Huron Consulting Group entered into an agreement to acquire Healthcare Services Management, a firm specializing in healthcare information technology and management consulting. The acquisition will strengthen Huron’s ability to help healthcare providers implement and optimize technologies that harness data to improve the quality and cost of care and better manage patient populations.

HSM will complement Huron’s current IT and electronic health record consulting services, adding deep expertise in Cerner, MEDITECH, Allscripts, NextGen and other prevalent systems. Together, Huron and HSM expect to cover virtually the full range of EHR technology solutions.

“As hospitals and health systems continue the transition to value-based care, the drive toward improving cost, quality and the consumer experience is intensifying. To manage this transition, our clients must be able to collect, analyze and leverage patient data across their growing care networks,” said James H. Roth, CEO and president of Huron. “HSM will add new healthcare technology capabilities to our current implementation and optimization services, allowing us to better support clients as they confront their most pressing IT challenges.”

This will be Huron’s fourth acquisition in the past year aimed at helping clients improve performance by aligning their business processes and systems with their financial and operational goals. The acquisitions expand Huron’s offerings and enable the company to continue to take advantage of the rapidly evolving technology landscape.

HSM, based in Quincy, MA, helps healthcare providers maximize operational efficiencies through the adoption and optimization of IT and enterprise technology solutions. The firm supports information system implementations and conversions, clinical and revenue cycle optimization, informatics strategy, application delivery and interim management. When the transaction closes, HSM’s more than 100 experienced consultants will join Huron, with David Devine, HSM’s chief executive officer, joining as a managing director.