Aetna announced Tuesday that it will spend $500 million to acquire Medicity, a Salt Lake City-based developer of health information exchange technology.
The Hartford, Conn.-based insurer 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.
Medicity offers a range of products and services that enable health systems, hospitals, physician practices and HIEs to securely access and exchange healthcare information, with the goal of mproving the quality and efficiency of patient care and helping to reduce costs.
Medicity's network provides collaboration and coordination of care delivered through a variety of communications tools designed to help 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.
"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's 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," he added.
"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."