Becton Dickinson acquires MedPlus Division

Medical systems supplier Becton Dickinson (Franklin Lakes, NJ) has acquired Intellicode Intelligent Bar Coding Systems, a division of

MedPlus (Cincinnati) for an initial cash payment of $17.4 million. Becton Dickinson has also purchased $2 million of Medplus common stock, and signed a reseller agreement to distribute Medplus' OptiMaxx document archival and retrieval systems. Becton Dickinson has also agreed to contract with MedPlus for specified laboratory consulting services from MedPlus subsidiary FutureCore. The deal gives Becton Dickinson an instant foothold with bar coding technology specifically for healthcare; the technology was the first to be introduced to the industry. MedPlus gets funding to enhance its ChartMaxx and OptiMaxx data management solutions, as well as its consulting services through FutureCore. The funds will also help MedPlus develop Web access to legacy systems capabilities.