Monday, August 4, 2008

Poor U. S. Economy Will Spur Record Number of Healthcare Acquisitions in 2008, VirtualCDO Reports

Poor U. S. Economy Will Spur Record Number of Healthcare Acquisitions in 2008, VirtualCDO Reports

Because of the current poor U. S. economy, a record number of healthcare companies will seek to be acquired in 2008, reports VirtualCDO, a New York-based M&A consulting firm.

Great River, NY (PRWEB) May 1, 2008

The current economic slowdown will lead to a record number of mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare information technology sector, according to James Brennan, FACHE, managing director of VirtualCDO.

"The weak U. S. economy, tight credit market and reduced venture capital funding are prompting many healthcare IT companies to put themselves up for sale or merger," said Brennan. His company, VirtualCDO (http://www. virtualCDO. com) CDO assists healthcare companies with strategic corporate growth and liquidity.

"Small and mid-sized healthcare companies are facing increased costs of competition, as new interoperability and privacy standards take hold. Also, new technologies such as smart phones, radio frequency identification and genetic testing must be addressed or incorporated into product offerings. There is general consensus in the healthcare industry that the IT sector is due for major consolidation," said Brennan.

VirtualCDO has published a six-page report on the healthcare M&A outlook for 2008, available free at VirtualCDO Articles: Outlook Report (http://www. virtualcdo. com/articles/virtualcdoarticles. html). The report reviews the forecast for various healthcare sectors including HIT vendors, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, retail clinics, managed care and others.

The VirtualCDO, an advisory firm based in Great River, NY, specializes in engineering corporate growth, governance and M&A for healthcare companies. Most recently, Virtual CDO was the lead advisor to VasTech (Annapolis, MD), in its acquisition by Lawson software.

The firm also guides also guides hospital executives through strategic planning, technology acquisition and vendor contract negotiations.

The firm offers a free, 30-minute consultation on M&A strategy for qualifying healthcare IT companies. For more information, contact dsterling @ virtualcdo. com to arrange your free consultation.

Contacts:
James R. Brennan, FACHE
VirtualCDO
Brennan @ VirtualCDO. com
O: 631-446.4400 x501
Cell: 631-245-0980

James Harris
Westside Public Relations
Jharris @ westsidepr. com
Cell: 310-780-7107
O: 310-398-5565

###

Harbor-UCLA Joint Venture Reception to Feature the Latest in Brain Injury Diagnostics and Research

Harbor-UCLA Joint Venture Reception to Feature the Latest in Brain Injury Diagnostics and Research

The Harbor-UCLA Faculty Practice Plan has entered into a joint venture with Brain Matters, Inc., a Denver, Colorado based brain imaging company, to operate a state-of-the - art brain function imaging facility at the Harbor-UCLA Professional Building in Torrance, California.

Torrance, CA (PRWEB) June 17, 2005

The Harbor-UCLA Faculty Practice Plan has entered into a joint venture with Brain Matters, Inc., a Denver, Colorado based brain imaging company, to operate a state-of-the - art brain function imaging facility at the Harbor-UCLA Professional Building in Torrance, California.

The Harbor-UCLA Faculty Practice Plan is the private practice arm of the full-time teaching physicians at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. The Faculty Practice Plan is dedicated to making the expertise of these board-certified, world renowned medical specialists available to private practice patients seeking expert second medical opinions and other highly skilled diagnostic and treatment services.

The June 30th kick-off reception will feature keynote speaker, Ismael Mena, MD, Professor Emeritus of the UCLA School of Medicine and former Chief of Nuclear Medicine at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr Mena has retained closes ties with staff at that program from his current base of operations in Chile. His talk at the June 30th kick-off reception will highlight leading edge applications of brain imaging technology in the fields of Neurology, Psychiatry and other areas of medicine – emphasizing practical applications for community physicians. The program will unveil the joint-venture plans that will provide the communities of Los Angeles and the nation the clinical benefits of high resolution brain SPECT functional imaging. The clinic anticipates opening its doors to new patients in July 2005. For more information please visit www. spectscan. com

This facility will utilize Brain SPECT Imaging to evaluate patients for neurologic issues such as Traumatic Brain Injury, Alzheimer’s Disease/Dementia, Stroke and Seizures as well as complex neurobehavioral concerns including ADHD, Autism, Depression, Bipolar and Anxiety Disorders. High resolution SPECT brain scans assist physicians & clinicians in properly evaluating, diagnosing, and treating patients struggling with neurological disorders and neurobehavioral issues – enabling physicians to formulate effective treatment responses to many clinically challenging cases. The new Brain Imaging program to be launched in Torrance employs high resolution brain imaging software that has been successfully implemented by Brain Matters at their Denver, Colorado facility, together with the high resolution Brain SPECT camera currently based at the Harbor-UCLA Professional Building.

