Humana Joins the Health IT Business With the Purchase of Certify–Software Platform for HIE Information Exchange For Medical Records

Humana is a little later to the game with technology purchases as United has been doing it for years and made big profits with their algorithmic business models, while not always popular with consumers as the parameters of what gets covered and allowed is pretty touch.  Aetna has joined in with like type purchases in the last couple years and now with Humana they are looking at further interest in the HIE game, health information exchange.  When this is all done will there be any HIE companies not owned by insurers? 

The whole idea and goal is to be able to securely exchange patient medical records.  If you visit their website you can see a lit of partners to include the Direct Project that they work with, Oracle and Cerner are a couple of others.  Technology centers with medical licenses, is this where we are going <grin> with a business model provided by health insurance companies to keep profits in line for shareholders?   BD

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The Louisville-based insurer Humana has acquired Certify Data Systems, a health information exchange vendor, on undisclosed terms.

Humana executives said they were interested in Certify's "Health Logix" platform, which allows clinical information exchange across various electronic health record systems and is offered in multiple configurations, with cloud-based options.

Amid the search for cost savings, the use of new care models like ACOs and business diversification, Humana is the third insurer in recent years to purchase an HIE technology maker. Last January, Aetna completed the $500 million acquisition of the health IT vendor Medicity, not long after UnitedHealth Group's Ingenix division bought Axolotl.  

http://www.govhealthit.com/news/insurer-humana-buys-hie-vendor-certify

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