Four Ways Technology Companies Aim to Change Health Care

By Chris on September 7, 2011

If you’re in the health care industry, whether as a device manufacturer, physician or insurance provider, there are reasons to keep your eye on developments by major electronics companies more often associated with games and televisions than medicine. Some of the world’s biggest consumer technology manufacturers also have big plans to change health care.

Here are several ambitious plans from technology companies to impact four different areas of healthcare:

• Samsung Medison – Plans to become one of the top four diagnostic ultrasound firms.
• Microsoft attempts to reignite interest in cloud-based electronic medical records.
• Panasonic looks to lead Indian healthcare sector by 2018 and make a physician’s tablet.
• Mobile disease monitoring and Ericsson’s great expectations

Samsung – New Challenger in Medical Imaging

We know them for all sorts of different electronic devices and the chips that make those devices run, but the Korean company is putting itself on the path to impact the medical imaging market. Take a look at some of the coverage from this year of the company, and then consider that it has set a goal for its Samsung Medison division to become the “world’s best medical equipment manufacturer by 2020.”

Microsoft – Rekindling Interest in Cloud-Based Medical Records

Several years ago, Google brought Google Health to the world with the goal of having individuals store their medical records in a secure, private online space. The project faltered, but Microsoft is looking to pick up the pieces and resurrect the idea of cloud storage for individuals’ medical records.

Microsoft already plays in the enterprise health software space, and as you can see below, it’s attempt to resurrect the defunct Google program is being kickstarted by the offer to transfer Google Health records into the Microsoft HealthVault program up until January 1, 2013.

Panasonic – Headed in Many Directions, Including the Indian Market

There are a number of potential entry points for a company as diverse as Panasonic, and they’re trying to approach several at once. Below, you can see online media buzz (momentum) surrounding the companies health care events has been building over the past two years. Some of the events driving it include:

Can they do it all including the creation of an analytics platform, more effective diagnostic devices, and a physician’s tablet?

Mobile Applications and Disease Monitoring

Lastly, we consider the one of the areas for greatest impact. The concept of mobile disease monitoring and health applications may even be complementary or integrated with all of the above technologies.

The possibilites in this arena are endless: tracking the spread of disease; quickly prescribing the most effective remedies; or alerting you doctor of poor treatment adherence. Here are a few time points and future expectations in the mobile health space:

Final Thoughts

The identification of these future dates leaves us with questions for each that require further market research and due diligence on the capabilities of each company. Along with the discovery research conducted above, Recorded Future can help in mapping out the competitive landscape for any company or technology.

So, can Samsung Medison unseat any of several well entrenched companies in the medical imaging market? Will Microsoft be able to succeed where Google conceded failure, and of all the fledgling mobile health projects, which will have a lasting impact?

Let us know your thoughts below.