More than four hundred physicians and other professionals from the Los Angeles area are expected to attend this reception event. Any community members connected with brain health issues are welcome by R. S.V. P. and it is anticipated that many professionals from other parts of the United States will also be in attendance.

Event Date: Thursday, June 30, 2005 

Time: 5:30 – 9:30 p. m.

5:30 p. m. Cocktail and Food Reception 

7:00 p. m. Introductions, by S. Gregory Hipskind, MD, PhD and Theodore A. Henderson, MD, PhD

8:00 p. m. Keynote Speech. by Ismael Mena, MD, Professor Emeritus of the UCLA School of Medicine

Where: Hilton Torrance South Bay, Crystal Ballroom, 21333 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance California 90503

RSVP: by June 23, 2005 – Call 1-877-570-2650 or Email: rsvp@spectscan. com

# # #

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Shure Finds New Voice; Goes 'Universal' With Integrated Document Technologies; Legendary Audio Equipment Maker Launches Aggressive E-Business Strategy and Centralizes Knowledge Management

Shure Finds New Voice; Goes 'Universal' With Integrated Document Technologies; Legendary Audio Equipment Maker Launches Aggressive E-Business Strategy and Centralizes Knowledge Management

Shure Incorporated, a world-wide leader in producing professional and consumer audio products, launched a new, "universal" content management tool. It did so with the Assistance of Integrated Document Technologies, Inc. (IDT). The new system is fueling Shure's e-business strategy. It allows all of the company's information to be stored, accessed and managed on the Web.

Itasca, Ill. (PRWEB) September 13, 2007

The audio electronics company that has enabled people to express themselves for generations has found a new way to express itself on a global scale.

Shure Incorporated of Niles, Ill., with the assistance of Itasca, Ill.-based Integrated Document Technologies (IDT), recently launched a new, "universal" content management tool that is fueling its e-business strategy and allowing all of the company's information to be stored, accessed and managed on the Web.

Shure is a global leader in producing professional and consumer audio products. It is best known for the microphones it has produced since 1925 -- considered the gold standard by musicians worldwide.

Singing in Several Languages

The need for better knowledge management coincided with the Shure's aggressive e-business strategy. "With operations in seven countries, we needed to access content globally and efficiently," says John Purnell, Software Development Systems Specialist, Global IS and leader of the project at Shure. "There are three global websites with in-language copy and about 40 single web pages on our site with some in-language copy."

Once its IS team mapped out a plan for selecting and rolling-out a new system, Shure enlisted the expertise of IDT, a national provider of integrated enterprise content management solutions. Assisting with system specification, implementation and integration, Shure and IDT selected the Stellent Universal Content Management (UCM) offering. 
The selection of Stellent UCM, which offers modules for specific applications like Document and Web Content Management, enabled IDT to replace Shure's existing electronic content management system, and begin migrating its headquarters from a paper-based to a web-based system.

"Creating a knowledge management repository that is accessible via the Web - essentially linking our internal enterprise content to web content - made this system a perfect fit," says Purnell. "The Stellent solution is an end-to-end, integrated Enterprise Content Management strategy. It wraps up many of our needs, including self-management of content for our web and Intranet sites, digital asset management for our intellectual property; content lifecycle management, and document imaging and transactional workflow for our SAP integration."

Shure ROI:
Since the rollout in July 2006, the benefits have been noticeable. From a knowledge management standpoint, Purnell estimates that more than thirty thousand documents were incorporated into the system in the first month. Shure is steadily moving forward with its corporate strategy to have the entire global enterprise using Stellent for its content management needs.

