SIR, Custom Computer Specialists sign licensing agreement to promote development of HI-IQ

The Society of Interventional Radiology and Custom Computer Specialists Inc. have entered into an exclusive, long-term licensing agreement to promote innovation and the development of HI-IQ-, the leading information management system for interventional radiology.

"We are thrilled to have this opportunity to help interventionalists to become more competitive, track outcomes and monitor the quality of care they deliver," said Emily DeMerchant, Custom's healthcare practice director. "Our focus will continue to be on helping our customers use HI-IQ to deliver the best possible patient care, improve departmental workflow, and provide consistent, accurate clinical data analysis and information exchange," she noted.

SIR and Custom have recently unveiled innovations such as Hosted HI-IQ, a Web-based version of HI-IQ that can be accessed from any Internet-enabled computer and requires no special operating system, servers or workstations. In addition, SIR and Custom recently launched a new version of the product that enables physicians to comply with Part IV (practice quality improvement) requirements for maintenance of certification.

"The Society of Interventional Radiology works to improve health care on behalf of-and with-interventional radiologists, physicians who specialize in minimally invasive treatments, while Custom's strength is product development and innovation. This licensing agreement, which enables each of us to focus on our strengths, will allow HI-IQ to continue to evolve and to meet future interventional radiology needs," said SIR President James F. Benenati, M.D., FSIR, who represents the national organization of nearly 4,500 doctors, scientists and allied health professionals.

"We have immense respect for the Society of Interventional Radiology as a leader, innovator and standard-bearer in interventional radiology. Together, Custom and SIR are an unrivaled team. Our ongoing partnership will drive innovation to benefit the interventional radiology field," added DeMerchant.

SIR and Custom have worked together since 1993, when the society engaged the company to develop HI-IQ on its behalf. "Custom has been a strong partner, understanding our members, the society's needs, the product, the IR market and the competition," said Benenati. He added that Custom has demonstrated that its management philosophy, development approach, technical resources and sales strategy will enable successful expansion of HI-IQ's presence in the IR market.

As part of the agreement with SIR, Custom has acquired ConexSys Inc., SIR's subsidiary formed to manage the HI-IQ business. ConexSys, which will keep its name, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Custom. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed.