CareScience tightens belt, lays off 15% of staff

Online care management firm CareScience cut 22 employees (15%) and consolidated operations in an effort to reduce expenses and achieve profitability by the end of the year. The firm has centralized company marketing and product development, following the discontinuation of the CareLeader and CareSense product lines. The move comes on the heels of CareScience's acquisition of Strategic Outcomes Services, a pharmacoeconomic and outcomes research consulting firm. The deal cost CareScience $1.1 million in cash and 250,000 shares of common stock, but the company expects the acquisition to have a positive impact on its 2001 earnings.

In other news, CareScience will integrate Intel Internet Authentication Services into Care Data Exchange, which uses peer-to-peer technology to securely locate and index clinical data from participating healthcare organizations, and CareStandard Select, which enables users to select health information products online. The company has also announced a contract to provide group purchasing organization AmeriNet with clinical data analysis tools.