GE to buy IDX for £681 million

General Electric Co.’s healthcare unit is to buy US health IT software supplier IDX Systems Corp. in a deal worth $1.2 billion (£681 million).

GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company, and IDX Systems Corporation announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement for GE to acquire IDX. The deal is expected to be completed early in 2006.

IDX, supplying its Carecast clinical system, is the core clinical solution supplier to BT, the local service provider for the NHS in London, under the £6.2 billion NHS National Programme for IT.

An Connecting for Health spoksesperson, told EHI: "We are aware of the proposed acquisition of IDX by GE Healthcare. This is largely a matter for BT to whom IDX is subcontracted, but we are considering the implications."

A spokesperson for BT told E-Health Insider: "We’ve been working closely with IDX, and while this deal is a matter for IDX shareholders it is exciting.  The resources and complementary staff of GE healthcare will be a great asset to the important work we and IDX are undertaking and we look forward to working with GE Healthcare whenever the agreement is finalised."  

In June 2005 IDX was replaced by Cerner as the core clinical solutions supplier for the Southern region of the English NHS under the NPfIT.

The combination of IDX with GE Healthcare should create a leading healthcare IT vendor, offering a comprehensive suite of clinical, imaging and administrative information systems.

“GE and IDX have a shared vision on how to accelerate the adoption of electronic health records across the globe,” said Joe Hogan, president and CEO of GE Healthcare.

“We are extremely excited about joining with IDX and believe that our combined offerings are in line with where healthcare is headed and match the needs of our customers,” he added.

Jim Crook, Chief Executive Officer of IDX said that further growth and expansion of IDX would be best realised through the additional scale and resources GE was able to provide.

“As part of GE Healthcare, we believe we will be able to capitalize more fully on the rapidly expanding opportunities in the healthcare IT industry worldwide to fulfill our mission to make a difference in healthcare.”

According to Vishal Wanchoo, president and CEO of GE Healthcare Information Technologies IDX’s administrative, clinical and imaging information systems will complement GE’s rich clinically-focused Centricity information technology solutions.

"Together, we will be able to offer a comprehensive set of solutions meeting almost every need a hospital, clinic or doctor’s office has, allowing them to deliver the best quality of healthcare possible to their patients, and to manage their businesses optimally."

Wanchoo said GE Healthcare will help accelerate IDX’s current solution development and deployment projects, to the benefit of IDX customers.

GE Healthcare is a $14 billion unit of General Electric Company headquartered in Chalfont St. Giles in the United Kingdom. Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 42,500 people in more than 100 countries.