IBM Watson Health buys Truven Health Analytics for $ 2.6 billion, becoming one of the main players in healthcare

IBM Watson Health announced plans to acquire Truven Health Analytics, a leading cloud provider of medical data and analytics, for $ 2.6 billion. Truven services are used by more than 8,500 organizations, including US federal and regional government agencies. The integration will bring together employers and health insurance programs, hospitals and medical personnel, as well as biotechnology companies on the IBM Watson Health Cloud platform.

At the conclusion of the transaction, IBM’s cloud-based healthcare platform will become one of the largest repositories of health information, representing a collection of life data for about 300 million patients and obtained from three companies previously acquired. IBM plans to integrate Truven's cloud data array into its platform, which covers information on hundreds of different types of medical costs and reports, service quality and treatment outcomes.

With the help of the Watson Health Cloud cloud platform, medical organizations will be able to use previously fragmented data sets, including a huge amount of unstructured information, and combine them to get a complete picture of the factors to make correct and informed health care decisions.
')
Since the formation of Watson Health in April 2015, Truven Health Analytics is IBM’s fourth significant healthcare acquisition. After completion of the transaction, IBM is going to invest more than $ 4 billion in the development of analytical technologies in the medical field. They will allow professionals to increase the effectiveness of disease treatment, control costs and develop solutions with an emphasis on the quality of medical services provided.



Upon completion of the transaction, IBM Watson Health’s human resources will increase to 5,000 employees, including hundreds of consulting doctors, epidemiologists, statisticians, policy experts, and healthcare administrators and consultants who will join the IBM business unit. Truven cloud technologies, methodology and health insurance data will also be part of the Watson Health Cloud division.

“With this acquisition, IBM will be one of the world leaders in data processing for health insurance and analytics and the only company providing the unique cognitive capabilities of the Watson platform,” said Deborah DiSanzo, head of IBM Watson Health. - Truven's great team, an impressive client list and an extensive database will complement the versatile staff of specialists, technical capabilities and service portfolios of Watson Health. Together, we will be able to go global and develop first-class solutions that will enable our customers to use cognitive computing to provide the most cost-effective medical care. ”



It is expected that the transaction will be closed later this year after the fulfillment of the conditions for the completion of the transaction and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

About IBM Watson Health

Watson is the first commercially available cognitive system that represents a new era in the development of computing technology. This cloud-based solution analyzes large amounts of data, understands complex queries formulated in natural language, and offers evidence-based answers. Watson is constantly learning, accumulating new knowledge and increasing useful returns. In April 2015, the company opened a new division of IBM Watson Health and launched the IBM Watson Health Cloud cloud platform. The company's services allow doctors, researchers and individuals to propose new solutions using vast amounts of data on the health of the population, which are replenished daily. Watson Health Cloud makes this information completely anonymous, allows you to share it and add it to an archive of information about clinical data, medical research and public health.

On social networks, you can follow Watson news on Twitter using the hashtag #ibmwatson, and #watsonhealth, as well as on Facebook, YouTube and Flickr.