Amazon and Walmart have both recently been granted patents for novel uses of biometric sensing — Amazon for an Alexa feature that would allow the device to passively detect signs of illness and recommend remedies and Walmart for a connected shopping cart handle that can detect heart rate, palm temperature, grip force, and walking speed.
Companies, especially large, over-resourced companies like...
Last week two venture branches of Silicon Valley’s biggest names, Amazon’s Alexa Fund and the Google Assistant Investment Program, announced investments in patient voice assistant Aiva, which specializes in hands-free communication between patients and caregivers. While the investment amounts have not be publicly announced, the company revealed its other investors include Act One Ventures, Mucker...
There’s little doubt that new innovations will disrupt healthcare operations and the revenue cycle as well as care delivery.
The bigger question is whether those will be technological in nature, new business models or a combination of both? While hospitals and health insurers await that answer, many executives and experts are closely watching two partnerships unfold: CVS Health’s proposed merger...
American Well has hired Keith W. Anderson as its new chief financial officer. Anderson comes to American Well via Piper Jaffrey, where he served as managing director and a member of the healthcare investment banking team.
"I'm pleased to welcome Keith onboard," Ido Schoenberg, chairman and CEO of American Well, said in a statement. "He has an exceptional track record of advising leading...
WASHINGTON, DC – A broad coalition of technology giants took the stage in an unscheduled session at the Blue Button 2.0 Developer Conference here in the White House.
Specifically, Amazon, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce came together to pledge to remove interoperability barriers.
Dean Garfield, CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council, lead the session and described the...
In early 2016, Boston Children’s Hospital was among the first healthcare organizations to leverage Amazon Alexa with KidsMD, a skill that helps parents understand their child’s symptoms, seek basic medication dosing guidance, or decide whether an in-person visit is necessary. With roughly 100,000 app interactions to date, more than 200 unique weekly, and plans for a second version of the skill...
This morning Amazon broke the news that it is acquiring virtual pharmacy PillPack. With this, the online retail giant that has made itself famous for “one-click shopping” for consumer goods is positioning to expand its services to include prescription medication.
“PillPack’s visionary team has a combination of deep pharmacy experience and a focus on technology,” Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon...
When it comes to the challenges of raising an up-and-coming young company into a major player in its industry, former Apple and Pepsi CEO John Sculley is no spring chicken. A serial entrepreneur and investor across numerous industries ranging from consumer technology to data management to telecommunications, Sculley has set his sights on the healthcare and currently serves as the chairman of...
After Amazon inked a deal with JP Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway to focus on employee health in January, it was clear the tech giant would be investigating the healthcare arena. However, it could be that consumers will also see Amazon’s entrance into health, as leaked documents obtained by CNBC suggest the company is building a “health & wellness” team within its Alexa voice assistant division...
According to a group of 300 healthcare stakeholders surveyed in Venrock's 2018 Healthcare Prognosis Survey, Amazon is the tech company to watch in the healthcare space — even if they're pretty well split on the prospects for the Amazon-JP Morgan-Berkshire Hathaway project.
When asked which of five tech companies (Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and IBM) would make the most progress in 2018, 51...
