Ongoing Healthcare Acquisitions - A Shot in the Arm for the Healthcare Industry..?

Amazon acquires second healthcare start up

Amazon has announced it has acquired Health Navigator, a startup that develops APIs for online health services. The deal was first reported by CNBC, who said that Health Navigator will become part of Amazon Care, its pilot healthcare service program for employees. 

Amazon's first health acquisition was back in June 2018, of online pharmacy, Pillpack. Terms of the deal were not initially disclosed but it was later widely reported that Amazon bought the start up for $750 million and its founder & CEO, TJ Parker, then joined Amazon Pharmacy. Pillpack now operates as "An Amazon Company"

Similarly, Health Navigator will be integrated into Amazon Care.

Health Navigator's platform was designed to be integrated into online health services and to standardise interactions with patients. Its services include telemedicine and medical call centers, while its platform includes natural language processing-based tools for documenting health complaints and care recommendations and is integrated into apps via APIs.

Other notable Healthcare acquisitions this year:

  • OptimizeRx to Acquire Digital Therapeutics SaaS Platform Provider, RMDY Health for $16 Million
  • Net Health to Acquire Optima Healthcare Solutions, Expanding Its Purpose-Built Electronic Medical Record Platform
  •  Philips expands its patient management solutions in the US with the acquisition of Medumo
  • Experian acquires MyHealthDirect, strengthening leadership position in patient access and engagement
  • WebPT Announces Significant Investment from Warburg Pincus - Investment to support growth and advance product suite for the physical therapy industry
  • Water Street Acquires THREAD
  • Viant Acquires Meraqi Medical

Aid for an Ageing Population..

Such acquisitions, driven by the need to care for our increasingly aged, global population with its progressively diverse and complex health issues, show no signs of abating. Only time will tell if they will foster positive outcomes for the general population. 

In the shorter term, they must be acknowledged as an influence for the good, if more patients are being seen and diagnosed more quickly with the assistance of  technology

 

 

24 October 2019