NZ IT Developer Poised To Infiltrate UK Market

For immediate release

21 November 2002

NZ IT DEVELOPER POISED TO INFILTRATE UK MARKET

NZ software developer, MedTech, says intense restructuring of the UK health sector has opened up opportunities that the company is poised to take advantage of.

Dr Peter Gillies, general manager of MedTech, says the NHS is undergoing major changes in its IT procurement strategy. Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), which are much like the Primary Health Organisations recently established in New Zealand, will soon control 80 per cent of the NHS budget.

"Due to the sheer scale of the population, the PCTs will be vast in size. Thus, our sources tell us, they are most likely to sign IT provider contracts with one or two major companies, such as IBM or EDS," says Dr Gillies. "We see our opportunity as entering into a partnership with one of these companies.

"Entry into the UK market will require modification of our software to meet NHS regulations and we are presently assessing exactly what modifications will be required."

MedTech's flagship product, MedTech32, is a fully integrated patient management system, used by nearly 70 per cent of the country's general practitioners. The company has recently developed specialist and hospital versions of MedTech32, and a population data-mining programme, LinkTech.

MedTech is actively looking to replicate its local success in offshore markets. It currently has 120 user sites in Australia, and Dr Gillies predicts it will match the New Zealand market in size within two years.

"We've received widespread anecdotal reports that our software is vastly superior to incumbent products in the UK, some European countries and also in the USA, where we've recently carried out preliminary market research.

Meanwhile the company, which employs 59 staff worldwide, continues to build on its domestic success through agreements to supply MedTech32 to each of the new PHOs announced recently by Health Minister Annette King, and through the next generation of products - MedTech Evolution - already being designed to meet the needs of GPs, specialists, residential care facilities, hospitals, healthcare support services and their management.

About MedTech

MedTech is one of New Zealand's leading health software companies. Founded in the 1980s, MedTech has spent the last two decades transforming the patient record systems of the country's health care practices. Its flagship product, MedTech32, is a fully integrated patient record management system that achieved over 90 per cent approval ratings from users in a recent independent survey by NZ Doctor magazine.

Go to: www.medtech.co.nz

-ends-

© Scoop Media