IN-LINE with options she described for VNC six years ago, Founder and CEO Tammy Hawes has exited her 14-year-old VirSys12 through sale to Nashville-based HealthStream (Nasdaq:HSTM), led by Founder-CEO Robert "Bobby" Frist Jr.

HealthStream explained yesterday that it had "purchased the outstanding equity of Virsys12 for up to $17 million in cash (the full payment of which will require earnout achievement), subject to a post-closing working capital adjustment."

The acquisition expands its "existing provider data management and credentialing solution for payers and health plan enterprises, called Network by HealthStream™, launched 14 months ago, which is a part of its broader, market-leading Credentialing application suite," said HealthStream.

HealthStream, with $805MM+ market cap this morning, is a prominent healthcare technology platform company for workforce solutions, and traces its lineage back to Frist's founding of its precursor business in 1993.

As stated in a HealthStream release yesterday, Virsys12 is a healthcare technology company that "offers payers and health plans an innovative provider data management suite used for onboarding, credentialing, and network management."

Hawes said in the release, "“As the founder of Virsys12, I am excited about joining HealthStream to achieve the next level of growth for V12 Enterprise® and support for payers and providers,” said Tammy Hawes, Chief Executive Officer, Virsys12. “HealthStream is unmatched in their reach, the power of their hStream Platform, and their culture and legacy of innovation.”

Frist said in the relase, “I would like to extend a warm welcome to Virsys12’s customers and employees that will be joining HealthStream,” said Robert A. Frist, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, HealthStream. “Virsys12’s V12 Enterprise application makes a terrific addition to our credentialing application suite as we further build our capabilities to serve payers throughout the healthcare industry. Virsys12 and HealthStream share a vision to reduce the administrative burden on payers and providers by delivering a single verified provider record and intelligently automating key processes around that record—and both successfully executing on that vision.”

The HSTM release also explained:

As of 2025, there are approximately 1,200 health and medical insurance companies in the U.S. that are referenced in the healthcare industry as the “payers.” Payers need credentialing software to streamline, secure, and scale the complex process of verifying healthcare providers' qualifications, enrolling them into insurance networks, and actively managing and maintaining those networks. Virsys12’s V12 Enterprise® application suite is currently used by payers and providers in nine states across the U.S. to meets these needs. At the core of Virsys12’s solution is their intelligent provider data engine that automates ingesting, cleansing, and monitoring and serves as the source of truth for provider records across all applications.

V12 Enterprise® is a premium solution and enhances HealthStream’s ability to market and grow its credentialing business among the nation’s payers going forward. Both Gartner and IDC Market Glance for Payers, two of the foremost technology insights sources, recommend Virsys12’s application suite. Moreover, customers of the V12 Enterprise application have the added assurance that comes with it having earned the industry’s highest level of security via its HITRUST, two-year (r2) certification—the same high level achieved by HealthStream for its CredentialStream® application, Credentialing Hub™, and Network by HealthStream™.

Virsys12’s V12 application suite’s scalable, API-first approach will ensure faster, smoother integration of the newly acquired application suite in HealthStream’s ecosystem through its hStream Platform. The core of this integration will be around provider data management, bringing together Virsys12’s provider data engine and HealthStream’s single verified provider record to deliver a powerful infrastructure for credentialing, privileging, enrollment, and network management. HealthStream will also integrate Virsys12’s implementation and ongoing managed services into its overall Professional Services offering to ensure that payers fully leverage their technology investment, optimizing their workflows and fully utilizing the power of their solutions.

This story will be updated, as warranted. VNC

.last edited 9 October 2025