Carenet Health announced last week it had acquired fellow patient engagement company Stericycle Communication Solutions for approximately $45 million in cash.

Carenet said the deal will bring services like online scheduling, automated messaging tools, and additional inbound and outbound call center services to its business. Carenet also offers clinical support teams, patient navigation services and virtual care.

Stericycle Communication Solutions, which had been a segment of medical waste-management company Stericycle, reported about $45 million in revenue for the nine months ended September 30. Its former parent said the company includes around 500 employees in North America.

"The strategic marriage of tech-enabled communications and expert human capital is a recipe for success during this time of worker shortages, delayed care and heightened interest in nontraditional venues of healthcare," Carenet's Matt Dickson, formerly senior vice president at Stericycle Communication Solutions, said in a statement. 

THE LARGER TREND

This deal marks Carenet's second acquisition announcement this year. In January, the company said it had completed the purchase of OpenMed, a platform that aimed to connect patients and healthcare organizations using apps, text, interactive voice response and live phone communications for appointment scheduling, directives and requisitions.

But in late September, Law360 reported Carenet had sued OpenMed to unwind the acquisition, alleging OpenMed had made false claims to ensure Carenet closed the $15 million deal.

Carenet also purchased software-maker Citra Health Solutions' engagement and telehealth subsidiary in 2019.

There are a number of companies and startups focused on patient engagement and communication. Nurse-1-1, which provides a chat support service with nurses and other advanced care practitioners, announced it had raised $2.3 million in seed funding earlier this year.

Luma Health offers text-based scheduling, referrals, appointment reminders, intake, telehealth and other patient-provider communications. It announced a $130 million Series C about a year ago.