REG - Competition and Mkts - Merger Update:UnitedHealth- Optum/ Emis

UnitedhealthAnnouncement

29/09/2023 08:30

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RNS Number : 0876O  Competition and Markets Authority  29 September 2023

 

IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 07:00AM FRIDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2023 

 

CMA clears NHS healthcare tech deal 

 

The CMA has cleared the £1.2bn deal between specialist healthcare tech and
software companies providing services to the NHS. 

 

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) referred UnitedHealth's £1.2bn
purchase of EMIS for an in-depth phase 2 investigation by an independent
inquiry group in March 2023, after identifying competition concerns that
warranted further investigation during an initial Phase 1 review.

 

Following a thorough investigation, the CMA has today confirmed that the
transaction does not raise competition concerns when considered against the
higher legal standard that applies in Phase 2 investigations, clearing the
deal to proceed.

 

The NHS is increasingly seeking digital and data-driven solutions to help
improve the delivery of healthcare in the UK. EMIS supplies data management
systems to the NHS, including the electronic patient record system used by
most NHS GPs in the UK. Optum, part of the US healthcare giant UnitedHealth,
currently supplies software used by GPs when prescribing medicines, as well as
data analytics and advisory services that the NHS uses to help improve overall
healthcare and health service provision. 

 

Although the merging businesses do not supply competing services, the CMA was
initially concerned that the deal would allow Optum to limit its competitors'
access to the data held within EMIS's patient record system or to degrade the
digital connections to this system, which rivals rely on to provide integrated
software.

The investigation confirmed that EMIS, as the lead supplier to NHS GPs across
the UK, holds a particularly strong market position in the supply of
electronic patient record systems. But further evidence-gathering and
analysis, considering the potential impact of the merger in two markets in
which Optum could limit its competitors' access to the data held within EMIS,
has found that the deal does not raise competition concerns.

·      In the supply of data analytics and advisory services for
Population Health Management, the CMA found that the merged business would
not, in practice, be able to use the data that EMIS holds to harm the
competitiveness of rivals, primarily because the NHS could use its oversight
role to prevent the merged business from pursuing this kind of strategy.

 

·      In the supply of medicines optimisation software, the CMA found
that a strategy that involved restricting access to EMIS's electronic patient
record system would not be commercially beneficial to the merged business,
with any possible gains being limited and capable of being reduced through
intervention by the NHS. 

 

Kirstin Baker, chair of the independent inquiry group carrying out the
investigation, said: 

 

"The NHS increasingly relies on digital technology and data analytics to
support the delivery of high-quality healthcare. So, it is important to ensure
that, as the main customer of these services, the NHS continues to have access
to the options and innovations that new and developing technology can bring.

 

"Following a thorough investigation, careful consideration of a broad range of
evidence and consultation with a variety of stakeholders, we are satisfied
that this deal will not reduce competition or mean that the NHS and its
patients lose out."

 

More information can be found on the CMA's Optum/ Emis case page
(https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/unitedhealth-group-slash-emis-merger-inquiry) .
  

 

-ENDS- 

NOTES TO EDITORS 

 

1.   Optum is part of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated a large US healthcare
insurance, healthcare, and health data analytics business. In the UK, UH
operates through Optum Health Solutions (UK) Limited (Optum) and
provides:  

a.   Medicines optimisation (MO) software: MO software suggests alternatives
to doctors when they are prescribing medication in order to increase
effectiveness and reduce costs.

b.   Population health management (PHM) services which encompasses a broad
range of products and services that use data analytics and advisory services
to improve physical and mental health outcomes across a population and
healthcare provision. 

 

2.   EMIS is an established UK-based healthcare software business that
provides a range of IT solutions to the NHS, including a primary care
electronic patient record (EPR) system, EMIS Web. EMIS Web allows GPs to
manage appointment bookings, conduct patient consultations, and update, store
and share patient records. EMIS also offers EMIS-X Analytics (EXA) software
which allows users to conduct data analysis.

3.   The CMA's Phase 1 investigation started on 20 January 2023 after the
companies announced the acquisition in 2022
(https://governance.emisgroupplc.com/) ,. The deal was referred for a Phase 2
investigation on 31 March 2023 and provisional cleared on 11 August 2023.

4.   The CMA gathered and assessed a wide range of evidence, including
thousands of internal business documents from EMIS and Optum. The CMA also
gathered evidence from requests for information and calls with competitors as
well as customers across the NHS and from NHS England, including following its
consultation with stakeholders following the provisional findings. 

5.   In a Phase 2 review, the inquiry group considers whether it is more
likely than not that a deal will substantially lessen competition - a higher
threshold than Phase 1. Accordingly, some mergers that are referred to Phase 2
will ultimately be cleared. 

6.   A further explanation of Population Health Management can be found on
the NHS website
(https://www.england.nhs.uk/integratedcare/what-is-integrated-care/phm/)
.  

7.   For more information, journalists should contact the CMA press office
by email on press@cma.gov.uk (mailto:press@cma.gov.uk) or by phone on 020 3738
6460.

8.   All enquiries from the general public are directed to the CMA's General
Enquiries team on general.enquiries@cma.gov.uk
(mailto:general.enquiries@cma.gov.uk)   or 020 3738 6000.  

 

 

 

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