As Rometty prepares to open HIMSS, M.D. Anderson walks away from Watson
Summary
Monday morning, IBM Chairman, President and CEO Ginni Rometty will deliver the opening keynote address at HIMSS17. Last year, IBM announced its largest healthcare acquisition to date, its $2.6 billion purchase of Truven Health Analytics, nine days before the official start of HIMSS16 in Las Vegas. Sunday, Forbes.com’s Matthew Herper threw some major shade over this part of the Sunshine State by reporting that the world-reknowned Houston cancer institution was backing away from a once-celebrated partnership with IBM Watson. “As a public institution, we decided to go out to the marketplace for competitive bids to see where the industry has progressed.” The decision followed a November report from University of Texas auditors that was highly critical of the procurement process for Oncology Expert Advisor clinical advising system. Anderson contracts have expired and one of the world’s most recognized brands in cancer care is no longer working with the high-profile cognitive computing system.