FAIRFAX, Va.—The Society of Interventional Radiology and Custom Computer Specialists Inc. have entered into an exclusive, long-term licensing agreement to promote innovation and the development of HI-IQ®, the leading information management system for interventional radiology.
"We are thrilled to have this opportunity to help interventionalists to become more competitive, track outcomes and monitor the quality of care they deliver," said Emily DeMerchant, Custom's healthcare practice director. "Our focus will continue to be on helping our customers use HI-IQ to deliver the best possible patient care, improve departmental workflow, and provide consistent, accurate clinical data analysis and information exchange," she noted.
SIR and Custom have recently unveiled innovations such as Hosted HI-IQ, a Web-based version of HI-IQ that can be accessed from any Internet-enabled computer and requires no special operating system, servers or workstations. In addition, SIR and Custom recently launched a new version of the product that enables physicians to comply with Part IV (practice quality improvement) requirements for maintenance of certification.
"The Society of Interventional Radiology works to improve health care on behalf of—and with—interventional radiologists, physicians who specialize in minimally invasive treatments, while Custom's strength is product development and innovation. This licensing agreement, which enables each of us to focus on our strengths, will allow HI-IQ to continue to evolve and to meet future interventional radiology needs," said SIR President James F. Benenati, M.D., FSIR, who represents the national organization of nearly 4,500 doctors, scientists and allied health professionals.
"We have immense respect for the Society of Interventional Radiology as a leader, innovator and standard-bearer in interventional radiology. Together, Custom and SIR are an unrivaled team. Our ongoing partnership will drive innovation to benefit the interventional radiology field," added DeMerchant.
SIR and Custom have worked together since 1993, when the society engaged the company to develop HI-IQ on its behalf. "Custom has been a strong partner, understanding our members, the society's needs, the product, the IR market and the competition," said Benenati. He added that Custom has demonstrated that its management philosophy, development approach, technical resources and sales strategy will enable successful expansion of HI-IQ's presence in the IR market.
As part of the agreement with SIR, Custom has acquired ConexSys Inc., SIR's subsidiary formed to manage the HI-IQ business. ConexSys, which will keep its name, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Custom. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed.
About the Society of Interventional Radiology
Interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments. They offer the most in-depth knowledge of the least invasive treatments available coupled with diagnostic and clinical experience across all specialties. They use X-ray, MRI and other imaging to advance a catheter in the body, such as in an artery, to treat at the source of the disease internally. As the inventors of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were first used in the legs to treat peripheral arterial disease, interventional radiologists pioneered minimally invasive modern medicine. Today, interventional oncology is a growing specialty area of interventional radiology. Interventional radiologists can deliver treatments for cancer directly to the tumor without significant side effects or damage to nearby normal tissue.
Many conditions that once required surgery can be treated less invasively by interventional radiologists. Interventional radiology treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery. Visit www.SIRweb.org.
About HI-IQ®
HI-IQ® is an integrated quality assurance, scheduling and inventory management solution for interventional radiology (IR) departments. HI-IQ data enables the interventional radiologist to monitor outcomes to improve quality of care, reduce procedure costs, improve communication and streamline workflow, meeting the comprehensive needs of IR physicians and practice managers. HI-IQ has held a market leadership position since 1993 and is currently used by 31 percent of SIR member physicians. The software was recently recognized by the Advisory Board Company, a professional and technology services firm serving 2,500 of the country's preeminent hospitals and health care systems, as a software solution for real-time intelligence that helps IR departments refine operational processes. Visit www.HI-IQ.com.
About Custom Computer Specialists Inc.
Custom Computer Specialists is an IT service firm that helps clients get maximum value from their technology investments. Custom's unique combination of privately owned flexibility and extensive IT capabilities empowers it to create client-centric solutions that deliver expected results. Visit www.customonline.com.