The New York Times > Technology > I.B.M. Plans to Buy a Health Consulting Firm

The New York Times > Technology > I.B.M. Plans to Buy a Health Consulting Firm.B.M. plans to announce today that it is buying Healthlink, a Houston-based consulting firm and a leader in the fast-growing niche business of helping hospitals and clinics convert to electronic health records.

The move is the second acquisition in health care technology services within a week. Accenture announced last Wednesday that it would buy the North American health practice of the large European consulting firm Capgemini for $175 million.

I.B.M. did not disclose how much it paid for Healthlink. But industry executives said that I.B.M. probably paid more for Healthlink than Accenture paid for the Capgemini health practice.

The purchases by big technology services companies are investments made in preparation for an expected surge in spending on health care information technology. The Bush administration and medical specialists say information technology must replace paper records to improve the quality of health care and contain costs.