Iatric Systems started in 1990 as a self-funded software start-up in the healthcare sector focused on privacy, analytics, electronic health record (EHR) optimization and interoperability. Over the next 28 years, Iatric Systems grew to serve over 1,300 healthcare providers and had integrated more than 800 vendor solutions.
Two key executives that saw Iatric through its years of growth, a sale and its transition with Harris are John Danahey and Robert Rhodes. John, former VP of Sales, was the company’s fourth employee, having worked at the hospital that became Iatric’s first customer. John is now Executive Vice President of PulseCheck, another business in the Harris Healthcare portfolio. Robert, former VP of Services, started his healthcare career at MEDITECH (one of Iatric’s principal EHR integrations) and is now Iatric’s Executive Vice President.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which specifically earmarked over USD $25 billion in spending for health information technology, significantly boosted an already profitable business. “Those investments started to run out, sales started to slow and we knew it was going to be difficult to recover; the business had to shrink back down to survive”, recalls Robert.
Former owner, Joel Berman, remembers the sacrifices the executive team was willing to make for the business but they still “couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel”. Harris connected with Joel a year before he hired an investment banker to begin the sale process and Harris kept in touch.
A fair price and the financial means to execute the deal gave Harris key advantages, and Harris’ honesty through the due diligence phases made the choice clear. “Now that I’m part of this team, I see the focus on culture and professional development – the leadership conferences give employees invaluable knowledge and experience to draw on”, confirms Robert.
“Harris offers the best of both worlds – the structure of a corporate environment and the unique autonomy and culture of a small business. Our employees get access to opportunities that weren’t previously available to them”, states John.
“Thanks to Harris and CSI’s playbook of best practices, I’ve been able to guide Iatric Systems to become a financially strong and disciplined business”, advises Robert.
Harris acquires vertical market software businesses, manages them using industry best practices, and builds them for the future. Through acquisitions, Harris has grown extensively from its roots in the utilities, local government, education, and healthcare sectors to operate over 150 businesses globally across more than twenty industries. Harris is an operating group of Constellation Software Inc. (TSX: CSU), one of North America’s most active acquirers of software businesses.