Looking to distance itself from similar-sounding competitors, the iMedica Corporation has announced a new name and launched a new Web site.
The Carrollton, Texas-based developer of electronic health record and practice management systems for physician practices announced that it will now be known as Aprima Medical Software, Inc., and that the Aprima name will be used for the company’s EHR/PM solution. The company also unveiled its new Web presence at aprimaEHR.com.
Michael Nissenbaum, the company’s president and CEO, said the name change serves two purposes: It concludes a long, legal battle with another company over the iMedica name, and it gives the company a more distinct identity – an important goal as the healthcare industry gears up for reforms and the promise of billions in federal funding to spur healthcare IT adoption.
“We are seeing tremendous growth, and the timing just seemed right,” he said. “We have to be creative in determining how to get our product into the physician’s hands.”
Nissenbaum said the key to Aprima’s success lies in the company’s philosophy of catering to the physician. He said the company is constantly refining its products, based on physician input, and realizes that physicians are, by nature, hesitant to embrace technological changes.
“This is a disruptive technology, the adoption of an EHR. It’s not easy for them,” he said. “We have to recognize that.”
In June, Aprima was named the preferred EHR vendor by NJ Physicians, a New Jersey-based physician advocacy organization with roughly 1,600 members, as well as the preferred EHR/PM vendor for the Physicians’ Organization of the University Medical Center at Princeton, which has more than 500 members.
“In choosing iMedica, we paid special attention to the company’s ability to adjust its solutions to the ever-evolving needs of physicians,” said John Verdoni, president of the Princeton PO, in a June 9 press release. “For more than two years we watched iMedica update and improve its solutions to align with the needs that many member physicians in our organization had voiced.”
“NJ Physicians evaluated numerous systems and certified iMedica as one of the very best in its class,” said NJP Executive Director Jay Hedden in a June 17 press release. “Many physicians have questions and concerns about electronic health records. The goal of NJ Physicians is to help them select the best system, obtain the best price and start enjoying the great benefits of EHR technology.”
