IBM to fork out $2.6bn to slurp data on millions of patients

IBM is to shell out big again, this time on Truven Health Analytics, a health data firm, for a whopping $2.6bn. According to its canned statement, this brings the number of, er, "patient lives" represented in its health cloud to 300 million. Touted as IBM's "fourth major health data-related acquisition in the past year", the …

[John Smith 19]

You can they will be eyeing up the NHS

And you can be Hunt will be welcoming them with open arms because under that bu***it new trade agreement they are looking to "negotiate" it would be illegal not to.

Your date safe in their hands?

I don't think so.

[BebopWeBop]

Re: You can they will be eyeing up the NHS

While TTIP and other bastard proposed legislation is to be damned, as far as I understand it (which to be fair is based on assurances - ha ha ha - by politicians and administrators), there is no requirement to negotiate on something that is already there.

But then on second thoughts one of the money grabbing f****rs in a Tory, Labour, LibDem, Plyd Cymri or SNP run institution will probably take the money to engineer it on the basis (honest guv), 'I'm thinking of the people - not just the children'.

[Tikimon]

Where do I opt out?

I mean it truly, but I guess it's really a joke...

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Where do I opt out?

Seriously, it's about time I did. Already opted out of "Affordable Care". Can I get someone at my regional corporate mega medical practice to purge my records from their cloud-based system? Or change all identifying information?

If I still want to use their services, can I use an alias? What do they do to protect the privacy of celebrities? What about the undocumented migrant farmhands? I expect no less for ordinary citizens.

[x 7]

I'm surprised they haven't eyed up Emis in the UK yet. Or maybe they have....is that why the Emis shares keep going up and up?