As it relates to the launch of Shure's newly-designed website and its e-business strategy, the new system is serving its purpose as a centralized, unifying management tool. "The site is now truly global and integrated in multiple languages," says Joe Hasselwander, Manager of the E-Marketing team at Shure. "This is giving us tremendous flexibility, especially worldwide. It's allowing us to introduce new products and branding initiatives faster, and allows U. S. customers to go to our website to make purchases, making it easier to do business with us."

Internal adoption of the system has also been strong. The content management benefits enable the web content managers to manage and update information more easily and they have also made the site more accurate and accessible to Shure's channel partners.

"We're harnessing our global information resources through this system," says Purnell. That's helping make the most our staff time and talents."

An in-depth case history about how IDT helped Shure develop its content management tool is available at www. idt-inc. com/shure. pdf (http://www. idt-inc. com/shure. pdf).

About IDT, Inc.:
IDT, Inc. (www. idt-inc. com) helps small, mid-market and enterprise firms achieve maximum efficiency by offering integrated ECM, ERP and CRM solutions.

From IDT Complete™, which allows clients to achieve both efficiency and compliance by integrating ERP and ECM, to pre-engineered IDT Pilot Packs™ that ensure quick return on investment, IDT uses phased and flexible integration of industry-leading software applications to
Place the power of scalable systems at clients' fingertips.

IDT's full range of integrated offerings include software applications, hardware, and systems for scanning and imaging; services for document and materials conversion, storage and electronic archiving; systems integration and support; and strategic consulting for quality assurance. IDT maintains a broad client base that includes government and state agencies, life sciences and
Health care, manufacturing and distribution companies, and financial services and insurance organizations. For more information, call 1-877-SCAN-IDT or visit www. idt-inc. com.

About Shure Incorporated:
Founded in 1925, Shure Incorporated (www. shure. com) is widely acknowledged as the world's leading manufacturer of microphones and audio electronics. Over the years, the company has designed and produced a wide variety of high-quality professional and consumer audio products, providing a vehicle for an individual's personal sound. Shure's diverse product line includes world-class microphones, premier wireless audio systems, consumer earphones and mobile phone headsets, problem-solving mixers, digital signal processors, personal monitor systems, and top-rated phonograph cartridges. Today, Shure products are used wherever high-quality audio performance is a top priority, in a wide variety of industries, markets, and settings.

Shure Incorporated corporate headquarters are located in Niles, IL in the United States. Regional sales and marketing offices are located in: Heilbronn, Germany; London; and in Hong Kong.

###

Saturday, August 2, 2008

The Second Edition of the Directory of Homeland Security is scheduled for release the last week of June

The Second Edition of the Directory of Homeland Security is scheduled for release the last week of June

Corporate Marketing Associates has once again been tapped to market and distribute the newly revised and updated 2003 edition of the Directory of Homeland Security. The Directory will be available the last week in June. Pre-Publish pricing is available until June 20th. The directory is a publication of CapWire, Inc., a Washington D. C. based news and publishing company.

Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) June 1, 2003 -

Corporate Marketing Associates, a Dallas based corporate communications outsourcing company has once again been tapped by CapWire, Inc., a Washington, D. C. technology news and publishing company to market and distribute its latest publication. The newly researched and completely fresh 2003 edition of the Directory of Homeland Security will be available for shipping the last week in June.

The directory is divided into three sections Federal, State, and Company. The federal section will feature the newly formed Department of Homeland Security and include all sections and contacts within the new department. The 2003 edition will include updated descriptions of "what's new" for all the major governmental departments. The updated directory will also include all other departments and agencies within the federal government dedicated to homeland defense. The state section will contain all key homeland defense offices and contacts for each individual state. And, finally the company section will include a cross section of companies selling technologies and services to the government for homeland security purposes. All of these sections provide descriptions of the office function, key officials, web sites, phone numbers, addresses, and comprehensive procurement contact information.

The directory includes the name, brief description and contact information on over 500 different government entities involved in providing various functions of homeland security, ranging from health preparations to airport security to law enforcement. Key agencies in the directory include the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the Office of Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It also includes a list of organizations, think tanks, and companies involved in homeland security.

The 2003 of the Directory of Homeland Security will be available for delivery the last week in June. Pre-publish pricing is available until June 20th. The Directory is available in the printed hard copy format as well as an electronic version on compact disk and can be purchased at http://www. corpmark. net/homelanddirectory. htm (http://www. corpmark. net/homelanddirectory. htm).

