In our Friday newsletter, we recap the biggest news story of the week so you don’t miss out on the latest trends, developments, and acquisitions in digital health. In case you missed it (ICYMI), this round-up will catch you up on the top stories from the past month.
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#1 Story: Big Tech company Oracle to create unified patient database
The story: US computer software company Oracle announced plans to build a national health records database, following their $28.3 billion acquisition of electronic health record company Cerner. According to chairman Larry Ellison, Oracle aims to pull electronic health records (EHR) from thousands of hospitals and store anonymized data on one unified database.
Why it is notable:
- Health records in the US are fragmented across different databases, impacting physicians’ access to patient data and the availability of public health information. Previous attempts by industry and health IT players to unify databases have been unsuccessful, but Oracle hopes the combination of its cloud capabilities with Cerner’s health data experience will enable them to overcome interoperability issues and improve EHR visibility.
- Ellison acknowledged opportunities to leverage the database to develop artificial intelligence models for disease diagnosis and treatment, without compromising patient privacy. Until patients’ provide consent to share information, all records on the database will remain anonymous, potentially opening a new door for the use of real-world data from a standardized national database.
Industry implications:
- However, many Health IT experts have voiced skepticism, acknowledging the failed attempts by instrusty players in the past and obstacles to the unification of health record databases. Collaboration between competitive database providers, the standardization of patient records, and data security may all pose significant challenges for the tech giant.
- The announcement consolidates Oracle’s intention to establish itself as a major player in healthcare, in line with the increasing movement of Big Tech into the healthcare market. It aligns with Microsoft's recent acquisition of Nuance Communications, a technology company specializing in speech recognition and artificial intelligence.
Read the full article here
In other news...
#2 Story Snapshot: Apple revealed new medication tracking and interactions features
The story: Apple revealed a new medications feature on the Apple Watch and iPhone Health app at its Worldwide Developers Conference. The feature allows users to manage their medications by setting up schedules and receiving alerts when it’s time to take them. Apple is strongly leaning into healthcare. With each new launch the company is showing the versatility of the Apple Watch and Health app and exploring just how far these technologies can reach. A key question of their adoption will depend on consumer comfort with sharing medication information with Apple.
Read the full article here
#3 Story Snapshot: Neuralight secures $25 million to develop digital biomarkers for neurological disease
The story: Neuralight, an Israeli startup, has received $25 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to $30.5 million just six months after launch. The company aims to create objective digital endpoints for the diagnosis and monitoring of neurological conditions. Neuralight’s device-agnostic technology uses proprietary algorithms to extract data related to oculomotor movements from videos that are taken on a standard smartphone or webcam. The technology can extract more than 100 evidence-based ocular parameters at one time.
Read the full article here
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