Perot on the Prowl: Observations on Press Release Arithmetic

Prowl (proul) v.

1. To roam stealthily, with predatory intent, as in search of prey or plunder
2. Actively looking for somethin

HISTalk just recorded its 1.5 millionth hit. Besides the snarky commentary, HISTalk (and the lovely new addition of HERTalk) has continued to gain readership with its dead pan commentary that is always dead-on. As the readership has grown, the quality of the tips and the accuracy of the insight has also increased. I believe nearly everyone with a need to know turns to HISTalk when they need to know.

I use HISTalk to confirm suspicions, verify trends, and dial up my own prognostication engine. I have been doing some “rumor math” and I have an interesting 1+ 1 that I put together. Check out out the following headlines and see if you can follow my arithmetic:

+ Medsphere Moves Offices, sends Press Release
+ Perot wins Jordan VistA deal
+ Medsphere takes on the DoD’s VistA replacement strategy (Even though the DoD does not use VistA).
+ Perot will buy someone (see below)

= Perot to Buy Medsphere

With press releases like the above (which scored 21 out of 100 for relevancy), it appears that Medsphere is positioning itself to be sold. Also, while Perot has done some VistA related work, they have no practical VistA deployment experience in a clinical environment. I wish them the best in a high profile, non-English, international, 10 time zones and 7,000 miles away, and entirely different health care system environment. Seems Perot would benefit from some project assurance. Furthermore, a Medsphere acquisition could help catalyze Perot’s new stated focus on smaller delivery networks and community-based hospitals.

Adding it all up, perhaps Perot should pounce on the opportunity.

* I have no financial stake whatsover in any of the companies mentioned, am reporting on publicly available information, and my opinions are not intended nor could reasonably be construed to disparage or be derogatory in anyway. Highlights in the referenced press release below are mine.

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Perot eyes healthcare acquisition to drive growth

Fri Aug 15, 2008 1:31pm EDT

By Bijoy Anandoth Koyitty

BANGALORE (Reuters) – Information technology services company Perot Systems Corp (PER) plans to make an acquisition for its healthcare segment, which accounts for about half its revenue, as large contracts get difficult to come by in a slowing U.S. economy. An acquisition in the healthcare space from anywhere in the world is one of the areas that Perot is concentrating on,” Chief Executive Peter Altabef told Reuters in an interview. However, he did not reveal if Perot identified a potential target or how much money it would spend on such a deal.

. . .

The company, which was founded by former U.S. presidential candidate Ross Perot, is also shifting its focus from large contracts, which are drying up amidst the slowdown, to mid-sized players in the healthcare segment. “Clients such as community hospitals (Medsphere’s target market) and government healthcare (Perot has a whole VistA division), who had not spent much earlier, are playing catch-up for competitive purposes, and Perot is now using this opportunity,” Altabef, who has been with the company for about 15 years, said.

According to Bernstein Research analyst Rod Bourgeois, Perot is gaining traction in healthcare opportunities in specific Middle East countries, Europe, government healthcare and community hospitals. CEO Altabef said Perot is also focusing on strengthening its position in markets like the Middle East, Europe, China and Latin America to boost revenue. “Perot has been grappling with a dearth of large-sized sales deals in the provider space of healthcare, but its backup strategy of exploring smaller players in the sub-segment has now started bearing fruits,” Altabef said.