Genie Solutions, a medical practice management software provider in Australia, has been acquired by the Citadel Group.

This comes as the company has shelved its initial public offering plan and instead cut a deal with the enterprise software firm, according to a news report.

WHY IT MATTERS

Founded in 1995, Genie Solutions offers two practice management software. One is Genie, a desktop product that provides medical professionals access to clinical, demographic and account records directly from an appointment book; it also allows them to access fee schedules and set custom fees to ensure the correct billed amount. 

The other is cloud software Gentu, which helps reduce human error and enhance workflow through automated batching and receipting claims. 

In a statement, James Scollay, the company's chief executive, said Genie "will be a great fit" to Citadel's healthcare software segment, which has built a "market-leading" presence in clinical and diagnostic software throughout Australia and the UK.

Citadel Group's health arm Citadel Health creates and supports software solutions, products and managed services for clinical applications, such as diagnostic pathology and medical oncology applications, in public and private hospitals.

Mark McConnell, CEO of Citadel Group, said they intend to invest "heavily" in innovation to "extend Genie's dominant position, enabling the continuation of its exciting growth trajectory".

MARKET SNAPSHOT

In Australia, Telstra Corporation's digital health arm Telstra Health has also made a similar investment in practice management recently. In August, the company entered into a binding agreement to buy MedicalDirector, a Sydney-based general practice clinical and practice management software provider, for A$350 million ($256 million). 

The acquisition will help strengthen Telstra Health's existing presence in the UK, where MedicalDirector is also serving. Their transaction is targeted to close by the first quarter of 2022.

ON THE RECORD

"Like Genie, Citadel prioritises the improvement of health outcomes and securely managing critical data and systems so that medical professionals can focus on their patients. We look forward to sharing our knowledge and benefiting from Citadel’s significant scale and resources as we continue to invest in our people and our product, to grow our leadership position in software for medical practitioners," Scollay said, commenting on Genie's acquisition.