Peak Health Solutions Acquires Health Data Essentials

Acquisition creates unified solution that combines Risk- adjustment and Stars/HEDIS quality reporting built around technology, analytics, and consulting services

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Peak Health Solutions, a leading provider of end-to-end health information management services to health plans and healthcare facilities, today announced its acquisition of the assets of Health Data Essentials (HDE).

“We’re bringing people, information and technology together in a way that will effectively meet existing and emerging demands of the market.”

The move enables Peak to offer advanced analytics and services built around risk adjustment, quality improvement, utilization measurement, STARS quality measurement and HEDIS. The combined entity allows customers to organize and access integrated quality and risk adjustment data to make it meaningful and actionable. Coupled with business process improvements and available consulting services, payers will be able to use the data to positively impact overall performance.

Founded in 2004, Peak offers full-service retrospective and prospective risk-adjustment coding services to healthcare providers and Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Expertise contributed by HDE, along with their flagship product EssentialStars, will further assist MA plans in obtaining accurate payments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) State Medicaid programs, and in meeting criteria for quality bonuses defined in the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Peak, backed by Atlanta-based private equity firm EDG Partners, anticipates aggressive product development in upcoming months to extend their services to Medicaid managed care organizations, issuers operating in state-based Exchanges, and to commercial healthcare payer markets. Exchanges in particular will benefit greatly from the Peak consultants as they navigate new financial, quality reporting, and regulatory challenges.

“The healthcare landscape is changing dramatically and these changes have a significant impact on the revenue stream,” notes Steve Roberts, president and CEO of Peak Health Solutions. “The risk adjustment and quality reporting services we offer health plans can help to strengthen both the bottom line and overall performance.”

The Peak platform captures a wealth of information via medical record reviews and in-home patient assessments, enabling compliance with a wide range of quality ratings such as STARS and HEDIS measures. This information and the analytics that result from it, combined with advanced technology, will allow Peak to support both care coordination efforts and provider engagement activities.

“Joining our analytic proficiencies and consulting capabilities with Peak’s services creates a valuable resource for the healthcare community,” says Richard Lieberman, CEO of HDE. “The services and strengths of the two companies are complementary, and will allow us to extend the benefits each would be able to offer the market.”

“HDE is an exceptional strategic addition for Peak as both payers and providers recognize the need to deploy advanced data analytic tools to meet the increasing requirements to proficiently manage and report quality and care management initiatives. Both Peak and HDE are fortunate to have partnered with EDG which has proven itself as an insightful private equity firm with a rich history of guiding and building industry-leading healthcare companies,” states Keith Devantier of Falcon Capital Partners, who represented both Peak (in its prior transaction with EDG) and HDE.

“This acquisition represents an exciting opportunity,” Roberts adds. “We’re bringing people, information and technology together in a way that will effectively meet existing and emerging demands of the market.”

ABOUT PEAK HEALTH SOLUTIONS

Founded in 2004, Peak Health Solutions delivers a superior set of solutions to capture and manage health data for health plans and healthcare facilities. Relying upon a unique blend of people, technology, expertise and processes, Peak offers a unified risk adjustment and quality reporting platform to the marketplace. Peak, backed by private equity firm EDG Partners, historically has offered retrospective and prospective risk-adjustment coding services, with specialization in the transition to ICD-10. It expanded its offering in 2012 with additional data collection functionality related to STARS and HEDIS ratings.