The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally cleared UnitedHealth’s proposed £1.2 billion purchase of NHS data management system EMIS.

The authority said its Phase 1 investigation identified initial concerns that the merger ran the risk of worse outcomes for the NHS by reducing competition.

The sticking point highlighted in Phase 1 was that Optum, part of managed healthcare and insurance multinational UnitedHealth, and its competitors use the data that EMIS holds and integrate their own software with EMIS’s electronic patient record system to compete in other markets, including the supply of population health management services and medicines optimisation software.

However, Phase 2 of the CMA’s probe, which was overseen by an independent panel, found that the merger did not raise competition concerns.

“Digital technology and data analytics play an increasingly important role in supporting high quality healthcare in the NHS and so it’s important we investigate this deal thoroughly,” said Kirstin Baker, chair of the independent inquiry panel carrying out the investigation.

She continued: “After carefully considering a broad range of evidence, we have provisionally found that this deal is not expected to harm competition or adversely affect patients.”

Share Story: