Information Technology in Health Care M&A: The Top 3 Barriers to Achieving Maximum Value

Mergers and acquisitions in the health care industry present unique challenges that are not often present when undertaking similar transactions in other industries. Because of health care’s highly regulated nature, parties may falter if a health care transaction is not reviewed and negotiated carefully with respect to the distinct concerns that health care presents. This article discusses certain key considerations related to information technology that parties to a health care M&A deal should keep in mind as they contemplate and negotiate a transaction.

Information technology is utilized in all areas of a health care business and clinical operations. In most health care organizations, the underlying systems and technologies have been implemented over many years on a project by project basis, whereas an M&A integration program rapidly integrates these systems over the course of months. Designing an integration plan for health care M&A transactions requires the need for a deep understanding of how the systems and technologies are used and interfaced across all areas of this very complex environment (which includes more than just electronic health records, but also time clocks, accounts receivable programs, copiers, etc.). IT leaders should establish a programmatic approach to M&A planning to build an integration program that addresses the three primary pain points in computer science and engineering integration and ensure an organization can realize maximum value.