US-based Fazzi Healthcare Services is to create 300 jobs over the next five years with the establishment of a new coding and healthcare services company in Limerick.
The news follows Monday’s announcement of a €500 million investment programme across four strategic sites in Limerick City, with the capacity to create more than 5,000 jobs over the next five years.
The Fazzi Healthcare announcement is related to medical coding, which is the transformation of healthcare diagnoses, treatments, procedures, outcomes and services into universal medical alphanumeric codes, known as International Classification of Diseases (ICD).
It is the international standard used for health information purposes in primary, secondary, tertiary and public health settings.
Most states, including Ireland, utilize the ICD process, with the majority using the current ICD-10 edition. This latest edition contains codes for diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease.
The new Irish company has already begun providing ICD-10 coding services to the US homecare and hospice sector. Additionally, expansion plans are in the works to add billing and distance learning offerings for international-based insurance companies and governmental healthcare entities.
Consulting
Founded in 1978, parent company Fazzi Associates is headquartered in Northampton, Massachusetts. The company also operates in the areas of consulting, education, benchmarking and research. It operates through two additional sites in India.
The company's founder and managing partner, Dr Robert Fazzi, said his Irish employees were "smart, dedicated and incredibly talented".
“We are absolutely thrilled to be here in Limerick. We are very thankful to the IDA and the Irish Government for welcoming us and helping us to develop our business here. Without question Ireland has proven to be a country strongly supportive to the creation of innovative and growth-oriented companies.”
IDA chief executive Martin Shanahan said the jobs would benefit "a wide area" of Co Limerick.
“There is a growing number of healthcare services located here, and Fazzi, as the first company to engage in medical coding services in Ireland, is a positive addition to the life sciences profile of the mid west.”
Minister for Jobs Mary Mitchell O’Connor said she was “very keen” to pursue opportunities for investment and job-creation in new sectors.
Regional centre
“These are increasingly possible with our infrastructure and talented workforce which enables companies like Fazzi to undertake work for customers in different parts of the world. It is also very heartening that such a large project has been secured for a regional centre.”
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan, a local TD, said Limerick was "proud to be host to such an innovative company that combines healthcare and software".
“There will be many more opportunities now to join this company which places great value in its employees. I’m sure that many people from Limerick will become valuable members of the team at Fazzi.”
Separately, 40 new jobs are being created at Newbrook nursing home in Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Over €3 million is to be invested in a 36-bed extension to its premises on the Ballymahon Road.
The Multyfarnham-based Newbrook Group already employs over 200 in Co Westmeath, and operates a number of nursing homes across the country.
