Lexington, Mass.-based Imprivata has acquired Tampa, Fla.-based HT Systems for $19 million in cash.
Imprivata is a health IT security company providing authentication and access management solutions for the healthcare industry. HT Systems provides biometric patient identification technology, such as its PatientSecure palm scanners that distinguish patients by analyzing the vein patterns in their hands.
The acquisition allows Imprivata to enter the patient identification market, a growing market which Imprivata estimates is currently valued at $2 billion worldwide.
"The acquisition of HT Systems represents our first strategic investment in expanding our market to patients. Patient engagement is going to become a critical part in the providing of care across the healthcare continuum," said Omar Hussain, president and CEO of Imprivata. "Without systems for secure patient identification and access, meaningful patient engagement across the care continuum will be nearly impossible."
More articles on health IT:
Partners HealthCare falls victim to email phishing attack compromising 3,300 patients' data
8 recent vendor contracts, go-lives
Epic and athenahealth named leaders in portal adoption, NextGen Healthcare launches population health tool and Vocera launches Apple Watch app — 9 key notes on health IT companies