In an investment it expects will pay dividends as healthcare IT usage grows apace, Aetna announced Tuesday that it would spend $500 million to acquire Medicity, the Salt Lake City-based developer of health information exchange technology.
Medicity offers a range of products and services that help health systems, hospitals, physician practices and HIEs securely access and exchange healthcare information, improving the quality and efficiency of patient care and reducing unnecessary healthcare costs. Medicity markets its products and services locally, regionally and nationally.
Medicity’s connected network provides collaboration and coordination of care delivered through a variety of communications tools, which helps physicians and other healthcare providers get timely clinical information about patients using the platform of their choice.
Medicity’s HIE technology reaches more than 760 hospitals, 125,000 physician users and 250,000 end users. In addition, the company has:
- The largest installed base of enterprise HIE systems for hospitals, physicians and other healthcare providers;
- A substantial presence in the emerging state and regional health information exchange marketplaces;
- A proven track record of implementation, demonstrating an ability to connect to many different types of information systems that provide physicians and other users with information necessary to make better informed healthcare decisions;
- A flexible technology platform that, combined with Aetna resources, will enable development of new business offerings;
- A record of sustained, strong growth in recent years.
“This acquisition will enable Aetna to offer a set of convenient, easy-to-access technology solutions for physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers," said Mark T. Bertolini, Aetna president and CEO. "That, in turn, can help improve the quality and efficiency of patient care,” “Strategically, we believe this acquisition will enhance Aetna’s capabilities and accelerate our growth in the health information technology and health information exchange space.”
“We are excited about joining Aetna, with the shared vision for improving the healthcare experience for all stakeholders,” said James K. "Kipp" Lassetter, MD, chairman and CEO of Medicity. “The combination of Medicity’s connected healthcare platform for providers with the clinical decision support capabilities of Aetna’s ActiveHealth Management subsidiary can help physicians make better decisions in real-time as they collaborate and coordinate care.”
Aetna expects to finance the acquisition with available resources. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is projected to be neutral to Aetna’s financial results in 2011.
