare Medical Group.
Russia Gives CardioNova Thumbs-Up
Irvine-based startup AtheroNova Inc. said its partner, CardioNova, received approval from the Russian Ministry of Healthcare to start a clinical trial extension for its lead compound, AHRO-001.
AtheroNova is working on drugs to treat atherosclerosis, which is caused by the buildup of several substances into plaques.
