[1]Nightingale Informatix Corporation [1], an application service provider (ASP) of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) software and related services today announced it has partnered with ExpeData LLC [2], an innovative software company and global leader in digital writing based in Ohio, to launch “Clinipen”, a potentially game-changing technology within the North American EMR market. Clinipen will enable EMR software providers to deliver an integrated digital writing solution with which healthcare providers can input structured data into a patient’s EMR directly from paper.
“Through this partnership with Nightingale, we will be making the adoption of EMR technology much more appealing to a large segment of North American healthcare providers, which is very exciting,” said Brandon Major, Vice President and COO, ExpeData. “We are looking forward to a successful launch of Clinipen.”
The EDW® digital writing platform from ExpeData leverages Anoto® digital pen and paper technology and Vision Objects’ industry-leading handwriting recognition technologies. ExpeData has demonstrated the effective use of its platform solution in a number of industries, including financial services and certain segments of the healthcare industry. Via the partnership, Nightingale and ExpeData will expand the deployment of the EDW® digital writing platform to the EMR market.
Nightingale and ExpeData have entered into a joint venture agreement for exclusive distribution rights for the Clinipen technology products for the EMR industry in North America. Each company will maintain 50% ownership.
Nightingale On Demand, Nightingale’s leading, web-based EMR, will be the first solution seamlessly integrated with Clinipen. The Clinipen-enabled solution for Nightingale On Demand is expected to become commercially available to physicians in Canada and the United States during the fourth quarter of this calendar year.
“Nightingale is committed to innovation and making the transition from paper records to EMR as seamless as possible for physicians,” said Sam Chebib, President and CEO of Nightingale. “Clinipen will be a major breakthrough in EMR data entry as it will allow healthcare providers to continue using their current paper forms to document patient encounters and write prescriptions. We believe integrating ExpeData’s digital writing technology with Nightingale On Demand will position both companies as leaders in the North American EMR market.”
According to the 2009 study Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians, it is estimated that more than 60% of Canadian physicians are still using paper-based records. A recent independent survey conducted in the US by CompTIA indicated that only 34% of healthcare providers use a comprehensive EMR system, while 16% indicated using a partial system. 29% of respondents indicated that they are evaluating solutions, while 20% indicated that they have not yet started the adoption process. (2nd Annual Healthcare IT Market: Insights and Opportunities Study)
ExpeData and Vision Objects are part of the digital writing investment portfolio held by Myrian Capital, a private equity firm focused on emerging technology businesses.
“Clinipen is a strategic opportunity and provides a natural way to expand our digital writing investment portfolio into the EMR market,” said Paddy Padmanabhan, Managing Director, Myrian Capital. “The advanced input technologies in this joint venture allow physicians to use handwriting, the most natural and flexible data capture method available, to easily transition to electronic records. This provides groundbreaking potential to accelerate EMR adoption.”