eClinicalWorks Courts Consumers With Health App Investment

Courtesy photo eClinicalWorks CEO Girish Navani said he expects the company's new Health & Online Wellness business to be profitable in 2015, following an investment worth $75 million.

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By Emily Micucci

Westborough’s eClinicalWorks has positioned itself as a market leader in health care IT by tailoring innovative products to the changing market.

Today, that means reaching out to health care consumers, who are expected to become involved in choosing where to seek treatment as federal health care reform ushers in a new, value-based system in which more people will have health insurance, and pressure from payers to curb costs mounts.

CEO Navani Expects Quick Profits From $50M Investment

That’s why eClinicalWorks’ recently announced that it is investing $50 million in its Health & Online Wellness (healow) business, a free mobile app service for patients launched in February that will be significantly expanded over the next year.

The company plans to add 100 new software developers, bringing the the healow business to 175 employees, and the total investment to $75 million since the launch.

eClinicalWorks CEO Girish Navani called the investment a “logical extension” of the company’s electronic health records (EHR) business, and one that will deliver a speedy return on investment. With fourteen million people using healow tools now, Navani said the company will scale that figure up through its $50 million investment.

“We expect this business to be profitable in 2015,” Navani said in an interview, noting that, like the rest of the business, eClinical’s healow segment is privately-funded by the company founders.

Navani said patient engagement will be as important as finding cost-effective ways to manage larger patient populations under health care reform, so reaching consumers through a free mobile app that allows patients to access their health records remotely makes good business sense for eClinical, which counts numerous hospitals, health centers, private physician practices, and even the NFL as EHR customers.

Planning For The Next Phase

Navani expects the healow investment to usher in a new growth phase for eClinicalWorks. Nasani said he expects eClinicalWorks to be a “dominant force” in the market in 2015, with the company likely hiring more software developers project managers and product managers to keep pace.

The company already expanded its headquarters on Technology Drive in Westborough summer 2012, purchasing a 61,000-square-foot building to house new employees. The company previous had 100,000 square –feet of space.

Navani said eClinicalWorks can buy more space if need be. The bigger challenge is finding qualified software engineers to support the growing business, as they tend to be hard to come by. But Navani said the company is ready for it.

“It will be exciting times,” Navani said. “It’s good to be having those problems.”