Today, Melbourne-headquartered Telstra Health, the digital health arm of Telstra Corporation, announced that it has entered into a deal to buy a majority stake in PowerHealth, a healthcare software solutions provider based in Adelaide.

A news report noted that the deal is for about A$150 million ($110.7 million).

Established in 1995, PowerHealth specialises in billing, costing and revenue solutions, budgeting, safety and quality, decision support and application integration solutions for hospitals and other healthcare businesses.

The company provides software that supports activity-based funding and is used in over 20 countries.

Aside from Australia and Canada, PowerHealth also operates in Ireland and the Middle East. Its biggest customers are the province of Quebec, the Hong Kong Government’s Hospital Authority and the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia, among others.

WHY IT MATTERS

Telstra Health underscored in its statement that its investment in PowerHealth will aid in its expansion in global growth markets while leveraging its partner's international business.

It will also enable the company to provide "a more connected and improved digital health experience" for its clients in the health and aged care sectors.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter in 2022, subject to regulatory approval. 

Following that, Telstra Health will also establish a development hub in Adelaide. PowerHealth founder and Managing Director Patrick Power will soon join the company's senior executive team as head of International Growth.

THE LARGER TREND

In late February, Telstra Health and telecommunications firm TELUS entered into a working agreement to collaborate and develop new digital health solutions. Their partnership saw the rollout of the TELUS Health Exchange International platform in Australia via Telstra Health's offerings. The open standards-based platform supports collaboration and facilitates communication within the healthcare developer ecosystem.

Two months later, Telstra Health introduced Kyra, its suite of integrated digital hospital solutions that enables interoperability. Available on mobile, desktop and other digital devices, the health platform uses data visualisation to optimise care models and patient experience. It also features decision support and predictive analytics.

ON THE RECORD

"Telstra Health has grown substantially over the past several years and this announcement marks a significant uplift in our capability by combining the solutions and platforms within Telstra Health and PowerHealth to provide a more sophisticated and comprehensive offering of digital health solutions to an international market," said Mary Foley, managing director of Telstra Health.

"The strategic partnership and investment by Telstra Health will allow the PowerHealth and Telstra Health teams to collaborate to encourage an even greater level of innovation and capability in finding solutions to the complex challenges across the health and care ecosystem," PowerHealth's Power also commented.