Carestream Health’s recent decision to sell its healthcare information systems business to Royal Philips has been greeted with a mostly positive reaction from the imaging industry, according to a new market report.
The report, from the research firm Reaction Data, included feedback from more than 200 medical professionals—including radiologists, radiology directors, PACS administrator and others—who were asked how they viewed the big news. Overall, 49 percent of respondents think the deal will have a “very positive” impact on the market, and just 10 percent answered “very negative.”
The survey also found that 56 percent of current customers were more likely to stay with the companies as a result of this news, and just 11 percent were more likely to leave.
“The most interesting result from this research is how positive Philips’ and Carestream’s customers view this event,” Jeremy Bikman, Reaction Data’s CEO, told Radiology Business. “In most of the research we’ve done on mergers and acquisitions, a sizable portion of the affected customer bases are rather nervous about the future, but we’re just not seeing it in this case.”
Bikman added that Philips “definitely has some goodwill going for it,” but its leadership will have to balance integrating new customers with keeping current customers happy or this “could blow up” in the company’s face.
The full report is available on Reaction Data’s website.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.