Healthcare Vendor Mergers: What CIOs Need to Know Now
1. Qualtrics to Acquire Press Ganey Forsta — $6.75 B Deal
Qualtrics, the experience-management and customer‑feedback platform provider, has struck a deal to acquire Press Ganey Forsta in a transaction valuing the healthcare data and analytics firm at $6.75 billion (including debt).
Press Ganey Forsta combines deep domain expertise in patient experience, provider feedback, and healthcare survey instrumentation. Qualtrics plans to integrate its AI-driven analytics and feedback engines with Press Ganey’s extensive healthcare footprint, spanning more than 41,000 hospital systems and affiliated health organizations.
Qualtrics will pay using a blend of cash and equity, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. The company positions this move as transformative: combining Qualtrics’s advanced experience-management tools with Press Ganey’s clinical insights and data domains to accelerate AI-powered healthcare innovation.
CIO’s Lens
From a healthcare CIO’s perspective, this deal gives Qualtrics a clear competitive edge against Press Ganey, Medallia, NRC Health, and Gallup. By acquiring Press Ganey, Qualtrics instantly expands its customer base. The big question now is what happens to existing Press Ganey clients—will Qualtrics migrate them to its XM platform, or maintain dual systems? CIOs will closely monitor the transition to see how it unfolds.
2. Chartis Acquires Healthlink Advisors (Healthcare IT Consulting)
Chartis, a prominent healthcare advisory and strategy firm, has acquired Healthlink Advisors, a digital and technology consulting practice focused on healthcare delivery and IT operations.
Healthlink brings over 60 advisory professionals skilled in enterprise resilience, technology implementation, enterprise imaging, identity and access management, and digital transformation. Chartis says the acquisition expands its ability to help clients with AI/digital strategy as well as core technology implementation across provider organizations.
In effect, Chartis is broadening its advisory scope beyond strategic and financial counsel to include deeper technical execution, providing provider clients with more integrated capabilities under one roof.
CIO’s Lens
For a health system CIO, Chartis’s acquisition of Healthlink Advisors could streamline the path from strategy to execution. Instead of hiring separate firms for planning and implementation, CIOs can now access both through Chartis. However, Chartis has historically charged premium rates, which could drive up consulting costs. That said, CIOs value partners who deliver. As long as pricing remains competitive, the decision to choose Chartis or Healthlink will likely come down to cost and whether the team brings the right expertise to the table.
3. Talkspace Acquires Wisdo Health (Peer Support / Social Health Platform)
Talkspace, a telebehavioral health provider, has acquired Wisdo Health, an AI-driven peer-support and social health coaching platform.
Wisdo matches members with trained peers who share lived experiences, offers group coaching, facilitates moderated communities, and provides progress tracking. Talkspace views the acquisition as extending its care continuum, adding social support between traditional therapy/psychiatry encounters, and facilitating engagement between care episodes.
The deal’s financial terms were not disclosed. Wisdo’s CEO, Ron Goldman, will join Talkspace along with the rest of the team. Talkspace anticipates that this acquisition will enhance engagement, reduce social isolation, and strengthen its AI roadmap by leveraging Wisdo’s peer data and matching algorithms.