Anson Group launches two new practice areas in healthcare information technology

Experienced IT Executive Expands Life Science Consulting Company’s Leadership Team

(INDIANAPOLIS IN) October 12, 2009 - The Anson Group is pleased to announce the launch of two new practice areas designed to leverage our core competencies  Connected Healthcare and Advanced Biomedical Communication.

The use of modern information and communication technology offers tremendous opportunities to improve the $2.2 trillion healthcare industry. Healthcare provider enterprise networks, medical device systems, remote patient monitoring via cellular and internet based connections, and telemedicine all require manufacturers to connect to these networks and deliver additional value and more cost effective care, all while maintaining our current rigorous profiles of quality and safety. In order for improvements to occur, the healthcare industry and the communication technology industries need to better understand how to work together and operate in a networked environment.

In an effort to meet these emerging health information technology needs, Anson Group is pleased to announce the expansion of our core services reach to now include Connected Healthcare and Advanced Biomedical Communication. These new services are designed to help clients successfully embrace and manage the interoperability requirements associated with the future of networked healthcare technology. The creation of these two new practice areas, which are built around Anson Group’s core business, will extend the value and availability of our highly regarded consulting services. Existing clients who strive to understand the additional requirements of operating in a networked environment, as well as new entrants to the market from the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer electronics industries will benefit from these expanded services.

Connected Healthcare
Today, two-thirds of the world population is connected via mobile phones or the Internet. These infrastructure components have resulted in a focused shift to the challenge and impact of connecting medical technology to these networks. Accessing patient data is much different than being able to update a social network site or download music. As companies from other industries enter the healthcare industry, they will require reliable, quality engineering systems that reflect a higher degree of responsibility to healthcare consumers.

Anson Group will leverage our knowledge and consulting expertise in the areas of complex medical technology, rigorous quality systems, and regulatory requirements of the FDA and other agencies to help clients effectively address the unique challenges that exist when connecting their medical technology into a global network. Anson Group’s deep industry experience is vital to companies entering from other industries who want to succeed in the healthcare industry.

Advanced Biomedical Communication
More than connectivity, advanced biomedical communications gives healthcare providers the ability to make treatment decisions based on real time feedback from medical devices. Recent advances in medical and wireless technology offer hospitals and their physicians the ability to use implantable or body-worn devices to improve the level of patient care. Developing standards in the acute care space are being defined and tested and medical devices need to be included as part of a healthcare provider’s enterprise network, not just a standalone network between a single device and a general purpose computer.

This emerging practice area will utilize and enhance Anson Group’s vast experience and knowledge of high end medical equipment, combination products, and the more exacting standards of FDA for critical care products. Clients will benefit from the Anson Group’s expertise in the integration of medical devices into a healthcare provider’s enterprise network.

“We are at the very early and exciting stages of a sea change in the business models long associated with therapeutic and diagnostic treatments”, says Gerald Richardson, co-founder and Managing Partner of Anson Group. “From product development to post market support, the closed loop, tightly managed world of medical device development now must coexist in the open and expanding world of healthcare information technology. Anson Group is ready to help our existing and new clients embrace the new reality of Connected Health without comprising in their quality systems operations or in compliance with existing regulations.”

Anson Group Expands Leadership team

Overseeing these emerging practice areas, Anson Group is pleased to announce the addition of Dane Stout to our senior management team. Stout will focus on the development, expansion, and integration of these new practice areas into the existing Anson Group service offerings, as well as, helping new clients from the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer electronics industries enter the marketplace successfully. He brings over 25 years of experience working in the information technology industry, including the past 7 years specifically in the deployment of information technology in the health care and life sciences industries. Stout joins Anson Group from Sun Microsystems, Inc., where he most recently served as the Global Market Segment Manager for both the Healthcare Providers and Life Science Industries.

About Anson Group

Headquartered in Carmel Indiana, Anson Group is a minority-owned independent consulting organization with over 14 years experience as a leading advisor in providing services and strategies for FDA product approval and compliance for devices, drugs, biologics, and combination products. Anson Group’s team of experienced industry experts tailors both enterprise strategies and clearly-defined action plans that help its clients address crucial issues throughout the product life cycle. Anson works with clients in the United States, Europe, and Asia, from global pharmaceutical manufacturers to small pre-IPO or VC biotechnology and medical device start-ups.