Electronic Health Reporter

Vitera and Greenway merge. Goodbye, “Vitera.” The company is now officially known as Greenway Medical Technologies, Inc. According to a press release on the subject, the two “leading providers of clinical, financial and administrative solutions to healthcare providers, today announced the completion of a previously announced merger resulting in the combination of the two companies into an innovative leader in health information technology.”

The two are one, the marriage underway.

Vista Equity Partners, owner of Vitera, acquired all outstanding Greenway common stock for $20.35 per share in a transaction valued at approximately $644 million.

The combined company will be privately held and operate under the Greenway brand. Tee Green, Greenway’s CEO, will maintain that position. Vitera’s CEO, Matthew J. Hawkins, will serve as President. Both will serve on Greenway’s board of directors.

The combined company will maintain headquarters and principal operations in Carrollton, GA, Tampa, FL, and Birmingham, AL, serving 100,000 providers across nearly 13,000 medical organizations nationwide — including healthcare enterprises, ambulatory practices, public health, retail and other clinics.

Vitera, through Vista, bought Success EHS earlier this year, which is located in Alabama.

“Today, we begin the process of integrating our two organizations and operating them as a single entity that will have a laser-like focus on advancing the electronification of our nation’s healthcare system, allowing our customers to more effectively engage with increasingly active healthcare consumers,” said Tee Green, CEO of Greenway Medical Technologies. “With our large and diverse provider base, we are well positioned to have a marked impact on improving both clinical and financial outcomes for patients, payers and providers.”

“The closing of this transaction marks an exciting new beginning,” said Matthew J. Hawkins, President of Greenway Medical Technologies. “The combination of Greenway and Vitera creates one of the largest and most innovative companies in the healthcare information technology industry today. We look forward to combining our experience, talents and technologies in a way the industry has never seen before.”

All of this comes just two years after Vista bought Sage Healthcare from Sage North America, and about two-and-a-half years after Greenway took itself public.

According to the release, the two companies “possess a combined history of more than 60 years of experience serving healthcare providers with innovative clinical, financial and administrative solutions and customer-focused services. Both companies offer award-winning products that help improve revenue, streamline operations, and assist providers in getting the best patient outcomes. Greenway’s platforms are consistently recognized for their interoperability and ease of use at the point of care. Vitera recently has earned a first-place EHR ranking and a Customer Value Enhancement Award from researchers Black Book Market Research, LLC and Frost & Sullivan.”

Current and future customers will benefit from industry-recognized EHR, clinically driven revenue cycle management, public health and interoperability solutions that help providers meet regulatory requirements, such as meaningful use and the transition to ICD-10, as well as address risk-sharing payment reform models, such as accountable care organizations.

The combined entity will continue to offer, enhance and support the portfolio of products currently available under both companies and bring together the strengths of Greenway and Vitera, offering healthcare providers unparalleled industry expertise and an unrivaled depth of resources and capabilities.

Only time will tell which products are sunsetted — Medical Manager comes to mind, for example — and how the company will reallocate and streamline employees, resources and reduces internal redundancies.