US, international health IT fuels Dell acquisition of Perot Systems

On the heels of a major health information technology deal in China and just three days after Perot Systems announced another multimillion dollar health IT deal in India, the company announced today they were being acquired by Round Rock, Tx.-based Dell Inc.

Plano, Tx.-based Perot Systems and Dell have been industry partners in the health IT sector for the past several months. In May, the two announced a joint financing strategy that would help Perot Systems customers obtain capital money to implement electronic health records and related health information technology. The strategic alliance provided fully-integrated IT solutions, combining their best-in-class technology and services solutions to help healthcare organizations improve patient care, reduce costs and achieve the standard of “meaningful use” for electronic health records established in the Recovery Act.

Monday’s $3.9 billion acquisition thrusts Dell further into the health IT foray after earlier this month announcing EHR -related deal with Tufts Medical Center in Boston and Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston. But perhaps just as valuable to Dell than the U.S. health IT market is the foreign health IT market.

In an interview this morning with CNBC, Ross Perot, Jr. made mention of this growing area of importance.

“Half of the Perot Systems business is health care. And we’re in the middle of this huge healthcare revolution around the world. [The Dell acquisition] gives the Perot product great reach around the world…and certainly a strong focus on the U.S. healthcare. Technology will drive the efficiencies we’re gonna need… it’s a global problem. The Chinese have the same challenge we have in the United States, the Indians have some of the same challenges.”

In closing, Michael Dell told CNBC to be on the lookout for more acquisitions in the near future.

Related posts:

1. Balancing access and security in health IT: A conversation with Perot Systems’ John Hummel
2. GE’s health group joins the low financing foray
3. Staying ahead of the health IT curve