Hotel Chocolat Selects Webcredible To Sweeten The Online Experience

Hotel Chocolat Selects Webcredible To Sweeten The Online Experience

Luxury chocolate retailer Hotel Chocolat has selected leading usability company, Webcredible, for usability testing and consultancy on its website. By working with Webcredible, Hotel Chocolat expects to significantly enhance the user experience on its website and increase the sales conversion rate.

(PRWEB) August 20, 2006

Luxury chocolate retailer Hotel Chocolat has selected leading usability company, Webcredible, for usability testing and consultancy on its website: By working with Webcredible, Hotel Chocolat expects to significantly enhance the user experience on its website and increase the sales conversion rate.

Hotel Chocolat sells high quality chocolates through its website, catalogue and 12 stores in the UK. Recognising that up to 83 per cent of internet users leave a website because they can’t find what they are looking for[1], Hotel Chocolat has commissioned Webcredible to carry out a comprehensive usability evaluation of its website, in order to provide practical recommendations for usability improvements.

Once the recommendations have been implemented, Webcredible will conduct full usability testing on the new Hotel Chocolat website at the consultancy’s purpose-built testing suite. Eight users from Hotel Chocolat’s target demographic will be enlisted to complete a series of activities on the site, so the ‘real world’ user experience can be evaluated.

“The Hotel Chocolat website is our primary sales channel so we want to ensure that visitors can quickly and easily find and buy what they want, ” explained Chris Bishop, Digital Marketing Manager, Hotel Chocolat.

“It is essential that online retailers maximise the usability of their website in order to convert browsers into actual customers,” said Trenton Moss, Director, Webcredible. “By undertaking an initial usability evaluation, online retailers can use the analysis to carry out many quick, yet high impact, fixes to ‘on-the-surface’ issues. The subsequent usability testing then pinpoints the blackspots at the core of the site.”

For further press information please contact:

Kathryn Cotsworth or Louise Andrews

Wildfire PR

Tel: 0208 339 4420

About Hotel Chocolat:

Hotel Chocolat is the British-owned phenomenon brazenly committed to real, authentic chocolate. Founders Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris had one goal in mind when they started over 10 years ago – to make a better type of chocolate available to UK consumers bored by the mediocrity of the chocolate available in supermarkets and on the high street.

Using authentic, wholesome ingredients is key to Hotel Chocolat’s success, a position that is strengthened with our historic cocoa plantation, Rabot Estate, in the West Indies. This exciting new step allows us to make a unique and exciting connection between you the consumer and the cocoa plantation. Becoming an origin chocolatier is a large investment and full of risk – no wonder no other UK chocolate maker has made the same commitment to real chocolate.

About Webcredible:

Webcredible is a UK-based web usability and accessibility consultancy, dedicated to making websites easy to use, accessible to all and ultimately more effective. Launched in 2003, Webcredible has enjoyed year-on-year growth of over 300 per cent and is now one of the most respected consultancies in the usability and accessibility industry.

Webcredible works with a long list of private and public sector clients based in the UK, Europe and North America including T-Mobile, Norwich Union, Yamaha, the BBC and the World Health Organization.

###

Friday, August 1, 2008

Sixth Annual ION Venture Forum Announces Call for Presentations

Sixth Annual ION Venture Forum Announces Call for Presentations

Selected tech companies to present to over 120 top-tier venture capitalists.

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) June 12, 2007

The Atlanta CEO Council, an exclusive organization for CXOs, today announced a call for prospective companies to present at the ION Venture Forum to be held September 25-26 at the Buckhead Ritz-Carlton, Hotel in Atlanta.

Now in its sixth year, the ION Venture Forum is considered the South's premier investor showcase for emerging technology companies. Close to a dozen Georgia-based companies will have the opportunity to present before more than 120 top-tier venture capitalists and private equity investors anticipated to be in attendance.

The ION Venture Forum will consider technology companies in all stages of growth - from early stage to mature - and from diverse markets including enterprise software, digital media, communications infrastructures, financial services, business intelligence, healthcare IT and others.

"This is a great opportunity for Georgia-based companies seeking exposure to some of the nation's premier VCs," said Brendan McGuire, senior relationship banker with RBC Centura Bank and Co-chair of the ION Venture Forum. "We're especially seeking 'fresh deals' - innovative technology companies that have not presented at a venture forum in the last six months."

