CVS Health and Aetna Insurance recently announced their intent to merge. This would combine the nation’s largest pharmacy chain and the nation’s largest health insurer. The healthcare industry has seen consolidation on several fronts. But a merger of this kind may be driven by a potential new, tech-savvy competitor: Amazon.
Having a tech giant step into healthcare services has the potential to disrupt the industry. But as the medical field moves increasingly toward personalized medicine and emerging technology, like molecular diagnostics, a high-tech competitor may be inevitable. LSI has made emerging technology in healthcare one of the features of the Governance of Emerging Technology & Science conference (May 16-18, 2018)
A large-scale merger, like CVS-Aetna, will draw the attention of regulators concerned about the effect on consumers. LSI Research Fellow Dr. Roger D. Klein makes the case for allowing the CVS-Aetna merger to create a unique, integrated healthcare service provider: CVS-Aetna deserves chance to disrupt health-care system.