Earlier this month, IBM announced plans to acquire medical imaging management platform Merge Healthcare for $1 billion. The acquisition will serve to enrich IBM supercomputer Watson's capabilities.
The healthcare industry had various reactions to one of IBM's largest healthcare deals to date. Here are 10 things to know, according to a peer60 survey.
1. More than half of Merge customers (63 percent) will stay the course with the company following the acquisition, and 20 percent plan to expand their use of Merge solutions.
2. Just 13 percent of Merge customers will cut back on use of the company's solutions, while 4 percent will no longer use Merge solutions.
3. Forty-one percent of Merge customers believe the acquisition will be positive, while 24 percent believe the acquisition will have neither a positive or negative effect. Thirty-five percent of Merge customers expect a negative impact.
4. Of those that believe the acquisition will be positive, 30 percent are CIOs, 47 percent are in radiology positions and 50 percent are in IT positions. Of those that believe the acquisition will have a negative impact, 20 percent are in radiology positions, 25 percent are in IT positions and 60 percent are CIOs.
5. Merge customers that view the acquisition as positive cited several reasons including:
• General: 29 percent
• Better support: 29 percent
• More resources: 43 percent
6. Merge customers that view the acquisition as negative cited several reasons including:
• General: 17 percent
• Extra costs: 17 percent
• Less support: 17 percent
• IBM is too big: 50 percent
7. More than half (52 percent) of healthcare industry stakeholders who are not Merge customers believe the acquisition will be positive for the company's customers. Just 22 percent believe the acquisition will adversely affect Merge customers.
8. Some healthcare leaders who are not Merge customers are reconsidering their opinion of the company: 34 percent view Merge as a more attractive vendor option and 25 percent would be more hesitant to select Merge as a vendor. Forty-one percent have no change in their opinion of Merge.
9. Healthcare leaders who are not Merge customers believe the acquisition to be positive for the following reasons:
• General: 35 percent
• More resources: 26 percent
• Good for healthcare overall: 22 percent
• Better product: 13 percent
• Services: 4 percent
10. Healthcare leaders who are not Merge customers believe the acquisition to be negative for the following reasons:
• General: 27 percent
• IBM lacks healthcare experience: 27 percent
• IBM is too big: 27 percent
• Uncertainty for Merge customers: 20 percent