Uber Health and Ride Health have partnered to combine their respective nonemergency medical transportation offerings to reach more patients across the U.S., according to a Jan. 21 news release.

In 2018, healthcare spending reached $3.6 trillion, accounting for nearly 18 percent of the nation's gross domestic product.[i] At the same time, more and more Americans are participating in high-deductible health insurance plans. Out-of-pocket healthcare costs have become a growing concern for many patients. As American's financial responsibility for care has risen, so have their expectations for a more transparent, consumer-friendly care experience. Patients want to know up front what the cost of their care will be, and they want convenient payment options.

University Health System is partnering with Gozio Health to develop an interactive mobile wayfinding platform to help patients navigate the San Antonio, Texas-based health system.

Most consumer experience leaders predict they will be allotted a larger share of their organizations' budgets in the next year, demonstrating the growing importance of and focus on the consumer experience, a recent Gartner survey found.

Though TikTok is perhaps best known for its endless scroll of dancing and lip-syncing videos — courtesy of a predominantly Generation Z-aged user base — some users have found the app to be a useful platform for dispensing and receiving medical advice.

If you want patients to respond to hospital and health system outreach, send them a text.

Retailers are turning to in-store technology to bring online shoppers back into stores, a trend healthcare would do well to mimic as patients turn from regular primary care appointments to consultations with "Dr. Google" and one-off telehealth visits.

More than a year ago, NYU Langone endeavored to look at the patient experience in a holistic way for its more than 400 ambulatory locations across New York. Part of that strategy has included developing more convenient locations that are closer to home or work for New Yorkers, keeping the onsite locations clean and pleasant; another part has to do with technology.

Though patients have more trust in the healthcare industry than in real estate, finance and insurance, healthcare falls behind many other segments, including the technology and airline industries, according to a new report from Morning Consult.

As patients take increasingly more control over their own healthcare, Carilion Clinic is helping them do so by allowing the retail industry's consumer-first ethos to drive the Roanoke, Va.-based health system's digital strategy.

Roanoke, Va.-based Carilion Clinic announced Jan. 13 that it will integrate VisitPay into its Epic EHR.

Evanston, Ill.-based NorthShore University HealthSystem and genomics platform Color announced on Jan. 13 the completion of their initiative to bring free genetic testing to 10,000 patients.

With increased enrollment in high-deductible health plans, patients have become the newest group of payers to emerge in healthcare. Along with them they bring consumer expectations to their healthcare experience honed through interactions with online retailers. When it comes to medical services and procedures, patients want price transparency delivered to them and easy, convenient affordability solutions such as payment plans.

Since filing its initial public offering last year, Livongo Health has made strides to expand its digital efforts.

NYC Health + Hospitals deployed its text message appointment reminder platform, which has helped reduce missed appointments by 6 percent over the past year, at three additional hospitals.

Facebook's foray into healthcare with its recently launched Preventive Health feature may be subtly changing the way consumers share health data with technology companies, according to The Atlantic.

Philips announced Jan. 6 that it has developed additional consumer-focused digital health solutions, as the company continues to empower patients to take control of their healthcare.

Sleep Number has partnered with Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic to fund studies of sleep medicine, with a primary focus on cardiovascular health, the mattress company announced Jan. 8 at the CES 2020 consumer technology conference.

Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente will expand a program launched with Samsung in 2018 for remote monitoring of cardiac rehabilitation patients, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic has partnered with a California genomics company to develop a genomic database that could help physicians and researchers discover health conditions, according to the West Central Tribune.