Medasys to join with Citation to offer integrated solutions

Medasys to join with Citation to offer integrated solutions

French firm hopes to alleviate doubts about U.S. market presence

As interest continues to grow in integrated image and information management systems, it's not surprising that many PACS and HIS firms are considering business partnerships. In part to offer integrated solutions to customers, French PACS company Medasys Digital Systems and healthcare information systems firm Citation Computer Systems have agreed to combine their businesses.

The deal, which is expected to close in early September, will result in a reverse merger that will create a company with $50 million in revenues. Medasys, which is publicly traded in France, would become a subsidiary of Citation, a company that is currently traded on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange under the symbol CITA. Following the transaction, the Citation name will be dropped, however, in favor of Medasys.

The new company will maintain dual listings on both NASDAQ and the Paris Bourse. Other terms have not been disclosed for the deal, which will require shareholder and regulatory approvals.

In addition to the interest in providing integrated systems, Medasys pursued the deal to prove to customers its commitment to the U.S. market, said Jean-Marie Lucani, chairman, president, and CEO of Medasys. While potential clients had favorable reactions to its technology, they sometimes expressed reservations over the French firm's long-term presence in the U.S. market, he said.

In the new company, Lucani will serve as president and CEO, while Bob Copper of Citation will be chairman. Current Citation president and CFO Rick Neece will serve as executive vice president and CFO of the new firm. Another key executive, Medasys business development manager Alexis Westermann, will become executive vice president for business development.

Interestingly, Citation has a strategic alliance and marketing partnership with PACS firm DataView Imaging International (PNN 1/98). No decision has been made yet about that relationship, Lucani said.

The Citation merger isn't the only deal Medasys concluded recently. To complement the company's push into integrated offerings, the firm acquired Eurodim, a HL-7 interface and laboratory information system provider that is a partner on the MIRIAM PACS project in France. Medasys has also purchased Med Systems, a company that provides patient-care management systems.

"We want to become one of the leading providers of electronic patient-record systems in the U.S., but also to have the capability to understand and provide laboratory, radiology, pharmacy, and patient management information systems," Lucani said.

In PACS, Medasys has experienced its greatest success in Europe, where it has an installed base of nearly 100 PACS sites, Lucani said. In the U.S., the company has approximately 15 clients, including Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX, and Children's Hospital in Miami. It also has an installed base of over 200 systems in its other role as provider of nuclear medicine gamma cameras.

In addition to its European efforts, Medasys provides its PACS software on an OEM basis to Hitachi Medical Systems. The company is also active in Brazil through a joint venture with a consulting firm.

The company's PACS offering is called Dx Multimodality, which is based on the Unix platform and is DICOM and HL-7 compliant, Lucani said. Medasys claims one of the offering's strengths is the ability of its PACS server to link up to client workstations from other companies, such as Advantage from GE Medical Systems, EasyVision from Philips Medical Systems, and MagicView from Siemens Medical Systems. Image data is not altered with Dx Multimodality, Lucani said.

The company sells its own workstation software as well. Another key benefit is its support for both radiology and cardiology environments, Lucani said. Color, cine, and animation support is provided.

• Search again
• Homepage