Here are 12 recent news updates on health IT companies:
1. Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline entered into a four-year collaboration with 23andMe to use human genetics to guide drug development, the companies said July 25.
2. Anthem health plan members with the latest version of the Samsung Health app on their Galaxy devices can now access American Well telehealth services as part of a newly announced partnership.
3. Apple wants to use its smartwatch to help users measure whether they are sufficiently protected by sunscreen, according to a patent application published by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
4. The U.S. Defense Department plans to increase its health records contract with Cerner by $1.1 billion, officials said July 24.
5. Change Healthcare launched a new cloud security service July 17 as part of its value-based care analytics suite HealthQx.
6. Israel granted $33 million (120 million shekels) to three multinational companies — Medtronic, GE Healthcare and Change Healthcare — as part of an effort to boost the country's digital health industry.
7. For the first time since 2003, construction has hit a standstill at Epic's 1,100-acre headquarters in Verona, Wis.
8. Months after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling on individual arbitration clauses, employees at Epic are continuing their fight for overtime wages.
9. Former Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove, MD, is joining the Google Cloud team as an executive adviser to its healthcare and life sciences divisions, the tech giant confirmed July 23.
10. Google Cloud is working with the National Institutes of Health to make select NIH-funded datasets available to users in a secure environment for biomedical research, the tech giant announced July 24.
11. The U.S. Veterans Affairs Department and IBM Watson Health are expanding their partnership to use artificial intelligence-powered technology to support precision oncology at VA facilities.
12. IBM and New York City-based Columbia University revealed plans for a new research and education center focused on blockchain technology and data transparency July 17.