Healthcare IT investors pore over stimulus package for cash

March 26, 2009 | Patty Enrado, Special Projects Editor

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SAN FRANCISCO – Edits to this story were made on April 1, 2009.

Healthcare IT investors are still sitting on their hands as they continue to face a bleak scenario of low company valuations, a panel at the Health Tech Investment Forum Tuesday in San Francisco concluded.

Investment firms, however, are looking at other ways to raise capital and the federal stimulus package is one area they are scrutinizing, panelists agreed.

Thomas, McNerney & Partners is exploring whether its companies can benefit from the federal stimulus package for healthcare IT, said partner Karen Boezi. Her firm doesn't invest in hospital systems, but there may be opportunities for the $2 billion set aside for electronic medical record connectivity, she said.

California will likely get approximately 10 percent of the $2 billion set aside for healthcare IT infrastructure from the federal stimulus package, according to Kathryn Lowell, deputy secretary for Health Systems & Life Sciences, Business, Transportation & Housing Agency.

Lowell said the funding would require the state to develop a governance-level entity to oversee healthcare IT. With seven operational regional health information organizations, the state already has healthcare IT infrastructure to leverage, she said. "The state is grappling with how to govern healthcare IT at the state level," Lowell said, but added, "We will develop state standards that can interface with federal-level standards."

Bijan Salehizadeh, MD, general partner at Highland Capital Partners, said that at this point the language is unclear whether the federal stimulus funds will be relevant for his companies or even if his companies will be eligible to receive any funds. "It may set up the next generation of companies," he offered.

Lisa Suennen, co-founder and managing member of the Psilos Group, which funds mid- to later-stage companies in healthcare IT, services and medical technology, doesn’t see any short-term benefit for her companies, although there may be benefits in the long term. “If the smaller companies don’t learn how to interact with the government, then the money will only benefit the big companies,” she said.