HealthStream, which develops simulation-based education, training and research software, announced its acquisition of Sy.Med, a developer of credentialing technology.

HealthStream acquired Brentwood, Tenn.-based Sy.Med, whose clients include more than 115 hospitals and integrated delivery networks, for roughly $7 million.

Sy.Med OneApp, the firm's credentialing application, centralizes data and automates the credentialing management processes for hospitals, physician practices, clinics and other healthcare organizations.

Hospitals and health systems are required to manage and track all credentialing applications and enrollment forms for physicians, nurse practitioners, physical therapists and other professional healthcare providers practicing in their organizations; by adding Sy.Med OneApp to its talent management products, HealthStream is able to help hospitals to reduce credentialing paperwork and manual processes by up to 70 percent, officials said.

"We look forward to offering this important credentialing application to healthcare organizations as we continue to add products and capabilities to our innovative talent management suite," said Robert A. Frist, Jr., chief executive officer, HealthStream.

Credentialing is crucial, ensuring that healthcare professionals' qualifications to deliver patient care is verified. Sy.Med's application offers a tool to automate this process – particularly for the credentialing of physicians who represent roughly 80 percent of Sy.Med's client data – and who are increasingly employed by hospitals.

Managed care organizations, including Medicare and Medicaid, also require comprehensive credentialing processes to ensure that physicians and other professional healthcare providers meet all of the necessary requirements and are appropriately qualified to practice medicine and deliver patient care, officials noted.

This process typically starts with verification of education and residency or fellowships, appropriate state licensure, employment history, malpractice carriers' check, a criminal and financial background check and reference check. Sy.Med OneApp helps reduce the administrative burden of these tasks, officials say, and has added capabilities to centralize provider data, set automatic expiration alerts, produce a wide variety of reports on-demand, manage documents, and utilize a large population of letters and forms.

Sy.Med OneApp is available as an installed product and as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product delivered through the Internet. While the majority of Sy.Med clients currently utilize the installed product, HealthStream will bring a renewed emphasis on integrating, developing and deploying the SaaS-based application, officials said.

Sy.Med OneApp enables healthcare organizations to meet National Committee for Quality Assurance, Utilization Review Accreditation Commission and Joint Commission accrediting standards for provider information management in credentialing activities.
 
"I believe our credentialing application has saved tremendous resources for our clients – and I am, therefore, pleased that it will reach a wider audience as part of HealthStream," said Jim Aylward, chief executive officer, Sy.Med. "Moreover, I know that our clients will benefit from expanded opportunities as part of HealthStream's growing customer base while continuing to receive outstanding support and service from the same Sy.Med team."