Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
IBM To Use $2.6B Truven Purchase To Bulk Up Health Data
The Wall Street Journal: IBM To Buy Truven Health Analytics For $2.6 Billion
International Business Machines Corp. is buying data company Truven Health Analytics Inc. for $2.6 billion, in a bid to expand its already considerable presence in the health-care industry. The deal will double the size of IBM’s Watson Health business unit to 5,000 employees, as the company adds new technology services to sell to doctors and hospitals. IBM has been on a health-care spending spree in the past year, doling out more than $4 billion to buy medical-technology companies. (McMillan and Wilde Mathews, 2/18)
The Associated Press: IBM To Spend $2.6B On Truven Health, Boost Watson System
IBM is paying $2.6 billion to buy Truven Health Analytics, a provider of cloud-based health care data, and bolster the health care capabilities of its Watson cognitive computing system. The Armonk, N.Y., company says the deal will bring in more than 8,500 clients and allow it to house health-related data representing an aggregate of about 300 million patient lives. Truven, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., has an office in Greenwood Village. (2/18)
Modern Healthcare: IBM Deal To Buy Truven Will Add 8,500 Clients And Boost Data Trove To 300 Million Patients
Computer giant IBM is paying $2.6 billion to buy Truven Health Analytics to bolster the healthcare capabilities of its Watson cognitive computing system. The company says the deal will bring in more than 8,500 clients, according to a press release. Those Truven clients include hospitals, clinicians, health plans, employers, life science companies, and state and federal government agencies. Data brought over from the deal will also swell IBM's existing health-record data set to about 300 million patient lives, the company said. (Conn, 2/18)
