As it aims to strengthen its position in the point-of-care market, information services firm Wolters Kluwer Health announced Monday that one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries has entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacy OneSource, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider to hospitals.

Pharmacy OneSource helps manage patient safety, compliance and efficiency. The transaction will allow Wolters Kluwer Health to extend its clinical decision support (CDS) solutions into the hospital pharmacy market.

"Our acquisition of Pharmacy OneSource is part of Wolters Kluwer Health's business strategy to drive growth in the point-of-care market, which includes the critical area of the hospital pharmacy, where there is a strong need for resources and tools to drive compliance, greater patient safety and cost reductions," said Arvind Subramanian, president and CEO of Wolters Kluwer Health Clinical Solutions. "The combined product offerings of Wolters Kluwer Health and Pharmacy OneSource give us a strong, comprehensive portfolio of healthcare information and clinical decision tools for the pharmacy and accelerate our expansion in the point-of-care market."

Pharmacy OneSource, headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., with approximately 100 employees, has developed a strong footprint in the hospital pharmacy market, currently working with more than 1,200 hospitals globally. Wolters Kluwer Health has built a strong business in the retail pharmacy sector with solutions that offer healthcare professionals fast access to evidence-based medical information that helps prevent costly drug errors and detect life-threatening drug-drug, drug-food and drug-allergy interactions.

The acquisition of Pharmacy OneSource will enhance Wolters Kluwer Health's ability to deliver a robust, comprehensive point-of-care offering to help pharmacies improve patient safety and compliance while increasing efficiencies across the hospital.

The deal will enable Wolters Kluwer Health to bring technology and evidence-based medical content to both hospital and retail pharmacies to help them with critical functions like medication tracking, pediatric dosing, drug interaction checking, managing formularies, documenting and monitoring clinical interventions, medication errors and adverse drug reactions via the Web or handheld computer, as well as managing checklists to facilitate accurate and consistent compliance reporting.

Both companies have strong relationships across the hospital, with Wolters Kluwer Health having built a strong portfolio of clinical solutions that are leveraged by physicians and nurses at the point-of-care, in addition to its pharmacy offerings. Leveraging Pharmacy OneSource's relationships with hospital pharmacies, Wolters Kluwer Health can extend the reach of its point-of-care solutions across the hospital to drive greater access to evidence-based medicine, and ultimately, better care.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of year, subject to customary closing conditions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.