Indianapolis Business Journal (IN) October 30, 2018
Apple Inc.'s new watch is the latest proof: Big Tech is
trying to remake health care in its own image.
The device, introduced at a splashy launch event in
September, can call for help after its wearer falls. It can monitor heartbeats
for dangerous conditions. It can do an electrocardiogram, a test that monitors
for a common abnormal heart rhythm and is usually done by a doctor.
For the iPhone maker, it's the boldest foray so far into
personal health. Apple has already pushed the use of its mobile devices for
health tracking and medical research, and recently added a feature that can
connect to some hospital medical-records systems.
With iPhones and other mobile devices in the hands of more
people than ever, the stakes couldn't be higher. Tech giants such as Apple,
Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Google have to figure out, now that they
are among the biggest companies in the world with some of the world's most
ubiquitous brands, how to get even bigger.
The business of keeping people well is a logical frontier.
Health care accounts for about 18 percent of U.S. economic output and still
often relies on antiquated tools like fax machines, making it an enticing
opening for tech behemoths looking for new terrain to conquer.
Already, the companies are in deep. Apple is tracking
vital signs. Amazon bought its way into the pharmacy business while joining
with two powerful partners to remake worker health care coverage. Google parent
Alphabet Inc. wants to help make you live longer.
There are reasons for skepticism. Apple's new
pulse-monitoring tools could trigger false positives and panics, some analysts
worry. Amazon and its partners hired a famous surgeon CEO for their worker
health care plan, but building it out could take years.
Still, the companies are moving ahead at breakneck speed.
It can be hard to keep track of developments. Here's where things stand:
Amazon has its tentacles everywhere. It's working on the
employee-health venture with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Warren Buffett's
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Earlier this year, it paid $1 billion for online
pharmacy PillPack after months of speculation about its plans to shake up the
prescription-drug business.
Meanwhile, hospitals, doctors and dentists' offices have
helped propel Amazon Business to $10 billion in annual sales. The unit sells
everything from latex gloves and patient bed liners to specialized dental tools
and medical devices. Customers include more than half of the 100 biggest
hospital networks in the country.
Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing division, offers
tools that can be used to move from paper to electronic medical records and
help genomics researchers store and analyze vast amounts of data. Cloud
computing lets customers ramp up processing power for trials and modeling only
when they need it, allowing them to conduct tests more cost-effectively.
Google's parent company made a $375 million investment in
the health insurance startup Oscar Health this year. Alphabet has two distinct
health-focused companies that are big and established enough to have their own
CEOs (though just how big isn't clear, as Alphabet doesn't report their
revenue).
One, called Calico, has a team of biologists, doctors and
drug developers focused on understanding the process of aging, with the very
Silicon Valley goal of extending life spans. The second, Verily, is working on
new ways to collect and use health data, such as a contact lens that monitors
glucose levels. DeepMind, Google's main artificial-intelligence company, also
has a significant healthcare division.
Additionally, Google has special cloud storage, email and
file-sharing products that are HIPAA-compliant. Google Fit is a suite of tools
for Android phones that developers can use to build healthtracking apps, just
like Apple Health. And don't forget the core search product. The company has
been working to improve "Dr. Google" ever since people typed,
"What does a heart attack feel like?" into their browsers. Google now
has a special team of doctors who help make sure results for common questions
offer accurate information.
After Microsoft axed a fitness band and sold an earlier
health-software group to General Electric Co., the software giant is trying to
sell hospitals, drugmakers and doctors software, cloud processing and artificial-intelligence
services for more personalized medical care·
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