Matrix Medical Network announces acquisition of Ascender

Matrix Medical Network, a national leader in prospective medical assessment services, announced today that it has acquired Ascender, a leading provider of integrated, advanced information technology to healthcare clients, in an all-cash transaction. Matrix Medical is owned by Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a private equity firm exclusively focused on information/business services and healthcare.

Matrix Medical provides prospective medical assessments through its nationwide network of employee nurse practitioners. Matrix Medical and Ascender have had a working relationship since March 2009, and Ascender provides several key strategic functions for Matrix Medical including Medicare Hierarchical Condition (HCC) stratification, suspect member identification for assessments, and assessment financial impact and ROI studies.

Established in 2004, Ascender provides integrated, advanced information technology to its healthcare organization clients. Ascender's advanced technology suite of applications helps provider organizations report and manage their clinical measures. This includes warehousing data, creating analytics to measure and improve performance, and improving patient care. Ascender has approximately 20 employees working out of its San Diego, Calif., headquarters.

"The strategic combination of Ascender and Matrix will increase the range of services and solutions that we can provide to our clients," said Randy Dobbs, CEO of Matrix Medical Network. "Ascender also represents an area of the Matrix business where we have previously relied on outside contracted services. This acquisition brings these critical data analytic and management functions in house."