Healthcare Hot Takes is Luma Health’s monthly rundown of healthcare innovations happening right now. Check out what the industry is thinking, reading, and doing. This month’s main topic is Amazon and Apple disrupt healthcare.
Healthcare Hot Takes is Luma Health’s monthly rundown of healthcare innovations happening right now. Check out what the industry is thinking, reading, and doing. This month’s main topic is Amazon and Apple disrupt healthcare.
A huge ripple in the healthcare world occurred this past month with the announcement of a new health alliance from Amazon, JP Morgan Chase, and Berkshire Hathaway. These three titans of American commerce are joining forces with the goal of lowering health care costs for their U.S. employees. Details are vague but the joint company plans to leverage various technologies to disrupt healthcare and make it simpler and cheaper.
It is a major disruption to the healthcare industry. In fact, at the time of the announcement, share prices for some of the biggest health insurers and pharmaceutical companies dropped significantly. The partnership is a direct rebuke at the U.S. government (and private health care entities) and how they have handled healthcare to date. American businesses currently feel that the health care system is too complicated with all of the different players (providers, insurers, pharmacies, etc.) and that costs are out of control.
Enter Jeff Bezos, Jamie Dimon, and Warren Buffet. With their combined expertise and resources, this leadership team is well positioned to make an actual difference by effectively altering the culture of their companies so as to promote healthy behaviors and increase access to health services.
Apple has made a splash in the healthcare world by announcing that it will be entering the personal health records space with a new product entitled Apple Health. The feature will integrate with existing electronic medical record (EMR) software to bring an individual’s health data to the iPhone. The product is currently beta testing in a dozen hospitals.
Apple does currently have a foothold in healthcare & wellness with its iPads being used in many doctor’s offices and its Health App being used by consumers worldwide. This is where some feel that Apple has a true advantage. Whereas traditional EMR vendors are selling to providers, Apple is uniquely positioned to sell to the health care consumer. And with consumers taking on more of their health care costs than ever before, Apple is in a truly enviable position.
Luma’s Hot Take: Apple’s foray into the personal health records space is really interesting because they are launching their app with HL7’s new FHIR specifications. We’re excited because this should allow for true interoperability in the space.
Watch our on-demand webinar to learn more about how to leverage reimbursable HIPAA-compliant virtual visits to deliver care and minimize appointment backlogs and cancellations.
As the consumerization of healthcare grows, more and more people are taking their health into their own hands, opening the door for businesses and technology companies to innovate in the space. The health industry represents a $3 trillion sector that is ripe for disruption and some of America’s largest institutions are finally making moves.