The U.S. healthcare industry has seen an explosion of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, driven by ongoing pressure to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
The Tech Challenge of M&As
While M&As have a lot of benefits, they can also create significant challenges. One of these challenges is reconciling two IT systems. Organization leaders must decide which technologies should be shared, such as an EHR, and which should stay separate.
In most cases, the easiest choice is to retain the larger organization’s technology stack. However, there are ways to adopt a more holistic approach. Here are some questions to ask when making the decision to change IT solutions during M&A.
Is one organization’s solution superior to the other in supporting growth, care quality, cost containment, and other business goals?
Which solution has a lower total cost of ownership to run at scale?
Will the training and support costs be higher for one solution compared to the other?
How will any changes affect employee morale?
Planning for M&A Success
Integrating technology and operations is a common stumbling block for M&A success. The right integration strategy should these key factors:
Include IT and operations leaders in the due-diligence process and solicit their input.
Understand the overall vision of the new organization and how it will measure financial, operational, and clinical success. This can help with difficult decisions to keep or replace critical applications.
Make careful but quick choices, saving energy for the post-merger transition.
Streamlining your clinical and enterprise IT is a serious consideration during an M&A. A solid enterprise imaging strategy can help make that transition easier.
Ncompass, Novarad’s all-in-one enterprise imaging solution, allows you to digitally transform your facility to create an efficient workflow for storing and sharing both DICOM and non-DICOM images. Contact us today to learn how Novarad can help you build a customized strategy for your organization.
