From acquiring primary care companies to inking new partnerships with health systems, big tech companies and disruptors have made several moves in healthcare throughout the month of July.
Amazon
- Amazon's chief medical officer for new products Vin Gupta, MD, is in the lead to be the FDA's principal medical adviser.
- In partnership with Seattle, Wash.-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Amazon launched an FDA-approved clinical trial to develop vaccines that can treat breast cancer and melanoma.
- Amazon's cloud computing service is supporting a health tech company focused on improving health equity as part of a new initiative from the tech giant. Amazon Web Services will provide credits and technical expertise to Harmony Health, a digital platform that aims to connect underserved individuals with preventive care beginning in the Los Angeles region.
- Healthcare leaders from Amazon Web Services created toolkits aimed at helping data producers, processors, and consumers use data from wearables and digital sensing products.
- On July 21, Amazon announced plans to acquire virtual and in-person primary care company One Medical in an all-cash deal valued at $3.9 billion.
Oracle
- Oracle healthcare leaders created toolkits aimed at helping data producers, processors, and consumers use data from wearables and digital sensing products.
- Oracle and Microsoft collaborated to create the Oracle Database Service for Microsoft Azure, which allows Oracle database users to move data to Microsoft's Azure cloud and have access to Microsoft tools.
- An internal email from an Oracle executive shared on Reddit describes changes to the former Cerner EHR business. The EHR company will now be called Oracle Health and former Cerner president and CEO David Feinberg, MD, will become chair of Oracle Health.
Microsoft
- Microsoft added AI speech recognition company Nuance's clinical documentation software to its marketplace. The software, dubbed Nuance Dragon Medical One, provides tools for recognizing and transcribing speech in physician visits, voicemails and more.
- Oracle and Microsoft collaborated to create the Oracle Database Service for Microsoft Azure, which allows Oracle database users to move data to Microsoft's Azure cloud and have access to Microsoft tools.
- UPMC partnered with Microsoft to modernize and expand its analytics platform. The aim is to help the clinical analytics team mine more than 13 petabytes of structured clinical data and 18 petabytes of imaging data to create new insights that improve patient care.