Google’s healthcare business looks a lot different at the end of 2021 compared with the beginning of the year.
The tech giant overhauled its strategy this year, eventually dismantling its health division. However, it still released a variety of tools for both consumers and clinicians, with a particular focus on healthcare accessibility and managing COVID-19 as the pandemic moved into its second...
Google is looking to help users navigate the insurance coverage space with a new tool that helps people check if a provider is in-network.
Users will be able to look up a specific provider and see what insurance networks they take. Google is also letting Medicare members use a filter on their mobile phones in order to find providers in their area that accept their insurance.
“By providing timely...
Google is working on its own smartwatch, internally code-named “Rohan,” that it plans to launch in 2022, according to reporting by Insider.
The wearable will include health and fitness metrics like heart-rate monitoring and step counting. According to renderings viewed by Insider and Google employees who had seen the device, the watch is round with no physical bezel.
A smartwatch codenamed “...
Google is continuing its work in the disability space by revealing a new tool aimed at helping individuals with speech impairments communicate. Called Project Relate, the app was designed to help folks communicate more easily through text and a synthetic vocal assistant.
Users are able tap into the technology to get a transcription of their speech to text in real-time. This can then be used to...
Google Care Studio has unveiled a new mobile version of its clinician-facing search tool that helps organize patients' medical records. The company pitches this new modality as a way for doctors to check in on a patient or access patient information on the go.
“I'm really excited because one of the big challenges that we see in the healthcare space for providers is context switching. There's so...
Onduo, a digital health tool from Alphabet’s life science subsidiary Verily, announced it will be offering Fitbit devices and Fitbit Premium with its chronic disease management platform.
Employees who use the Onduo program through their employer will be able to receive a Fitbit Inspire 2 as well as access to Fitbit Premium, which offers more health insight data, guided workouts and health and...
Google’s Search and Maps tools can now show more information in healthcare providers’ business profiles.
If a user searches “Doctor near me” in the U.S., provider profiles can display types of insurance accepted and language assistance offered in their office.
WHY IT MATTERS
Many patients face an uphill battle when searching for accurate provider information. An analysis by the Centers for...
Alphabet’s life science subsidiary Verily is working to detach itself from Google’s technology and possibly move outside its parent company, according to reporting by Insider.
The plan, internally called Flywheel, launched early this year to remove Verily’s products from Google’s computing infrastructure, as in moving the business unit from Google’s internal cloud service to a public version...
Accessibility is one of the main themes in Google’s latest Android features.
Individuals with speech and motor impairments will now be able to navigate their smartphones through self-selected facial gestures and eye movements, thanks to a new feature called Camera Switches.
When using this feature, the phone’s front-facing camera becomes a switch. Users are able to choose a certain movement to...
Google is shutting down its clinician support app Streams. TechCrunch reported the shutdown days after the news broke that Google is dismantling its health division.
The app allowed clinicians easier access patient info like vital signs, blood tests and imaging results. Streams had been used in the U.K.’s National Health Service, but TechCrunch reported nearly all NHS Trusts had stopped using the...
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