Healthcare IQ: Competing as the “Switzerland” of Health Spend Analytics

Healthcare IQ originated in 1990 as a data management company that offered technology and services to help hospitals make sense of their patient billing data. By 2014, Healthcare IQ competed in the healthcare spend analytics industry, offering information products and services that ranged from prepared data and reports to analytics and advisory services. The management team thought that a number of factors contributed to the company’s value proposition, all of which were associated with its underlying database. Because data was its primary concern, Healthcare IQ was able to focus on building its database over time. This case describes the business model, inner workings, and evolution of an analytics pure play company within the healthcare industry. It illustrates how an information business created competitive advantage in its marketplace—and how it worked to sustain that advantage over time.