Past presenting companies have raised over $265 million in venture funding after their participation in the ION VentureForum. Previous presenters include AirDefense, AllConnect, BioFisica, CardioMEMS, CipherTrust, EGT, EZ Prints, Jacket Micro Devices, JBoss, Pharmasset, PurDigital Media, Qcept Technologies, Recordant and TerraGo Technologies. Past presenters including CipherTrust and JBoss were sold to Secure Computing and Red Hat, respectively, for a combined value of over $500 million.

In addition to the hottest technology companies from across Georgia, the ION Venture Forum will feature speakers representing enterprise CIO's, an invitation-only dinner, and presentations from university researchers.

Companies interested in applying to participate in the event should submit an application online at www. ionventureforum. com.

For more information on the Atlanta CEO Council, membership information, and its upcoming schedule for 2007, please visit www. atlantaceo. org.

About the Atlanta CEO Council
The Atlanta CEO Council is an exclusive organization for C-level and senior executives that has been serving the community since 1999. The Council membership is comprised of more than 1,000 CEOs and senior executives (CIOs, CFOs, COOs, CTOs) from leading technology and related companies from across the Southeast. The Atlanta CEO Council focuses on the strategic development and support of the technology community in the metro Atlanta area. Members of the Atlanta CEO Council represent companies that employ more than 50,000 people in the Atlanta region and generate over $10 billion in direct annual revenue for the local economy.

###

State’s Rural Health Providers Eagerly Await Electronic Health Records Rule

State’s Rural Health Providers Eagerly Await Electronic Health Records Rule

Colorado Rural Health Center Gets Ready for Release of Meaningful Use Rules

Aurora, CO (PRWEB) July 14, 2010

Colorado’s rural health providers, along with other healthcare providers nationally, are eagerly awaiting the expected release of the “meaningful use” rules from the federal government. The rules will finalize and clarify which providers are eligible for incentive funding, and define what criteria Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems have to meet in order to be reimbursed for some of the purchase costs by the government.

Implementation of EHR systems has become so critical for health care providers, and for many rural providers the incentive funding will be essential in order to be able to afford adopting technology. Figures vary, but generally it is understood that less than one-third of Colorado providers currently have EHR systems. The remaining two-thirds of providers are focused on getting the systems, but have to overcome financial and technological barriers to make that happen. This challenge is heightened among rural providers who often struggle to find the professional expertise needed for EHR adoption.

“The Colorado Rural Health Center is committed to supporting our members in achieving meaningful use of EHR which will provide funding to many of Colorado’s most resource-strapped rural health providers,” said Lou Ann Wilroy, executive director for the Colorado Rural Health Center (CRHC). Through their proactive advocacy and support efforts on behalf of Colorado rural health providers, CRHC is focusing on ensuring that providers are eligible for resources to successfully implement EHR systems to improve business processes and achieve high quality of care outcomes.

The meaningful use rules, expected to be released very soon, will provide detailed information regarding the functionality requirements EHR systems must be able to accomplish in order for providers to receive incentive funding. With the availability of these rules, CRHC’s Technology for Healthcare Excellence (THE) Consortium will educate its members on the final rule through monthly Webinars.

“Through support from THE Consortium, providers and hospitals can rest assured that they are making sound business decisions that will have a positive impact on their ability to engage and support staff and provide the highest quality of care possible,” Wilroy said. CRHC will be able to directly assist clinics and hospitals as a sub-contract recipient of the federal Regional Extension Center funding.

Over 25 rural hospitals, rural and safety net clinics and Critical Access Hospitals are currently participating in THE Consortium. Providers are welcome to join, and clinics affiliated with CRHC partner organizations including ClinicNET, are also encouraged to participate. For more information on THE Consortium, please contact cf@coruralhealth. org.

About The Colorado Rural Health Center
CRHC was founded in 1991 as Colorado’s nonprofit State Office of Rural Health. CRHC works with Federal, state and local partners to offer services and resources to rural healthcare providers, facilities and communities. CRHC has a diverse and inclusive statewide constituency of over 3,500 people and organizations. For more on the Colorado Rural Health Center call 303-832-7493 or go to www. coruralhealth. org.

###