In 2020, Google reminded the world of its effectiveness as a healthcare company. Google acted quickly to help people and organizations manage the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as Google itself needed to operate at a reduced capacity. For example, the company developed the COVID-19 National Response Portal, an open data platform to help communities respond to the pandemic, among many other initiatives.

Google’s response to the pandemic is a microcosm of how the company intends to lead the entire healthcare industry: helping people stay as healthy as possible through wellness care and managing the journey to receive care when needed.

To do that, Google is building a data platform connected to devices.

Managing wellness

The first part of Google’s strategy consists of helping people stay healthy through wellness care. This approach is both purposeful and sensible. As our population ages, receiving healthcare is increasingly expensive – healthcare bills are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy. Helping people manage personal fitness is an important way to stay away from the hospital. And wellness is a $4 trillion industry. Google wants a piece of that.

Google, like Apple, has an advantage in personal healthcare: a data platform tied to devices. For instance, Google Fit is a health-tracking platform for Android, similar to Wear OS and Apple Inc.’s iOS. It is a single set of APIs that blends data from multiple apps and devices. With Google Fit, you can connect any Android-enabled device such as a Garmin Watch, to collect health information in one place.

Hardware, though, is the key to Google’s foray into health. Devices, ranging from Chromebooks to Pixel phones to home devices, provide the means for Google users to manage their data and for Google to monetize it.

Meta, by contrast, lacks a hardware device and finds itself beholden to Google and Apple because of it. Devices will power Google’s future in healthcare, and I believe Google will press its advantage and acquire another device manufacturer as it did many months ago with Fitbit. Because when you own the devices and the hardware, you can gather even more information and monetize it.

Getting healthcare

The second part of Google’s healthcare strategy is to own the patient journey to getting care. And here, Google is the undisputed Big Tech leader. The company has positioned itself as the default resource for people to research symptoms and access care. Google influences every phase of the patient journey, from awareness to consideration. According to research conducted by YouGov and Reputation, Google is the most popular source for searching for a physician or hospital – more popular than provider/physician websites, healthcare-specific sites such as WebMD and Healthgrades, or social media. Google is also the #1 review site used by healthcare consumers.

This is no accident. Google continues to make improvements that make Google Search more valuable for care seekers, evident in the following recent announcements:  

    Although Google owns the search for care, it has online care competition. Amazon and virtual care provider Teladoc recently announced that they are making it possible for patients to ask for doctors using Amazon Alexa’s voice assistant. Through a voice-activated virtual care program, patients can get non-emergency medical help by telling Alexa (via an Amazon Echo device) that they want to see a doctor. A Teladoc physician will call them back.

    Amazon is likely getting more involved in direct medical care and prescription drug services through the Alexa-enabled Echo speaker, which commands the biggest share of the smart speaker market. Such a move would capitalize on Amazon’s strengths of providing efficient service cost-effectively, supported by Amazon Web Services as the cloud backbone.

    What’s next

    To strengthen its own role in healthcare, I expect Google to:

      From wellness care to finding care, Google intends to find more ways to keep people living in Google’s universe. Google will benefit by attracting more advertisers (because engagement and volume are like gold to online advertisers). And digital health will benefit, too.

      Adam Dorfman is Head of Product Growth at Reputation.



      Welcome to the VentureBeat community!

      Our guest posting program is where technical experts share insights and provide neutral, non-vested deep dives on AI, data infrastructure, cybersecurity and other cutting-edge technologies shaping the future of enterprise.

      Read more from our guest post program — and check out our guidelines if you’re interested in contributing an article of your own!