From our December 2009 Issue.  I recommended this great little company at $4.23  for our December 2009 Van Buren Report Newsletter.  I really like the fundamentals and potential future growth explosion that the company has.  Currently as of close on Thursday, March 11, 2009, the company is selling at $5.83 per share.   A 37% plus gain for us who picked up this gem in December.

Below is my recommendation from the December 2009 Issue.

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Health Grades Inc. [HGRD]

What the Company Does

Health Grades, Inc. (Health Grades) provides ratings of hospitals, nursing homes and home health agencies. The Company also provides information on physicians, including name, address, phone number, years in practice, information on whether they are board certified, whether they are free of state and federal sanctions and many other items. Health Grades provides its clients with healthcare information, including information relating to quality of service and profile information on physicians. The Company’s clients include hospitals, employers, benefits consulting firms, payers, insurance companies, consumers, advertisers, and media and Web portals. In October 2008, the Company acquired two Websites: www.WrongDiagnosis.com and www.CureResearch.com in connection with its acquisition of certain operating assets of Adviware Pty Ltd.

History

Health Grades was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Golden, Colorado.

The Good

For my Roll of The Dice selection this month, I wanted to go off the map a little and pick a company which I think has a chance to be something really special.  Health Grades, Inc. is a small company with an excellent idea behind it and perhaps enough clout to pull it off.  The company is a rating and information system for hospitals, doctors, nursing homes, etc. etc.  You name it, they will review it.  A few years back, my mother was diagnosed with a disease and me and my family were at a lost on what was the best way to tackle it.  I was unaware of Health Grades at the time but I can tell you the service would have come in handy.  When something like that happens to us we are pretty much at the mercy of what a doctor tells us.  But what if that doctor is wrong or he is not a good doctor yet he still has to make a recommendation.  Now we may have hope.  With Health Grades we may have information at our fingertips which will provide us with useful information and give us the info we need to make an informative decision and move forward.  Not only for consumers, Health Grades provides services for hospitals, employers, insurance companies and all other health care related companies.

The Bad

This small company does have some cash flow problems and is currently very expensive for the services it provides.

The Lowdown

Just imagine having a rating system similar to what restaurants have or what every movie that comes out has.  A great idea here that is long overdue.

Company Info

Health Grades Inc.

500 Golden Ridge Road

Golden, CO 80401

Phone: 303-716-0041

Fax: 303-716-1298

Web Site: http://www.healthgrades.com