Over a year ago, we predicted that 2019 would be the era of health IT M&A, with the transition to value-based care as a primary driver. The M&A activity in the first half of 2018 is proof of this momentum – healthcare-related M&A increased 23% compared to the second half of 2017.
Tag Archives: M&A
Part Two: Our 2018 Health IT Wish List
The healthcare IT industry enters 2018 with a lot of potential, along with the need to overcome structures that have historically stunted progress. What is on our health IT wish list? AirStrip is feeling optimistic about the industry’s direction in terms of broader collaboration for building up truly interoperable systems to improve patient care, and overall health system stability.
Part One: A Look Back on Health IT in 2017
2017 was a roller-coaster ride for healthcare, marked by exciting innovation, damaging cyberattacks, periods of lulls and disruptive change. As we enter a new year, it is important to celebrate the industry’s successes in 2017, and reflect on the ways these changes, incidents, and regulations both pushed health IT forward and established a foundation for 2018. From the consumerization of healthcare, to the implications of a changing reimbursement structure, to increases in health IT M&A, here is what three AirStrip executives and consultants identified as the most impactful change in health IT last year:
Successfully Approaching M&As in Healthcare IT
Over the past couple of years, there have been around 200 merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in the healthcare IT space, driven by high enterprise value and the sheer size of the industry. 49 deals came together in the first quarter of this year alone. These numbers make health IT the highest performing industry in terms of M&A activity in the consumer and retail space, and the second highest in the infrastructure/industrial space.
Between 2018 and 2019, we will see an insatiable need for increased health IT interoperability, with providers putting increased pressure on health IT vendors to deliver. This pressure – combined with the shift brought on by new regulations like MACRA around performance, measurement and outcomes – will drive one of the biggest M&A pushes we’ve seen in the health IT industry.
2019: The Era of Health IT M&A is Coming
Over the last few years, the healthcare industry has undergone an incredible revolution. Mobility solutions deployed across the care continuum are providing higher quality patient care. The shift from fee-for-service to fee-for-value – no matter how the political environment affects the market – is prevailing. Beyond that, innovation and digital tools are supporting this shift. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 6,000 medical device companies. Around 80 percent of them have fewer than 50 employees. Creative solutions to longstanding problems abound.
Mobile Health Matters 