MILWAUKEE, March 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Merge Healthcare (Nasdaq: MRGE; TSX: MRG), a leading medical imaging software and services provider, today announced that the name of its North American direct business unit will be changed from Merge eMed to Merge Healthcare North America. Merge Healthcare’s three business units are:
— Merge Healthcare North America, providing RIS, PACS and Clinical
Applications and related services to hospitals, imaging centers and
specialty clinics in North America— Merge Healthcare EMEA, providing RIS, PACS, Clinical Applications and
Electronic Patient Records in Europe, the Middle East and Africa— Cedara Software, developers of innovative medical imaging software and
custom-engineered solutions for the global OEM market
“The name ‘Merge Healthcare’ signifies finality of the merger between the North American businesses of Merge eFilm and eMed Technologies that took place in 2005,” says Kenneth Rardin, Merge Healthcare CEO. “More importantly, this move will help us to solidify our leadership position within the industry, to capitalize on our growing international presence, and to minimize market confusion that often occurs when multiple entities come together via merger or acquisition.”
“The shift follows a significant reorganization initiative that has unfolded over the past few months to better align our cost and revenue structures, reduce operational redundancies across the organization, and optimize synergies and economies of scale from the 2005 merger,” Rardin states.
With strong market recognition and a solid and growing base of satisfied customers, Cedara Software’s name remains unchanged, Rardin explains. “Our Cedara unit is shifting end-user-focused business to its Merge Healthcare counterparts, and will now focus exclusively on providing technology and custom engineering to global imaging hardware and software vendors,” he says.
“Merge Healthcare will continue as a leader in the medical imaging and information management industry by leveraging depth of product innovation, quality and speed of distribution, and high levels of satisfaction among a broad customer base,” states Rardin. “Our organization has evolved over time from a single-product technology company to a global provider of end-to-end imaging solutions designed to meet the business and clinical needs of the OEM and end-user markets. The Merge Healthcare name reinforces more than 20 years of leadership in imaging solutions and builds on the cumulative successes of multiple individual entities — with a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Concludes Rardin, “We are leveraging our brand equity while establishing clear messages that build upon the strengths of our merged organizations, thus delivering value to our stakeholders — employees, customers and shareholders.”
Merge Healthcare is a market leader in the development and delivery of medical imaging and information management software and services. Our innovative software solutions use leading-edge imaging software technologies that accelerate market delivery for our OEM customers, while our end-user solutions improve our customers’ productivity and enhance the quality of patient care they provide. For additional information, visit our website at http://www.mergehealthcare.com/.
