[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]As part of its continued efforts to strengthen and expand its service capabilities across the healthcare continuum, Quintiles today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Encore Health Resources (Encore). Encore is a leader in the health-information analytics and technology services industry focused on healthcare providers. Through its consulting services and solutions, Encore assists customers with a wide range of strategy, advisory, implementation, process-redesign, optimization, analytics and performance-improvement initiatives.

Founded in 2009, Encore has more than 300 employees located throughout North America, including approximately 250 consultants. Its primary business is focused on implementation and advisory services around electronic health records (EHR). The addition of these capabilities will enhance Quintiles’ EHR expertise, which is becoming increasingly important as biopharmaceutical customers, payers and providers focus on measuring outcomes based on real-world performance in terms of clinical effectiveness and value.

“Today’s announcement signifies the increasing importance of leveraging EHR and real-world information to inform our customers and improve their probability of success,” said Tom Pike, chief executive officer at Quintiles. “Encore has significant EHR expertise, strong relationships with many large U.S. provider networks and academic medical centers as well as experienced consultants, proven tools, and methodologies. It will be a key strategic addition for our business that will extend our services suite and allow us to work with Encore to strengthen its provider-focused solutions.”

Biopharmaceutical companies are increasingly interested in the “real-world” outcomes associated with their medicines to enable optimal market access. Encore’s expertise with hospitals and hospital information will help Quintiles extend its service offerings meaningfully for biopharmaceutical companies.

By joining Quintiles, Encore will be able to leverage Quintiles’ breadth and depth of capabilities as well as its global scale to accelerate Encore’s vision of enhancing clinical outcomes through data-driven performance improvement. Additionally, Encore can utilize the expertise of Quintiles’ 950 medical doctors, 900 Ph.D.’s, as well as its nurse educators and world-class biostatisticians to help hospitals and providers solve their most pressing population health challenges.

“Today is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Encore,” said Dana Sellers, chief executive officer, Encore. “Encore was founded with a focus on driving value through data to improve performance and clinical outcomes. I believe that this focus and our vision for the future align well with Quintiles. We will be joining a global leader, and we look forward to working together to help deliver further advancements in healthcare.”

The transaction, which is subject to standard and customary closing conditions, is expected to close later this quarter. Upon completion of this transaction, Encore will join Quintiles’ Integrated Healthcare Services segment and be known as “Encore, A Quintiles Company.”