Two Heads are Better than One: Telehealth Edition

Chantal Alano
3 min readJul 15, 2020

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Read to see how companies are partnering to advance the use of telehealth in hospitals nationwide!

With the increasing digitalization of technology in our world today, it’s no doubt that larger, well-known companies are trying to invest in telehealth-based applications. Telehealth has already shown promising effects on the healthcare industry, as well as in some scientific research on topics relating to biology. Read below to see three pairs of companies that have partnered to promote telehealth applications!

  1. Samsung and Genome Medical

Samsung, one of the leading companies in electronics, has invested in Genome Medical, a company based in San Francisco, through its Catalyst Fund aimed to invest in companies focused on artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure. Genome Medical seeks to combine telehealth and genomics — the study of an individual’s genes and interactions with their environment to determine the likelihood of developing conditions like cancer and heart disease — to deliver personalized patient care nationally.

The company mainly works like this: patients are connected with genetic experts, and they learn about how genetic testing works as well as how to interpret their results. Genome Medical’s technology gives patients access to “over 50 genetic experts who they may not normally be able to meet, from MDs to genetic counselors”, in specialities including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and reproductive health. While Samsung’s exact investment amount was not disclosed, this partnership emphasizes the growing interest in preventative methods for treating diseases.

2. Microsoft and Allscripts

These two companies have extended their partnership for 5 more years “to enable the expanded development and delivery of cloud-based health IT solutions.” For those of you not familiar with Allscripts, this Chicago-based software company partners with other companies to manage electronic health information, appointment and patient flow, and other healthcare IT features.

The extension of this partnership came at a strategic time during the heightening of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. Allscripts CEO Paul Black emphasizes the growth of telehealth, saying that “healthcare delivery is no longer defined by location — providers need to have the capability to reach patients where they are to truly deliver the care they require.” Together, these companies promote clinician-friendly technology with integrated analytics to deliver effective health outcomes in hospitals nationwide.

3. Philips and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA)

In the 10-year agreement between Philips and the VA, Philips plans to innovate the VA’s telehealth technology. This mainly entails features like “tele-ICU, remote patient monitoring, diagnostic imaging, sleep monitors and more”, according to Mike Miliard from Healthcare IT News. By broadening its telehealth infrastructure, Philips’ technology can deliver actionable patient analytics through AI and advanced reporting capabilities to veterans nationwide.

More specifically, expanding telehealth capabilities will make way for more available ICU beds, where physicians will be able to monitor veteran ICU patients regardless of their physical location and give access to needed specialists.

After reading about these three partnerships, I realized the real impact that cloud technology and teleheath are having on the healthcare industry. With the need for remote patient monitoring during this pandemic, companies are equipping the healthcare industry with possible long-term solutions for the future.

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