IBM buys Truven, adding to growing trove of patient data at Watson Health

IBM is looking to enhance the growth of its Watson Health business with the $2.6 billion purchase of Truven Health Analytics, which has data on the cost and treatment of more than 200 million patients. The planned acquisition of Truven, announced Thursday morning, is the fourth company IBM has purchased since it created the Watson Health unit last April, bringing the total spent to more than $4 billion. Two other acquisitions, Explorys, a spinoff from the Cleveland Clinic, and Phytel, a maker of software to manage patient care based in Dallas, also brought with them significant data assets.