Craneware software gets thumbs up for auditors

SOFTWARE designer Craneware yesterday received a boost ahead of next week’s full-year results after its hospital billing programs received a certificate from the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

The Electronic Submission of Medical Documentation (ESMD) certificate means the software written by the Edinburgh-based firm can be used by American hospitals to submit their medical records for auditing by the United States government.

US president Barack Obama’s administration has tightened the rules on auditing to make sure that hospitals and health centres send the correct bills to the Medicare and Medicaid healthcare insurance schemes.

Under phase two of the ESMD scheme, which is due to begin next year, auditors who are checking over the medical bills will be able to use software such as that made by Craneware to request additional information from hospitals.

Craneware last month issued what analysts labelled as a “small profits warning” after not signing any major contracts.

Shares dipped 2p yesterday to close at 328.5p.