Hospital System Development Stops

Amalga Health Information System (HIS), based on a product that Microsoft purchased from Global Care Solutions in 2007, will be discontinued, Microsoft said in July 2010. The company will continue to sell other products, such as the Amalga Unified Information System (UIS) designed for the healthcare industry. The decision illustrates that selling vertical solutions directly to customers can be difficult for a partner-centric organization like Microsoft.

The product, developed in Thailand at the Bumrungrad Hospital, was aimed at new hospital installations in emerging economies, but that market opportunity proved to be smaller than the company estimated, and Microsoft decided to stop further development on it. Current customers (about 10 hospitals in all) will be supported for five years or the term of their contracts, whichever is longer, and Microsoft will assist them in moving to a replacement solution.

One component of HIS, a product for managing diagnostic images (from X-rays, for example) will continue to be sold separately. The team that worked on Amalga HIS will shift to Amalga UIS (based on another acquired product, Azyxxi). A spokesperson said that Amalga UIS better fits healthcare priorities such as reducing costs, data analysis, integrating disparate systems, and linking to other healthcare entities, such as public health agencies, and the company has developed a partner community around the product.