Accumen Acquires Chi Solutions to Expand Laboratory Management, Consulting Business

By Stephanie Murg, Managing Director, G2 Intelligence

Accumen, Inc. (San Diego) specializes in “healthcare transformation,” and now the company is transforming itself by joining forces with Chi Solutions (Ann Arbor, Mich.) to expand its clinical laboratory management and consulting business. In a transaction announced this morning, Accumen has acquired Chi for an undisclosed sum, gaining access to a deep roster of industry veterans including CEO Kathleen Murphy, Ph.D., and unrivalled expertise in the outreach market.

“With healthcare payment and delivery reform continuing to drive value-based healthcare, Accumen and Chi are well-positioned to meet the needs and opportunities in the laboratory using proven results and successful partnership models,” said Accumen President and CEO Jeff Osborne in a statement announcing the deal.

Founded in 2011 as aLabs, Accumen was created by private equity firm Accretive (New York City) to partner with hospitals and health systems for sustainable improvements in laboratory quality, service, cost, and outreach growth. Accretive’s current portfolio also includes Accolade, another built-for-purpose company that provides on-demand healthcare concierge for employers, health plans, and health systems.

As part of its focus on clinical laboratory operations, Accumen has also been building expertise and service offerings in the area of patient blood management. In January 2015, the company appointed board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist Irwin Gross, M.D., as its senior medical director.

Chi Solutions traces its origins to 1983. Between 2005 and 2010, the company was owned by Roanoke, Virginia-based not-for-profit health care organization Carilion Clinic. According to Murphy, “Accumen’s acquisition of Chi represents the classic story of ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’ At no time in our history has a partnership been as complementary, as transformative, or as powerful as the combination of Accumen and Chi.”