Healthcare IT Mergers & Acquisitions: Best Practices for Seamless Technology Integration

From the outside, mergers and acquisitions — aka M&A — in healthcare seem straightforward: Two entities come together to make one superior organization. The reality is way more complicated. So many people and processes must fit together perfectly, like one gigantic puzzle. One often-underestimated piece: seamless technology integration. Successful mergers and acquisition hinge on seamlessly marrying disparate information technology (IT) systems. Without this, everything from patient care to financial stability can suffer. At Medix Technology, we understand these complex, interconnected challenges and have the comprehensive resources to support healthcare organizations throughout their healthcare IT M&A journey.

Understanding Key Healthcare IT M&A Challenges

The stakes in healthcare IT M&A are incredibly high. A fumbled IT integration can lead to severe consequences — disrupted patient care, significant data loss, regulatory non-compliance, immense financial strain, and widespread employee frustration.
Expect to encounter some of these common challenges during your healthcare IT M&A:

Legacy Healthcare Systems: Integrate vs. Standardize After Merger

One of the most complex decisions during a merger or acquisition involves determining the ideal path for integrating existing technologies or pursuing a strategy to standardize systems across the merged entities. This process requires careful consideration of each project and organization’s unique needs, given the inherent complexity of diverse EHR systems. Surprisingly, integrating one Epic system into another can be the most challenging EHR transition due to extensive customization and data mapping requirements. Often, it’s a more straightforward process to transition from a non-Epic system, such as Cerner, to Epic.

M&A projects involving one or more Epic instances are unique, each with a corresponding set of challenges and risks. These projects include:

• Mergers: The coming together of two or more entities.
• Separations/divestitures: When a company divests or sells off certain assets, like marginal hospitals, leading to complex coordination among the divesting company, hospital employees, and the acquiring hospital.
• Partial acquisitions: Acquiring only a portion of an organization.
• Community connect expansions or transfers: A large hospital system offering its Epic system, often on a monthly subscription basis, to outpatient clinics, community hospitals, or critical access hospitals. This is a strategy used to tie up referrals and grow reach, particularly if a full acquisition isn’t feasible.

For example, one Medix Technology client is currently managing multiple acquisitions simultaneously. This includes one Epic-to-Epic integration and two non-Epic-to-Epic transitions. Due to tight timelines, we are assisting them in implementing separate Epic instances at the acquired entities, with plans to merge them later.

Secure Healthcare Data Migration and Integrity Post-Acquisition

The secure and accurate movement of vast amounts of sensitive patient data is a monumental task. This often involves complex legacy clinical data conversion, utilizing standards like HL7/FHIR, and strategic archival planning. It’s crucial to acknowledge that even in Epic-to-Epic consolidations or mergers, a significant degree of complexity and planning is required for data conversion and integration. This is due to the unique customizations and extensive data mapping inherent in each individual Epic instance. Ensuring data quality before migration and robust testing afterward remain paramount for accuracy and functionality.

Optimizing Clinical and Administrative Workflow Redesign for Integrated Healthcare Systems

Aligning clinical and administrative workflows across different systems and operational models involves analyzing current processes, identifying inefficiencies, and strategically leveraging tech and best practices. A holistic approach includes process mapping, gap analysis, technology integration, standardization, change management, and performance monitoring. Successful alignment yields improved patient care, efficiency, cost reduction, data accuracy, and staff satisfaction, ultimately contributing to operational excellence.

Establishing Shared IT Governance in Healthcare Mergers

Lack of well-defined, transparent decision-making structures can lead to confusion, power struggles, and ultimately, a failure to realize the anticipated synergies of the merger. Clearly outline your processes for formulating IT strategy, allocating often-scarce resources, and prioritizing competing IT initiatives. All key stakeholders from the newly combined organization should have a voice in these critical decisions. This not only fosters a sense of ownership and collaboration but also helps to align IT investments and activities with the overarching business objectives of the merged entity.

Bridging Healthcare IT Cultural and Operational Gaps

Every workplace has a unique workflow, culture, and mix of talent who may or may not embrace technological change. Differing approaches to problem-solving, project management, and even communication can create friction between teams accustomed to their routine. Introducing new technologies or processes often requires changes in user workflows — and that might ruffle some feathers.

