UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), athenahealth, Inc (ATHN), International Business Machines Corp. (IBM): One Surprising Reason Your State Could Be Paying More for Health Care

What could this conclusion mean for the U.S. health care system? And, since we at The Motley Fool are always looking at things from an investing angle, what are the implications for individual investors?

Certainly, one study by itself won’t result in radical changes. However, if further research supports the NBER findings, there could be a push to more stringently enforce clinical guidelines in how physicians treat patients.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) stands to be a beneficiary of any such efforts in a couple of ways. First, as the nation’s largest insurer, the company would incur lower medical expenses (and thereby more profit) if regional spending differences were minimized. Second, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH)’s Optum business segment could be a significant player in the arena of helping health care providers implement processes and systems that follow clinical guidelines.

Another potential winner is athenahealth, Inc (NASDAQ:ATHN). The cloud-based physicians software company already incorporates clinical rules into its workflow. Fast-growing athenahealth, Inc (NASDAQ:ATHN) also snagged the top ranking from health-care research firm KLAS in June for physicians’ electronic medical record system usability, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Looking down the road a bit, International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) could reap rewards from any efforts to standardize how physicians treat patients. Big Blue plans to deploy its Watson technology to help clinical professionals diagnose and treat patients. Watson uses “natural language capabilities, hypothesis generation, and evidence-based learning” to assist in decision-making.

The ink on the NBER report has barely dried. It could be a while before the ramifications of the study’s conclusions work their way through the circles that make decisions about health care reimbursement. However, my hunch is that we’ll hear much more in the future about the importance of ensuring standard clinical protocols are followed by physicians. This should be a developing story that investors will want to follow closely.

The article 1 Surprising Reason Your State Could Be Paying More for Health Care originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Keith Speights.

Fool contributor Keith Speights has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Athenahealth and UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool owns shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM).

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