In a move to maximise opportunities in the Brazilian health care market, Intersolve Health Informatics (Intersolve), a business unit of Ariel Technologies, and DexBrasil, a division of DexData Technologies have signed a joint venture agreement which will see the establishment of a new company in Brazil, Dex Saude Intersolve (Ltda)
Last year Intersolve, a leading provider of turnkey information systems to the health care sector, exhibited at a hospital fair in Sao Paulo and was overwhelmed by the positive response it received to its products and services.
Says Intersolve chairman George Stander: "We identified a huge niche in the market and discovered that Brazil has about 30 000 hospitals and clinics, both government and private with a desperate need for integrated hospital information systems suitable to their environment.
"We also discovered that the needs of the Brazilian and therefore also the Latin American health care market, are very similar to the needs in South Africa and Southern Africa."
Mr Stander says that Intersolve then began planning the path forward and decided that the best option would be a partnership with a company already well established in the Brazilian market.
DexBrasil was established in Brazil at the end of 1992 by DexData Technologies, a leading supplier of mission critical systems and services for the IT industry and in Brazil initially focused on short term insurance, life insurance and pensions later moving into the health insurance market.
Says DexBrasil Executive Vice President, Carlos Rei: "DexBrasil provides a total solution to the insurance sector. Our offerings contemplate the health, life and pensions and short term insurance markets. We also operate as an insurance ASP and provide information security and verification products and solutions.
"Being involved in the health insurance arena we also saw the gap in the Brazilian market for administration and management systems in the health care market. Large populations in most Brazilian cities have placed a burden on Government hospitals. They urgently require cost effective solutions to better manage scare resources. The overcrowding at government hospitals has resulted in a proliferation of private hospitals and clinics, which also need fully integrated management solutions. Hosp is one of few such solutions in the world. "
"Intersolve brings to the table an excellent range of products and services, not only for hospitals but also among others, practice management systems for doctors in private practice. A number of doctors have established co-operatives and own hospitals. We have established a good relationship with these doctors and they are very keen on the Intersolve products.
"It was also important for us to team up with a company which we can rely on and we believe we have found that in Intersolve.
The main competition at present is from American products but Intersolve holds the advantage in terms of price and flexibility as it is prepared to customise and modify its products to suit the requirements of the customer.
Says Intersolve general manager: Private and International Health, Gerhard Smit: "DexBrasil is the perfect partner with an established and staffed office in Sao Paulo and with its established customer base, provides the ideal platform for Intersolve to access the Brazilian market. It also employs local people who speak the language and understand the culture.
"We view this initiative as an excellent investment which is in line with our globalisation strategy. We are confident that this mutually beneficial relationship will reap great rewards and will meet a great need in Brazil."
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