A Nashville-based electronic medical records provider drew flocks of investors to its initial public offering today, breathing some much-needed life into the moribund life science IPO market that’s been largely stalled since the economic downturn began last year.

Emdeon Inc.‘s stock opened at at $17.75 per share August 12, up 14.5 percent from yesterday’s IPO price of $15.50, the Wall Street Journal reported, as investors bagged 23.7 million shares — 2 million more than expected — at the high end of the expected range set by underwriters Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., UBS AG and Barclays PLC.

The offering pulled in about $367 million.

But the flurry isn’t a likely bellwether of better things to come for life science IPOs. Emdeon’s in a business that promises to be a high-profile, high profit industry over the next few years, as President Barack Obama’s administration sets its eye on digitizing medical records as part of the push for healthcare reform.

Emdeon electronically processes medical paperwork, claiming to process nearly half of all electronic payment claims in the U.S. last year.

By contrast, Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. lost 1 percent after launching its IPO Tuesday

And in a final cautionary note to would-be public offerers, the Journal offers this:

“Of the total shares sold [in the Emdeon IPO], more than half … were sold by private equity firm General Atlantic LLC, so those proceeds won’t benefit the company.”