Newsflash: McKesson/HBOC drops three product lines

NEWSFLASH: McKesson/HBOC drops three product lines

McKesson/HBOC’s Information Technology Business is dropping three product lines as part of a major restructuring effort designed to refocus the company on its core healthcare information systems and information technologies business. The Alpharetta, GA-based company is discontinuing the Pathways Smart Medical Record for physician offices, Amisys Open managed-care system for payers, and PharmCare Windows-based pharmacy system. They are also suspending marketing efforts for the Paragon 2.9c HIS to address product performance issues.

McKesson/HBOC claims that these products have not met financial, quality, or customer satisfaction targets and that few customers will be affected by the product reorganization. The company intends to replace PharmCare with an updated product obtained through strategic alliance or acquisition and Pathways with the Web-based Abaton.com clinical EMR, which was recently obtained via acquisition. The firm also plans to enhance the Amisys 3000 product, including addressing HIPAA compliance.

“Over the past 18 months, we’ve seen a slowdown in purchase decisions for these large, complex systems,” said Glenn Rosenkoetter, president of ITB’s Payer Solutions Group. “We are revisiting our strategy for the high-end market and re-evaluating our delivery models.”

Although all sales and marketing efforts for Paragon have been suspended, McKesson/HBOC plans to increase its investment in several other HIS products, including the Star 2000, Series 2000, and HealthQuest 2000, and to develop consulting services, an ASP service model, and an Internet-based environment for its current offerings. The company will likely seek strategic alliances for at least some of these new products, as indicated by its plans for the now-defunct PharmCare and Pathways.

© 2000 Miller Freeman, Inc., a United News & Media company.

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