Big news coming out of Philadelphia this morning when Independence Health Group and Comcast announced a partnership for a new healthcare platform. The platform focuses on patient technology and communication, hoping to establish and improve efficiency and experience between medical providers and patients.
Independence Health Group is one of the largest Blue Cross insurers in the nation and already works closely with Comcast on health initiatives the Philadelphia area, where both companies are based.
Daniel Hilferty, President, and CEO of Independence Health Group had this to say, “Rapid technological advances in recent years have changed the expectations consumers have about accessing and using goods and services. Through this collaboration, we will explore how we can best use technology to enhance how consumers access and use health care services, which we know at times can be frustrating." While no timeline has been released, the new partnership hopes to build a platform that gives patients easy access to information pertaining to their healthcare.
The partnership comes at a time when major retailers and tech companies like Walmart, Apple, and Amazon have worked their way into the evolving healthcare landscape.
Independence Health Group is already a major player in the world of healthcare, serving over 8 million members spanning 24 states and the District of Columbia, and Comcast is no stranger to healthcare either. Not only is Comcast a founding member of The Health Care Innovation Collaboration in Philadelphia, but they also worked with the University of California Davis on a video series covering healthy aging.