Orion Health fit and well

Orion Health chief executive Ian McCrae. Photo / Kenny Rodger

An Auckland-based software exporter is in good health, announcing a 44 per cent jump in revenue over the past year.

Orion Health produces systems which allow doctors and specialists to store and look up patient records online, ensuring they have quick and easy access to a patient's medical history.

As well as strong top-line growth, the company announced yesterday it had employed 70 per cent more staff during the year to April. It also opened new centres in Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom and France in the past 12 months.

Orion Health now has 470 employees, spread across 11 offices worldwide.

"Despite the challenging economic times, we are going from strength to strength - entering new markets as well as consolidating our existing ones," said founder and chief executive Ian McCrae.

A growth area for the software developer is the North American health market.

President of Orion's US branch, Paul Viskovich, said the company had products that operated on both a large and a small scale that could provide solutions for healthcare providers of any size.

"Our common functionality allows information to be easily shared securely, minimising errors and adding to the overall efficiency and workflow of a health organisation."

One of the highlights of the company's push in the US was signing contracts with the Alaskan state government last year to provide health IT for the entire region.

As well as the US, the company is looking to gain traction in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Its most recent success in these area was the sale of technology to a hospital in Kazakhstan.

McCrae said the company's commitment to continue to devote money to research and development was paying dividends.

"We have a history of ingenuity in New Zealand - it's in our blood. So our software is ahead of the curve too and our customers recognise and value that," he said.

Orion Health took away the exporter of the year prize at this month's Hi-Tech Awards.