Healthcare technology provider Cerner paid $266m yesterday for a minority stake in Essence Group Holdings, a US-based health service provider backed by corporate venturing unit BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners.
Cerner provided the funding to Essence Group as part of a 10-year partnership agreement and the amount was confirmed by a regulatory filing.
Essence is the owner of Lumeris, which manages care provision on behalf of healthcare systems, supplying technologies, care processes, data and products intended to promote healthy behaviour.
Cerner and Lumeris intend to jointly look at cutting out inefficiencies from the care system and will form a joint venture called Maestro Advantage that will look to accelerate processes such as claims processing, reimbursement and data sharing in health plans.
Mike Long, chairman and chief executive of Lumeris, said: “Physicians and care teams will get access to timely data and easy-to-use, actionable insights at the point of care.
“Combined with a proven, value-based accountable primary care model, physicians can truly advocate for their patients, ensuring they receive better care and are more satisfied on their healthcare journey.”
Essence had previously raised about $185m in funding according to press releases and securities filings, including $70m in a 2011 round featuring BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, an investment vehicle backed by 31 members of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance network.
The unit added $9m to the $61m already provided by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and private equity Camden Partners the year before. The three joined Sandbox Industries and unnamed new investors to invest a further $71m in 2014.