Electronic Health Reporter

WAUKESHA, Wis. & HARTFORD, Wis.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–GE (NYSE: GE) announced today it has agreed to acquire API Healthcare, a healthcare workforce management software and analytics solutions provider, headquartered in Hartford, WI. The acquisition aligns with GE’s Industrial Internet strategy to invest in strong, innovative businesses that enhance GE’s portfolio in software, data and analytics. The acquisition, subject to regulatory approval, is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2014. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Improving operational efficiencies is critical for healthcare administrators today. Patients wait to be admitted and discharged. Doctors wait for test results. Staff wait for assignments. Rooms wait to be cleaned. Every hour spent waiting represents billions of dollars in costs to hospitals in aggregate each year. API Healthcare’s complementary offerings will expand GE Healthcare’s current Hospital Operations Management (HOM) portfolio, which gives hospitals real-time access to operational data.

“Labor costs represent over 50 percent of hospital operating budgets,” said Michael Swinford, President & CEO, GE Healthcare Services. “With this acquisition, GE Healthcare will be able to address a significant portion of hospital operations costs – assets, patients and labor – with a mix of software, real-time data, powerful analytics and professional services.”

API Healthcare’s solutions – staffing and scheduling, patient classification, human resources, talent management, payroll, time and attendance, business analytics, and staffing agency offerings – are used by more than 1,600 hospitals and staffing agencies in the U.S. API Healthcare has been rated by KLAS as having the top time and attendance solution for the last 10 years (2002-2012) and the top staffing and scheduling solution provider in 2012.

“Health care productivity is more important than ever for hospitals as more patients enter the system and operational costs continue to climb,” said John Dineen, President & CEO, GE Healthcare. “In addition to clinical systems, hospitals need operational management systems to drive enterprise-wide efficiencies, reduce unnecessary costs and enable improved patient care. Over the next 5-7 years, we believe sales of these systems will accelerate towards double-digit growth and GE Healthcare will lead the way.”

GE Healthcare will work with hospitals and health systems in three key areas:

• Asset Optimization: Manage and track the utilization of assets throughout their lifecycle, helping to lower costs and improve efficiency.
• Patient Flow Optimization: Manage and track patients and workflow from admission to discharge in real-time, lowering costs and increasing transparency.
• Workforce Optimization: With the addition of API, enable better insight into staffing and scheduling to help ensure the right staff member is assigned the right patient at the right time.

Comprehensively managing the scheduling, flow and availability of staff, patients and assets will help hospitals realize significant productivity gains.

“This acquisition will bring API Healthcare’s complementary offerings together with one of the world’s leading healthcare companies to help customers make data-driven decisions on staffing and operations,” said J.P. Fingado, President & Chief Executive Officer, API Healthcare. “As the demands of an aging population increase and the greater challenges associated with a changing workforce take hold, operational efficiency has never been more important. We are excited to expand our capabilities and address customers’ toughest challenges together with GE.”

Once the transaction closes, the API Healthcare solutions will be part of the Predicitivity™ Industrial Internet portfolio alongside GE Healthcare’s existing HOM offerings.

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services to meet the demand for increased access, enhanced quality and more affordable healthcare around the world. GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter – great people and technologies taking on tough challenges. From medical imaging, software & IT, patient monitoring and diagnostics to drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and performance improvement solutions, GE Healthcare helps medical professionals deliver great healthcare to their patients.

For our latest news, please visit http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com.

About API Healthcare

API Healthcare (www.apihealthcare.com) is a healthcare-specific vendor focused on workforce management solutions, and also the architect of the Healthcare Workforce Information Exchange (HwIE) — a revolutionary solution that facilitates the sharing of workforce data across the entire continuum of care. Founded in 1982, API Healthcare has been rated in the Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards Report (www.KLASresearch.com) as the top time and attendance provider system for the last 10 years (2003-2012) and the top staffing and scheduling solution in 2012. API Healthcare was acquired by private equity firm, Francisco Partners, in 2008. The Company was advised by Spurrier Capital Partners, a technology-focused M&A advisory firm in New York.