In Brief: Cardinal Acquires Assuramed, Pre-Term Births Slashed At Minneapolis Hospital System
Cardinal Health Acquires Assuramed For $2 Billion
Ohio-based hospital supplier and consultant Cardinal Health has agreed to acquire Assuramed, a home healthcare supplier, for just over $2 billion.
Assuramed, which is based in Twinsburg, Ohio, will be acquired with $1.3 billion in senior notes, and about $700 million in cash. The company had annual revenues of about $1 billion.
"AssuraMed is a natural extension of the Cardinal Health businesses and of our mission to be essential to care,” said George Barrett, Cardinal Health's chief executive officer. “The acquisition of this industry leader allows us to serve the growing number of Americans treated in home settings – particularly those patients recovering from acute episodes and those suffering with chronic diseases. This is a platform opportunity for products and services which will be increasingly important as the delivery of care migrates to more cost-effective settings.”
Cardinal said it expects the deal to close in April. It expects a boost of two to three cents to its earnings per share in 2013, and up to 18 cents per share in 2014.
Minneapolis Hospital System Cuts Pre-Term Births 75%
Minneapolis hospital operator North Memorial Health Care has reduced the rate of its pre-39-week births by three-quarters by improving communications with obstetricians who decide when to schedule deliveries.
According to North Memorial, the rate of births prior to 39 weeks of gestation was 1.2% prior to the initiative. It is now 0.3%.
The system used software by a local firm, Health Catalyst, to prod physicians to schedule deliveries more consistently after the 39th week of gestation.
“We were previously a very old school, paper-driven organization that often made decisions based on gut feeling rather than data,” said Kevin J. Croston, M.D., North Memorial's Chief Medical Officer. "The best part of this is when we use and pull up data in meetings with physicians, they pay attention and are engaged. They start asking questions and coming up with ideas. It makes them willing agents of change when they trust the information and you start moving in a new direction with them.”
Numerous studies have suggested that children born prior to 39 weeks of gestation often have developmental issues as they grow up.
