Health software vendor iSoft has been cleared by the Commerce Commission to buy five Hewlett-Packard customer contracts for the provision of software support services, and the associated goodwill and intellectual property rights in the Homer and OraCare software.
The five customer contracts are with Healthcare Otago, Good Health Wanganui, Nelson Marlborough Health Services, Midcentral Health and Canterbury Health.
ISoft has owned the software products in Australia for the past three years, where they are called Topaz.
Commission chair Paula Rebstock says the commission was satisfied the proposed acquisition would not have, or would not be likely to have, the effect of substantially lessening competition in the New Zealand markets for the supply of patient administration software systems and related services and of clinical information systems and related services to District Health Boards.
ISoft, which was recently incorporated in New Zealand, will service the legacy technology at the five sites till they eventually go to open tender for replacement patient management software. Half of the country’s 21 district health boards are expected to go to tender within the next three years.