From electronic health records and smartphone apps to artificial intelligence and data mining, the modern healthcare sector has forged many connections with innovative technologies in consumer, industrial, and academic spaces. A new player in this space is Big Tech, the handful of extremely large firms who specialize in consumer-facing technological goods and services. Despite their extensive R&D and funding capabilities, Big Tech companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon have so far failed to deliver personal healthcare solutions at scale [1].
Historically, Google maintained extensive ties to many facets of the healthcare sector. Its research teams at Google Brain and DeepMind study computer science, algorithms, and artificial intelligence, with occasional applications to healthcare. For example, DeepMind’s first healthcare initiative involved the management of acute kidney injury [2]. For years, Google maintained a division called Google Health, which oversaw a variety of healthcare initiatives, such as consumer apps, clinician tools, and research projects. However, Google Health was officially dissolved in August 2021, its initiatives scattered to other subsidiaries of Alphabet, Google’s parent holding company [1][3]. Despite the reorganization of Google Health, Google still owns Fitbit, a technology company that develops wearable fitness trackers and provides an app for managing users’ personal health data [4]. Although Google appears less inclined to centralize its healthcare projects, it will likely continue shaping the healthcare space going forward.
Unlike Google, who acquired Fitbit, Apple’s healthcare involvements have been in-house since the beginning. The iPhone comes with an app for managing personal health information, while the wearable Apple Watch feeds data to a fitness app, much like a Fitbit does. Apple also provides healthcare apps to providers, which enable at-home patient care, health record access in hospitals, and even medical research trials [5]. Despite its overall success in selling devices, Apple has underperformed when it tries to move into new spaces. For example, a digital health app called HealthHabit, with telehealth and user engagement features, has performed poorly among Apple employees [6]. Likewise, Apple’s ambitious vision to hire doctors for an in-house primary care service has yet to be realized [6]. Even as Apple continues to sell devices that collect troves of healthcare data, whether they can leverage that data remains to be seen.
In a high-profile joint venture with JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway, Amazon sought to develop technological solutions to manage employee healthcare across all three firms. Called Haven, the venture began in 2018 but ended in February 2021. The stakeholders for Haven cited numerous business and technical challenges, especially with aggregating the necessary employee data [7]. Today, Amazon has two ongoing initiatives in the healthcare sector. Amazon Care is a healthcare benefits package that offers 365-day telehealth, EHR management, and home visits [8]. A different initiative, called WorkingWell, is catered toward Amazon employees, specifically to reduce workplace injuries and employee health problems [9]. Both initiatives are recent: Amazon Care is only available to residents of certain states, while WorkingWell has not yet rolled out to all Amazon employees.
Big Tech firms have had mixed success in the healthcare space. Initiatives that resemble current Big Tech endeavors—data collection, consumer devices, and app creation—appear more successful than initiatives that involve large-scale disruption and innovation. One article about healthcare tech suggests that a technology firm will eventually have a disruptive breakthrough, but the winner need not be a Big Tech firm [1]. Alternatively, the Big Tech firms might win by acquiring major players in the healthcare space.
References
[1] P. Padmanabhan. Is Healthcare Too Hard for Big Tech Firms? Healthcare IT News, 23 August 2021. Retrieved from https://www.healthcareitnews.com/blog/healthcare-too-hard-big-tech-firms
[2] J. Powles, et al. Google DeepMind and Healthcare in an Age of Algorithms. Health and Technology 2017; 7: 4. DOI:10.1007/s12553-017-0179-1.
[3] J. Drees and H. Mitchell. A Breakdown of Google Health in 2021: 15 Things Leading up to Division’s Dismantling. Becker’s Hospital Review, 20 August 2021. Retrieved from https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/a-breakdown-of-google-health-in-2021-15-things-leading-up-to-division-s-dismantling.html.
[4] Fitbit Technology. Fitbit. Retrieved from https://www.fitbit.com/global/us/technology.
[5] Apple Healthcare. Apple. Retrieved from https://www.apple.com/healthcare.
[6] R. Winkler. Apple Struggles in Push to Make Healthcare Its Greatest Legacy. The Wall Street Journal, 16 June 2021. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-struggles-in-push-to-make-healthcare-greatest-legacy-11623832200.
[7] S. Herrera and D. Benoit. Why the Amazon, JPMorgan, Berkshire Venture Collapsed: ‘Health Care Was Too Big a Problem’. The Wall Street Journal, 7 January 2021. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-the-amazon-jpmorgan-berkshire-venture-collapsed-health-care-was-too-big-a-problem-11610039485.
[8] Amazon Healthcare. Amazon. Retrieved from https://amazon.care/about.
[9] I. C. Campbell. Amazon’s WorkingWell Will Attempt to Fix Employee Health Issues with Stretching and Guided Meditation. The Verge, 17 May 2021. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/17/22440385/amazon-workingwell-worker-health-guided-meditaiton.
