Aetna expands into the health technology market with acquisition of Medicity Posted: December 13th, 2010

Insurer Aetna is purchasing health technology firm Medicity in an acquisition that will allow the health insurance company to expand its health information exchange offerings. The $500 million deal will let Aetna access a network of 760 hospitals, 125,000 physician users and 250,000 end users that currently Medicity's health information exchange (HIE) technology.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Medicity offers a range for services and products that are intended to:

• Allow the secure exchange of health care information
• Improve the quality and efficiency of patient care
• Reduce unnecessary health care costs

"This acquisition will enable Aetna to offer a set of convenient, easy-to-access technology solutions for physicians, hospitals and other health care providers," said Mark T. Bertolini, Aetna CEO and President in a statement. "That, in turn, can help improve the quality and efficiency of patient care."

Once the sale is complete, Medicity will operate as a separate company within Aetna. Its existing leadership structure is intended to stay in place. The company currently offers products and services that cater to local, regional and national markets.