South Australian company PowerHealth Solutions wins $44 million Canadian health deal with some help from mum
AN Adelaide company will expand overseas and grow its local workforce after winning a $44 million health contract — with a little help from Mum.
MOTHERS always want the best for their children.
So when Renee Power spotted an article in her local newspaper in Montreal, Canada her thoughts turned immediately to her successful businessman son, Patrick who was 17,000km away in Adelaide.
The piece was about how the Quebec Government had selected a Canadian software firm Logibec to rollout a patient costing solution across 200 hospitals.
The lucrative contract worth millions of dollars was in the sweetspot for Mr Power’s software development company PowerHealth Solutions, which has deployed health-based software across the globe.
“My mother and best friend sent me the article from the newspaper, saying this is happening and ‘isn’t it what I do?’” Mr Power said. “It was incredible luck.”
The articles prompted Mr Power to contact the Quebec Government, who under procurement guidelines must review contracts if a competing firm says it can also provide a solution.
Concerns had also been raised in the media over links between senior government officials, including Quebec’s Premier Philippe Couillard, to Logibec and its subsidiary Mediamed.
Last month, after an exhaustive 15 month and nailbiting tender process PowerHealth Solutions was awarded a $44 million three-year deal in a major coup for the firm.
The victory, against a significantly larger company with a strong foothold in the Canadian market, saved the Quebec Government $20 million and will provide a job boost to PowerHealth Solutions which will deliver patient level costing across all acute, subacute, mental health and primary care patients.
Mr Power, who is back in Canada this week, said the company will create a Canadian headquarters in Quebec employing at least 30 people and that the deal “opens the door” to the rest of Canada.
The company will also increase its current 65-strong Adelaide workforce to provide support for the Canadian rollout.
“It’s probably the most exciting project we’ve ever been involved in,” he said.
“It’s not just for the deployment of our application but we also get to do analysis and engage with clinicians around efficiencies.
“There will also be more jobs in SA, all the development will be done out of SA.
“We can’t have infrastructure there (Quebec) without having more jobs here in support, in marketing and in consulting — it creates more jobs across the board.”
He said the company, which started in 1995, was well on track to meet its objectives of doubling its workforce every three years.
“We started as a one-man band, this deal will take us to 110 staff,” he said.
But the Canadian win was not without a heart-in-mouth moment with his final bid almost not delivered by its 2pm December 16 deadline.
“We sent our final submission by TNT and they didn’t deliver it in time,” he said.
“We rang them to say this thing (tender) is closing at 2pm it needs to get there.
“They said ‘sorry, it’s too late’ ... they didn’t care that this was a $44 million matter.
“We got Canadian customs to release it to TNT ... we hired a courier to go to TNT to pick it up and that courier drove it through a snowstorm to the Government in Quebec with 17 minutes to spare.”
PowerHealth Solutions has a European office based in Ireland and its software has been deployed across more than 1000 public hospitals worldwide, including thee Middle East, Asia, US and New Zealand.
Mr Power said the win was evidence of the capacity of South Australian companies to make it on a global scale and to win against the odds.
“When I spoke to family members and other people they said the incumbent (Logibec) owned the market...they were a well respected company, and that we have got no chance of winning,” he said.
“But a team from here (Adelaide) was able to make this happen...I think SA should be proud.”