Healthcare IT War Games

Over this past weekend, MIT, Columbia, Northwestern, and Penn business schools competed in Fuld and Company War Game simulation. This year’s theme was “The Battle for Healthcare Information.” One of the predictions, among several reached during the war game, was that most prominent companies in the healthcare information technology and healthcare delivery industries, including Microsoft, McKesson, Kaiser-Permanente, and Allscripts, will quickly move to create alliances and in certain cases merge with their rivals—to take advantage of the government push to adopt EMRs. Click here for details.

The last time I checked, Microsoft doesn’t merge with anyone. Once Microsoft set their sight on a company, they will either buy the company (i.e. Visio) or squash the company (i.e. Netscape). My concern is if Microsoft becomes one of the major players in shaping the new healthcare IT paradigm, would the best solution emerge? I’m not bashing Microsoft, but Microsoft is responsible for creating value for its shareholders and they have the clout and resources to bully everyone in such an alliance. Basically for me what it balls down to is, can Microsoft be trusted to act in the best interest of the greater good in such an alliance?