Our History — a Legacy of Innovation

Mediware was founded in 1970, and in 1980, the founding organization was purchased and incorporated under the name of Hemocare, Inc. It was then that the company began developing its specialized blood banking information system known as Hemocare. Ultimately, that system became the first of its kind to achieve FDA 510(k) clearance for use in securing the safety of the nation’s blood supply.

In July 1996, the company acquired the LifeLine product from Western Star, which, at the time, resulted in the combination of the two most dominant systems in the blood banking space. Through this combination, a new advanced blood management system known as Hemocare LifeLine (HCLL) was born. That system, now known as HCLL™ Transfusion, grew to become the industry’s leading blood management system and still holds that market-leading position today.

Branching Out

In 1990, the company acquired Digimedics, Inc., a pharmacy software company, and changed its name to Mediware Information Systems, Inc., to reflect its broader scope of services. Then, in 1996, the company acquired the Pharmakon division of Continental Healthcare Systems, including the JAC Pharmacy Stock Control System division located in the United Kingdom. With these acquisitions, Mediware more than doubled its presence in the pharmacy information systems space and gained entry into the European market.

Following shortly on the heels of that acquisition, in January 1997, Mediware introduced its WORx Drug Therapy Management System. The WORx system was uniquely designed to provide true, seamless integration with other systems, rather than rely on conventional data replication methods. Over time, the WORx® Suite has expanded to offer a complete, start-to-finish — closed loop — approach to Medication Management. It has become one of the dominant pharmacy systems on the market and is used by large acute care hospitals and behavioral health health systems. And, as a best-in-breed solution, the WORx Suite’s functionality and clinical features continue to far outpace other catalog offerings.

Growing and Pioneering

Between 1997 and 2007, the company developed and delivered a series of new products focused on improving surgical and operating room processes, perioperative charting and donor management. Most notably, in November 1999, Mediware announced the purchase of the LifeTrak® blood donor software system developed by Carter BloodCare, Inc. Today, LifeTrak is FDA 510(k)-cleared and provides a comprehensive platform for donor, lab and distribution operations for some of the most recognizable blood centers and hospitals in the industry.

In 2007, Mediware reorganized and also acquired Integrated Marketing Services, a provider of web-based software products targeted at blood and plasma collection centers in North America and Europe. Now known as Mediware’s Blood Center Technologies, these productivity tools offer valuable solutions for donor recruiting, relationship management and loyalty and retention.

In June 2007, the company also launched its BloodSafe® Solution Suite for remote storage and allocation of blood products at the point of use. With the introduction of the BloodSafe Suite, Mediware became the only provider to offer remote storage and allocation devices with intelligent integration to a hospital transfusion system.

In 2008, Mediware introduced BiologiCare®, the first system of its kind to track and manage transplantable materials.

In November 2008, Mediware announced the acquisition of Hann’s on Software, a pharmacy management provider in the alternate-site infusion and specialty pharmacy markets. This acquisition combined with a later acquisition of Healthcare Automation, Inc., in December 2009, led to the creation of Mediware’s  Alternate Care Solutions product suite. These products build and expand on Mediware’s rich heritage in Medication Management to serve the home infusion, HME, specialty pharmacy and other alternate care markets. In a strategic move in April 2011, Mediware further increased its investment in this space with the acquisition of CareCentric, the dominant provider of HME and home health software with a 40-year legacy of leadership.

Revolutionizing

In June 2009, Mediware acquired SciHealth, a clinical and business intelligence software company, expanding the company’s reach to the broader healthcare market. The InSight Performance Management™ solution is already in use by some of the nation’s most prestigious healthcare organizations as well as the U.S. Military Health System. It provides a single source of truth and data transparency to create a solid foundation for performance improvement across the healthcare enterprise.

In March 2010, the company added KnowledgeTrak™, an all-in-one solution for training, compliance, quality and document management, to its Blood Center Technologies product suite through the acquisition of KnowledgeForge.

Most recently, Mediware added domain expertise in cellular-based therapies through the acquisition of Transtem, LLC, a provider of software that manages the collection and transplantation of adult stem cells in cellular-based therapies and medical research. This strategic acquisition, announced in early 2012, continues the company's expansion of its Blood Management expertise into a rapidly growing field that includes cancer treatment and regenerative medicine.

Today, Mediware continues to be a pioneer in healthcare technology remaining steadfastly focused on delivering innovative solutions that improve patient care while creating operational efficiencies that drive down costs.