Business Briefs: Kinnser Software Merges with Mediware

Kinnser Software Merges with Mediware

Kinnser Software, an Austin, Texas-based software technology company in the post-acute care space, is merging with Mediware, a company that offers software solutions for home health and hospice providers.

Mediware, which is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, is purchasing Kinnser from Insight Venture Partners, according to a press release.

The transaction is expected to close at the end of the second quarter this year. The deal’s terms were not disclosed.

Going forward, Kinnser will use its software as a service (SaaS) solutions to grow the Mediware portfolio to address home health and hospice.

The company’s two main software products, Kinnser Agency Manager and Kinnser Hospice, offer solutions for electronic medical record keeping, revenue cycle management, financial reporting and quality assurance.

Kinnser is keeping its name, mission, focus, staff and headquarters.

The merger is backed by TPG Capital, a private equity platform with $72 billion worth of assets in private equity, growth venture, real estate, credit and public equity. TPG finalized its acquisition of Mediware earlier this year in February, the release notes.

Kinnser Software was founded in 2003 and provides web-based solutions to more than 4,000 home health, hospice, therapy, and private duty home care agencies nationwide. Last year, more than 30 million billable patient visits were performed using Kinnser solutions.

Care Advantage Acquires Virginia-Based Agency

Care Advantage, a home health care provider based in Richmond, Virginia, recently acquired Stay at Home Personal Care, a Charlottesville, Virginia-based non-medical provider and subsidiary of senior living company Commonwealth Senior Living, according to a press release.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Stay at Home operates three locations in Norfolk, Hampton and Christiansburg, Virginia. The acquisition will allow Care Advantage to bolster its coverage in six new counties in Virginia.

Care Advantage is a portfolio company of BelHealth Investment Partners, a New York, New York-based health care private equity firm.

Bayada Expands Technology Use with Swift Shift

Bayada Home Health Care, one of the nation’s largest home health care providers, has partnered with Swift Shift, a model home health workforce optimization technology platform.

After completing a pilot, Bayada is expanding its use of the platform throughout the company, which has more than 300 locations. The platform enables employees to apply for recommended shifts, communicate with colleagues and managers through chat, SMS and email. The aim is reduce understaff and increase operational efficiency, revenue and service quality.

Always Best Care Adds Atlanta Location

Roseville, California-based Always Best Care, one of the nation’s largest home care franchise organizations, has expanded to Atlanta. Always Best Care offers non-medical in-home care and assisted living placement services through a network of more than 200 independently owned and operated franchises in the United States and Canada. The company is also phasing in skilled home health care services throughout the country.

The new offshoot will employ 40-50 caregivers to provide services to communities across the metro area, including Fulton and Dekalb counties, according to a press release.

The Atlanta franchise is owned and operated by local resident Doug Smith. The new location is currently offering assisted living placement and will offer in-home care in the late spring, according to the press release.

CareCentrix Partners WIth Performant Financial Corporation

CareCentrix, a home health coordination company based out of Hartford, Connecticut, recently joined forces with Performant Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: PFMT) to deploy analytics and algorithms focused on detecting fraud, waste and abuse, according to a press release. Performant is a Livermore, California-based company that delivers analytics, audit and recovery services to health care payers.

The partnerships aims to decrease fraud and waste related to insurance claims in home health care and durable medical equipment (DME), two areas that represent more than $11.4 billion in improper payments each year for Medicare, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

New Jersey Health System Upgrades Telehealth Program

Valley Home Care, part of Valley Health System in New Jersey, has partnered with Hoboken, New Jersey-based Health Recovery Solutions (HRS) to develop new software aimed at reducing hospital readmissions and ER visits such as medication noncompliance, low health literacy and lack of communication with clinicians and caregivers.

The HRS software allows clinicians to monitor a range of patient biometric values and responses to daily symptom questions. It also allows nurses to use video chatting and wound imaging so that they can monitor patients closely, follow up with their patients and intervene when necessary.

Written by Tim Regan