The healthcare budget for the United States accounts for more than 23 percent of the federal budget. With trillions of dollars on the line, companies have to be stupid not try and get some of the gold at the end of the rainbow. The clarion call by Verizon’s CEO, Lowell McAdam at the 2013 International CES in Las Vegas, is part of a $10 million challenge for three industries – healthcare, education and sustainability. The goal is to encourage individuals and organizations to create a healthcare solution using Verizon’s cloud, mobile and video technology.
“We challenge the technology industry to come up with innovative applications, devices and solutions that take advantage of our converged mobile, video and cloud platforms to drive positive social change,” said CEO Lowell McAdam. The company will provide more details regarding the submission process before the end of the first quarter 2013.
As the world becomes more connected and more than 30 billion devices become part of a system, a better way of using what has been labeled as the “Internet of Things” has to be created. The healthcare industry will be contributing hundreds of millions of devices to monitor, diagnose and treat patients across the country and the world.
The company’s high-speed mobile network, cloud presence and mobility can be exploited to provide new ways to servics the growing aging population as well as introducing preventative healthcare that can save costs to individuals, healthcare providers and the spiraling federal healthcare budget.
The new wireless speeds and high-bandwidth capability means information that was previously limited can be transmitted on mobile devices to any doctor in the network. Whether it is a CAT scan or a video of an image that needs to be looked at by an expert across the city or country, it is now possible to use this technology.
McAdam added the company was “actively working with the FDA to get clearance on our mHealth platform, which is intended to help with chronic disease management. Between that and our HIPAA-enabled cloud platform, we will have a secure, private way for patients, doctors, and insurance companies to exchange information and share medical records in a mobile environment.”
Verizon is working with several organizations, including the Clinton Health Matters Initiative, to provide health access to low-income and disadvantaged communities across the country.
At more than $2.7 trillion, the healthcare crisis will only be resolved with a combined private and public effort.
Edited by
Brooke Neuman
