Orion in line for slice of Obama's billions

Orion Health boss Ian McCrae is confident his healthcare software is well placed to benefit from the surge in Government spending. Photo / Kenny Rodger

A slice of the US$30 billion ($47.8 billion) earmarked for healthcare technology spending by the Obama Administration could find its way into the coffers of a New Zealand company.

Mt Eden-based Orion Health boss Ian McCrae is confident his healthcare software is well placed to benefit from the surge in Government spending in the US and other countries.

McCrae said Orion was beginning to see a lift in spending by its customers and expected that trend to gather pace through to the end of the year when the "Obama money" flowed through.

He said the US$30 billion from the US Government was likely to be matched by between US$30 billion and US$60 billion of hospital money.

"All round the world every single major country is investing in health information and big, big regional projects," said McCrae.

He said the company's flagship software products - healthcare records portal Concerto and records integration system Rhapsody - won "a huge number" of the electronic health-records projects around the world.

At present 90 per cent of the company's sales revenue is from deals outside New Zealand.

As well as partnerships with leading IT vendors the company has more than 1000 clients including the UCLA Medical Center, where Michael Jackson was rushed to before his death.

Marketing manager Amanda Ivanson said the large US client sites gave potential customers a reference to check how well the software worked.

The company has just reported a 50 per cent increase in net profit before tax for the 2009 financial year and expects significant revenue growth on the $53 million it earned last year.

Last month Orion - the largest New Zealand-owned software exporter - was ranked in the top 100 of healthcare IT companies in the US.

It's the fourth year in a row Orion has made the list published by Healthcare Informatics, initially appearing at 97th and now ranked at 63rd.