UK Watchdog Says UnitedHealth Takeover Of EMIS Could Hurt National Health Service

The UK competition regulator released a statement on Friday that the initial investigation into UnitedHealth’s 1.24 billion-pound acquisition of EMIS could reduce competition, leading to potentially negative outcomes for National Health Service, patients, and taxpayers.

The Competition and Markets Authority said the deal to combine the healthcare software and data specialists could lead to lower quality and more expensive software options for the NHS.

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In particular, competition could be substantially reduced in the so-called population health management and medicines-optimization software markets, which enable the safe and effective use of medicines, the CMA said.

The takeover offer was first disclosed in June 2022, and was made by Bordeaux an affiliate of Optum Health Solutions, and subsidiary of UnitedHealth.

The CMA is concerned the deal could affect services provided by Optum’s competitors, as they rely on digital connections to the data EMIS holds, and integrations with EMIS’s electronic patient record system.