Google is scattering its healthcare endeavors across separate departments, according to a memo leaked to Insider.
Where Google Health once had a unified presence within the Googleplex, one standalone business unit will now build a search platform for health records while another concentrates on healthcare AI and a third tackles legal matters involving healthcare. And so on.
Several outlets covered the development after Insider broke it Aug. 20.
At Forbes, healthcare reporter Johan Moreno ties the move to the departure of David Feinberg, MD, who just left his job as a Google Health VP to become CEO of Cerner.
Google Health had hired Feinberg after a protracted search that which ended up coinciding with a series of setbacks, Moreno points out.
“A partnership between Google and healthcare system Ascension received scrutiny from the Senate, raising concerns about privacy,” he recounts. “Despite the promise of closer collaboration between all of Google’s health care businesses, Alphabet’s Verily unit and Google Cloud continued to build their own healthcare-focused products.”
Further, Google moved 130 workers from health-related projects to other areas.
The Insider story breaking the news is behind a paywall, but the Forbes item is here and additional reporting is available from Fierce Healthcare here, Yahoo News here and 9 to 5 Google here.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.