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| Internet of Things infographic--Courtesy of Philips (click to enlarge) |
The Internet of Things revolution for medical devices is here. And, not too surprisingly, it's being led by Amazon ($AMZN), yet another big-name tech contender working to get in on the evolution of healthcare via technology. Google ($GOOG), along with other big IT names such as IBM, Salesforce and Siemens, are all in the midst of trying to secure a profitable spot in next-gen healthcare.
As for Amazon, it will work with Royal Philips ($PHG) eventually to connect "hundreds of millions of devices and sensors," the partners declared. Running on Amazon Web Services, Philips' HealthSuite digital platform collects, aggregates and analyzes data from a variety of apps, medical device systems and electronic medical records. It already supports more than 7 million connected devices, sensors and mobile apps.
The partnership will undergird Philips' commitment to informatics, which it expects to be core to its ongoing HealthTech refocus that sits at the nexus of healthcare and technology.
"The digital health revolution and the power of the Internet of Things offer tremendous opportunities to positively transform how care is delivered," said Jeroen Tas, CEO of Philips Healthcare Informatics, Solutions and Services, in a statement. "By unleashing data from connected devices and health records, combined with analytics, valuable insights into how we can live and age well can be uncovered."
Last month, Philips launched a combined diabetes app/medical record system designed with Salesforce to offer integrated data, access and direction for patients and their various healthcare providers. The company said this is just the first of several planned systems focused on patients with specific and related chronic conditions. The system runs on the HealthSuite platform.
Philips recently also rolled out a whole line-up of smart, connected consumer-oriented medical devices, including a watch, blood pressure cuff, scale, and a thermometer. These are also based on HealthSuite, with health programs using them and focused on specific areas including heart health and back pain starting to launch in Germany this month and next year in other markets.
AWS and Philips expect to offer increasingly smarter and more personalized solutions to make everyday health-related products, like medical alert systems and baby monitors, smarter over time.
Concluded Tas, "At Philips, we seek to empower consumers to be active participants in their own health. For example, by giving them access to and control over their own health information, making that data more actionable, and by facilitating better collaboration between patients, clinicians and caregivers."
- here is the announcement