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Ingenix, the arms dealer that’s been supplying all sides in the health care information war for the past decade or so, built itself up by buying lots of little companies in the data analytics space. Now it’s repeating the effort in the Health Information tools space. First it bought Caretracker (actually the company may have had a different name when it bought it, but that’s the name now). It’s a Web-based EMR for smaller practices (a sector with lots of Federal dollars attached). Then it bought Picis, a company that offers software that runs ORs, EDs and other high acuity inpatient sites (another recipient of lots of Medicare dollars).
Today it bought Axolotl, one of the vendors that’s biggest in the emerging (and constantly confusing) Health Information Exchange marketplace. Yet another place that lots of Federal dollars via ONC are going.
You’re probably noticing a pattern by now…
Ingenix itself of course is owned by United Health Group, although its CEO Andy Slavitt will be at pains to tell you that United also just happens to own a health insurer or two, and that Ingenix is not the subsidiary of a health insurer. Of course, Congress doesn’t always agree…
Normally I’d do lots of in-depth analysis about this story, but I’m for now just rushing to for once beat HIStalk to the punch!
UPDATE: Inga at HISTalk won’t truck with my “I beat her” comment and notes that she posted the following tweet before me (even if I got my post up on THCB before her or MrHISTalk posted on HISTalk!)
Ingenix (UHG) getting even more expansive in HIT, buys HIE vendor Axolotl
