Direct-to-consumer DNA testing company 23andMe has raised almost $85 million this month, according to a Dec. 28 Silicon Valley Business Journal report. 

Lyft, along with partners including Anthem and Epic, is launching a new campaign to provide 60 million rides for low-income, uninsured and at-risk communities getting the COVID-19 vaccine once it becomes available. 

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., added a hot spot map to its coronavirus map that tracks where COVID-19 cases are surging across the U.S.

UnitedHealthcare will offer certain members of its wearable device well-being program a six-month free subscription to Apple Fitness+ beginning Jan. 1, 2021.

Amazon made its new wearable health tracking device Halo available to the general public Dec. 14, according to CNBC.

The number of households across the country that use the internet to access health records or for telehealth visits increased by 4 percent from 2017 to 2019, according to a recent National Telecommunications and Information Administration analysis.

As digital transformation continues to accelerate in healthcare, patient experience measurement and engagement must also turn to digital, according to leaders at the National Committee for Quality Assurance. 

CommonHealth, a free app for Android users developed by UC San Francisco and Cornell Tech to provide patients with mobile access to their health records, said it is now connected to 230 health systems across the U.S., according to a news release from the developers.

Google began piloting a new tool Dec. 2 developed with HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that aims to help people remember important questions they want to ask their physician during their healthcare visits.

The artificial intelligence system developed by Alphabet's DeepMind solved a 50-year-old challenge to help accelerate disease treatment and drug discovery, according to a Nov. 30 company blog post.

Microsoft's venture fund invested in a digital health company focused on virtual care, according to a Nov. 30 news release.

As technologies, including telehealth and remote monitoring tools, have become more essential to care delivery, healthcare providers are turning to various apps to meet changing consumer expectations and transform the patient experience.

Mayo Clinic formed a new collaboration focused on expanding clinical data analytics with K Health, a startup offering patients an artificial intelligence-powered symptom checker and telehealth consultations with primary care physicians, according to a Nov. 18 Venture Beat report.

New York state launched a web-based tool Nov. 16 developed in partnership with Google to connect state residents with resources for food, housing and COVID-19-related services during the pandemic.

Nashville, Tenn.-based data analytics firm Change Healthcare is rolling out a social determinants of health resource to help healthcare organizations identify and examine how social and economic factors affect patient health. 

Carbon Health, a San Francisco-based healthcare provider, has secured $100 million to expand its digital and physical footprint.

Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Health is deploying new software to improve its providers' online profiles and strengthen patient matching and online scheduling, according to a Nov. 2 news release.

IBM Watson launched a digital health pass app to help individuals verify their health status as they return to work, school or air travel amid the pandemic, the company announced Oct. 12 during the HLTH VRTL 2020 conference.

Contact tracing is an important tool public health leaders and government officials use to understand how COVID-19 is spreading across the country, even though many of these efforts have experienced significant challenges when it comes to issues such as data privacy, interoperability and accuracy.

As the healthcare sector moves toward outcomes-based payment models, health systems are striving to support patients in the most clinically effective and cost-effective ways possible. Simultaneously, the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of engaging with patients virtually to reduce the spread of disease.