IMS Health Acquires Privacy Analytics

DANBURY, CT. - IMS Health has acquired Privacy Analytics Incorporated, a leader in technology solutions for de-identifying and anonymizing healthcare information, to extend its robust Real-World Evidence (RWE) capabilities. Affirming IMS Health’s long-standing practices for safeguarding patient privacy, the acquisition advances the company’s ability to help life sciences clients drive R&D and commercial performance and demonstrate treatment value in real-world settings. It also reinforces IMS Health’s role as a partner of choice for health systems, payers, providers and researchers as they seek new insights from healthcare data-with strong support for responsible privacy management.   Canada-based Privacy Analytics offers an innovative suite of data governance software and advisory services that enable stakeholders to optimize benefits of the growing volume and availability of new, complex datasets while protecting patient privacy. Solutions include scalable tools for de-identifying and anonymizing structured and unstructured patient-level data. Combining Privacy Analytics’ proprietary capabilities-a proven standard for safeguarding personal health information and ensuring privacy compliance-with IMS Health’s mission-critical anonymous information, data management capabilities, and scientific and commercial expertise will enhance the usability of real-world data globally.   “Our team of healthcare data privacy experts has pioneered the methodologies, software and services that enable responsible use of complex health information,” said Khaled El Emam, founder and CEO, Privacy Analytics. “We are excited to join IMS Health, which offers us a global platform and leading-edge technologies that bring our privacy compliance innovations to a broader client base across life sciences and healthcare.”   Privacy Analytics’ capabilities will be used across IMS Health to develop innovative approaches and enhance existing methods for ensuring the responsible use of anonymous healthcare information. In addition, the solutions will continue to be offered to Privacy Analytics and IMS Health clients as an independent suite of products.   “This acquisition strengthens our role as a leading patient privacy and data protection advocate while increasing the value clients across healthcare can realize from real-world evidence,” said Jon Resnick, vice president and general manager, RWE Solutions, IMS Health. “Applying this proven standard globally, we can unleash the full potential of end-to-end RWE insights, from clinical trials through commercial execution. Privacy Analytics extends our ability to connect healthcare stakeholders-ultimately helping to improve the health of patients and the care delivery systems serving them.”   About IMS Health   IMS Health is a leading global information and technology services company providing clients in the healthcare industry with end-to-end solutions to measure and improve their performance. Our 7,000 services experts connect configurable SaaS applications to 15+ petabytes of complex healthcare data in the IMS One™ cloud platform, delivering unique insights into diseases, treatments, costs and outcomes. The company’s 15,000 employees blend global consistency and local market knowledge across 100 countries to help clients run their operations more efficiently. Customers include pharmaceutical, consumer health and medical device manufacturers and distributors, providers, payers, government agencies, policymakers, researchers and the financial community.   As a global leader in protecting individual patient privacy, IMS Health uses anonymous healthcare data to deliver critical, real-world disease and treatment insights. These insights help biotech and pharmaceutical companies, medical researchers, government agencies, payers and other healthcare stakeholders to identify unmet treatment needs and understand the effectiveness and value of pharmaceutical products in improving overall health outcomes. Additional information is available at www.imshealth.com.   About Privacy Analytics   Privacy Analytics enables healthcare organizations to quickly and easily apply a risk-based responsible de-identification methodology that ensures individual privacy and legal compliance. Privacy Analytics is the only company to offer expert training, software, peer-reviewed methodology and valued-added services that protect the privacy of individuals while enabling organizations to share data for secondary purposes. Privacy Analytics’ customers represent half of Fortune 50 healthcare companies. Privacy Analytics’ software is compliant with regulations and globally accepted standards and guidelines, including those from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST), PhUSE, the Council of Canadian Academies, as well as HIPAA and the EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC. Additional information is available at www.privacy-analytics.com.