With an eye on its population health management portfolio, Philips Healthcare has acquired Wellcentive, a Georgia-based software company with a knack for value-based applications.

Wellcentive’s technology will be integrated into Philips’ HealthSuite cloud to help hospitals stay competitive in a market that is forcing them to make the most of every penny on the dollar.

“Wellcentive has the expertise and the capabilities to import, aggregate and analyze a rich amount of data,” Steve Klink, director of communications and senior press officer at Philips, told HCB News.

“From claims data, clinical data from an electronic medical record, and financial data, they can analyze patient populations and conclude the types of subgroups and what type of care they may benefit from,” he said.

The acquisition will give Philips a stronger foothold in a population health management market estimated to be worth $31.63 billion by 2020, according to Markets and Markets. The analysts attribute that growth (which is projected at a 23.2 percent CAGR) to the value-based tenets of the Affordable Care Act.

As that report states, "a health care facility facing problems with revenue can be considered a catalyst that drives a health care organization to seek a population health management solution." In today's health care industry there are few institutions to which that "catalyst" would not apply.

“With this strategic acquisition, we will strengthen our Population Health Management business and its leadership, as health systems gradually shift from volume [fee-for-service] to value-based care, and provide more preventative and chronic care services outside of the hospital,” said Jeroen Tas, CEO of Philips’ Connected Care & Health Informatics, in a statement.

In a survey HIMSS recently conducted on behalf of Philips, half of 105 providers acknowledged plans to use cloud-based technology in big data analytics. The survey also showed that the biggest challenge hospitals face when moving toward population health management is care coordination.

“Wellcentive’s solutions will provide our customers with the ability to collect data from large populations, detect patterns, assess risks and then deploy care programs tailored to the needs of specific groups,” Tas said.

When the HIMSS survey participants were asked how they plan to spend resources in the future, 52.5 percent said "mobile wellness monitoring," 46.5 percent said "aging well," and 45.5 percent noted "home monitoring devices" as their top priorities. Additionally, other core challenges that they face include financial investment (21.4 percent) and data management (18.4 percent).

“Combining forces with Philips and its broad portfolio of health technologies and global reach will create a great foundation to accelerate growth in connected care — from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care,” said Tom Zajac, CEO of Wellcentive, who will lead the new Population Health Management business group, in a statement.

“[This will enable] consumers, providers and health organizations to benefit from our combined, stronger offering in population health management," he said.

Currently, Philips' care programs for population health management include the Intensive Ambulatory Care (eIAC) program, which combines telehealth technologies and population health management software to help monitor and coach patients at home. It is aimed at improving patient outcomes, care team efficiency, and preventing patients from entering the hospital at times when it can be safely avoided.

Wellcentive's website asserts, "we will be the undisputed leader in population health management through unmatched innovation and partnership with our customers, transforming health care and driving superior clinical, financial and human outcomes." Founded in 2005, the company may now be closer than ever to realizing that promise.