Health Market Science: Digging Deep for Useful Data
Raw data is like unrefined crude oil—comparatively worthless until it reaches the refinery. Health Market Science has built a thriving business by transforming raw data into valuable information for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, device manufacturers, health care providers, payers and pharmacy chains.
Health Market Science built and maintains an extensive database of more than four million health care providers, a million organizations and the affiliations among them.
Health Market Science (HMS) uses multiple innovative approaches to build and maintain an extensive database of more than four million health care providers, a million organizations and the affiliations among them. The King of Prussia-based company offers targeting information, master data management solutions and advanced analytics to various customers in the health care system. It specializes in providing compliance solutions across the health care system, helping its clients adhere to the federal and state laws as well as products that make the U.S. health care system more efficient, a much-publicized goal of the current administration.
Today, HMS has contracts with each of the top 20 U.S. pharmaceutical companies, 10 of the top 15 medical device companies, three of the top four pharmacy benefit managers, three of the top five managed health care providers, and 40 percent of all pharmacy stores.
The company’s revenue growth has averaged more than 30 percent each year, and it recently expanded into a 45,000-square-foot facility. HMS, which employs more than 140 people, was also ranked 17th in the Deloitte Fast 50 in 2008 for the Greater Philadelphia region and has placed in the Inc. 5000 for each of the past five years.
Help at a Critical Stage
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/SEP) was introduced to Health Market Science in 2001, when the company had only 13 employees. By 2003, BFTP/SEP had invested $500,000 in the company and helped it develop management and technology options. Half of the investment went to expanding its sourcing technology and the remainder to incorporating the technology into the overall data integration and consolidation system.
“When Ben Franklin Technology Partners invested in us, it was a great time for us to be working together,” says Matt Reichert, CEO. “We were at a critical stage of growth, on the cusp of attracting more and more clients, and BFTP really helped us along the way. We would not be at this point today without them.”
The Push for Innovation
Recently, Health Market Science continued its innovation with the launch of CompleteView, their highly anticipated product for the master data management market. CompleteView is the only full-service offering available for complete customer master data management. It delivers the people, processes, software and governance necessary to build and maintain a client’s Golden Record for each practitioner, organization and the affiliations among them. Customers benefit from little to no overhead in maintaining their customer master.
In 2008, HMS repaid BFTP’s investment out of a $42 million recapitalization led by the Edison Venture Fund, which has been investing in technology companies serving the health care industry for more than 20 years. The recapitalization assisted in the research and development and commercialization of compliance. Edison followed this recapitalization with an additional investment in April of 2009, with a focus on developing the health care efficiency solutions demanded in today’s marketplace.
“We have launched seven new products in the past 18 months and are continuing to expand into the various market segments in health care,” adds Reichert. “We are increasing our customer base and always growing. We appreciate BFTP’s involvement with us. They have provided us with the tools to drive innovation with our business, which we will keep doing.”
Tags: healthcare technology, internet technology, filed under Client & Alumni News, News, Southeastern PA