Addressing Healthcare IT Resource and Expertise Gaps in M&A

Specialized IT expertise is often needed during integration, and your existing internal resources could be strained. While transitioning from one Epic system to another, for example, existing staff might need to maintain the previous system while new builds are underway. Medix Technology offers comprehensive tech staffing and solutions designed to address these skills gaps and resource limitations, providing specialized support to guide your healthcare IT M&A.

Best Practices for Seamless Technology Integration

Pre-Merger Due Diligence: The Foundation of Success

Pre-merger due diligence is non-negotiable. Conduct a comprehensive IT assessment that goes beyond just hardware and software. Go deeper to evaluate IT infrastructure, applications, data architectures, security protocols, and existing IT personnel. Identifying potential integration roadblocks, such as incompatible systems, data quality issues, or licensing conflicts, early in the process can save you headaches later on. Begin developing the integration roadmap and timeline before the deal even closes. The key question to answer is: What specific IT assets and challenges does the acquired entity bring?

Robust Operational Governance and Project Management in Healthcare M&A

Establish a dedicated integration team comprising representatives from IT, clinical operations, legal, and HR. Clearly define objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) for successful IT integration, such as system uptime, data accuracy, and user satisfaction. A phased integration approach, as opposed to a “big bang” rollout, can minimize disruption. Create strategies for consolidating or integrating vendor relationships and contracts. Carefully plan and execute the seamless integration of separate IT governance committees, decision-making processes, and change management frameworks from both organizations into a unified model post-merger.

Healthcare Data Migration, Integrity, and Interoperability Strategies

Data cleansing and standardization are critical ingredients to guarantee the integrity and reliability of data before any migration. Identify and rectify inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and redundancies within the dataset. Create a uniform format across all data points. To safeguard sensitive information during the transition, implement secure data transfer and stringent encryption protocols. After migration, test your data and interconnected systems to validate the accuracy of the transferred information and the functionality of the integrated environment. You should also have comprehensive contingency plans — detailed backup procedures and robust recovery strategies — in the event of unexpected challenges or failures during or after migration. This can minimize potential disruptions and data loss.

People, Processes, and Comprehensive Healthcare IT Solutions in M&A

The human element is often the most challenging — and unpredictable — aspect of IT integration. To ensure your entire team is on board, be proactive and transparent with your communications to all stakeholders: employees, patients, and vendors. Get your talent comfortable and accustomed to new systems and workflows using comprehensive training. This will facilitate user adoption. If you can address resistance to change and foster a collaborative IT environment, your transition will be much smoother.

Post-Integration Optimization and Continuous Improvement for Healthcare IT System

After initial integration, it’s important to conduct continuous monitoring of system performance and user satisfaction. This enables you to identify areas for further optimization and efficiency gains. Likewise, regular security audits can ensure ongoing compliance and maintain a strong security posture.

The Medix Advantage: Your Partner in Healthcare IT M&A

At Medix Technology, we’ve been partnering with healthcare leaders for more than two decades to overcome the unique and complex technology challenges inherent in healthcare M&A. With one vendor, you get a 360-degree technology solution. We go beyond “filling seats.” — we offer a one-stop, comprehensive and flexible partnership for every facet of technology integration:

• Strategic consulting: Providing expert guidance and roadmap development to navigate complex M&A scenarios.
• Specialized staffing: Delivering top-tier IT talent to fill critical roles and skill gaps, ensuring you have the right expertise when and where you need it most.
• Legacy support: Ensuring business continuity and smooth operations by providing dedicated resources to maintain existing systems while new ones are integrated.
• Custom solutions: Offering flexible models like managed services or ready-made teams for accelerated execution and cost control.

Turn Healthcare IT M&A Challenges Into Success

The success of healthcare IT M&A hinges on proactive planning and strategic execution of IT integration. It is a complex undertaking, but with the right approach and the right partner, you can achieve seamless technology integration. Medix Technology is committed to supporting healthcare organizations through these digital transformations, turning IT challenges into opportunities. Ready to ensure a seamless IT integration for an M&A? Contact Medix Technology today for a consultation and to discover how our expertise can ensure success.