IBM Financing Health Technology to Gain From Stimulus (Update2)

Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- International Business Machines Corp. is providing financing to help at least four companies put their medical records into digital format, aiming to extend its benefits from the U.S. health-care stimulus bill.

IBM has signed financing agreements with Siemens Healthcare, which develops electronic medical records, and three other health-care businesses whose clients are converting data into digital form, Armonk, New York-based IBM said in an e-mail.

Doctors and hospitals in the U.S. can win federal stimulus funds if they begin keeping medical records electronically. By financing the projects, IBM earns interest on the loans and gains potential clients for its hardware, software and services, said Christine Chang, a New York-based analyst for technology- research firm Ovum Plc.

IBM, the world’s largest computer-services provider, said it has hardware and consulting services that can be packaged with the financing agreements.

The government’s plan to maintain such records electronically will create $20.4 billion in technology spending, according to Framingham, Massachusetts-based researcher IDC.

The company also signed financing agreements with Lavender & Wyatt Systems Inc., Healthcare Management Systems Inc. and SCC Soft Computer, according to the e-mail. IBM gets 2.5 percent of its total revenue, which topped $100 billion last year, from financing.

IBM rose $1.28 to $129.93 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have climbed 54 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Katie Hoffmann in New York at khoffmann4@bloomberg.net