Quintiles Acquires Encore Health Resources
By Cyndi Root
Quintiles, a contract research organization (CRO), announced via press release that it has acquired Encore Health Resources, a health-information analytics company. The move strengthens Quintiles service offerings, particularly the eClinical segment, which a MarketsandMarkets report states will grow to $5 billion by 2018. Quintiles and Encore will help clients strategize and implement solutions primarily in electronic health records (EHR).
Tom Pike, CEO of Quintiles said, “Today’s announcement signifies the increasing importance of leveraging EHR and real-world information to inform our customers and improve their probability of success.”
Encore Acquisition
The Encore acquisition is expected to close this quarter, and financial terms were not published. Quintiles will add Encore to its Integrated Healthcare Services segment. Encore will be known as, “Encore, A Quintiles Company.” Service offerings focus on electronic health records (EHR), but also include strategizing, optimizing, and implementing a wide range of initiatives. Encore will help Quintile clients to access information critical to market success. Quintiles will extend its expertise to Encore in making improvements to data management.
The acquisition and collaboration will bring Quintile’s staff of medical doctors, Ph.D.’s, biostaticians, and nurse educators together with Encore’s 300 employees. Encore’s main expertise is in EHR related services, and the individuals with expertise in this field will complement Quintile’s EHR expertise. Mr. Pike of Quintiles stated that Encore also has strong relationships with medical centers, academic centers, and other service providers, which can help expand the company’s own network.
Electronic Health Records
Electronic Health Records (EHRs) contain the medical and treatment histories of patients. EHRs are becoming increasingly important to measure outcomes, clinical effectiveness, and value. Managing trials is time-consuming and expensive, so the digital version of a patient’s medical record allows investigators instant access and a more in-depth view of the person’s information. Additionally, electronic records allow greater transparency and enable records to be shared among investigators.
EHR also shows promise in recruiting patients to trials. Quintiles has some experience in this area and has published a report regarding the possibility of data-driven patient recruitment. Quintiles states that drug companies should seize the opportunity to find new ways to recruit patients or face declining productivity and increased costs. The acquisition of Encore will allow Quintiles to scale its EHR-driven patient recruitment efforts for its clients.