From new tool launches to leadership changes and fresh partnerships, here are the latest of stories about health IT companies, including Google, Amazon and Epic.
- Fourteen health systems, including Trinity Health, Northwell Health and Tenet Health, partnered to create a comprehensive, de-identified data platform that will glean more robust insights on medical conditions such as rare diseases and COVID-19.
- Jeff Bezos said he is stepping down from his post as CEO of Amazon and will transition to a leadership role on the company's board later this year.
- One hundred sites, including Novant Health and Colorado's UCHealth, have deployed Epic software to run their mass COVID-19 vaccination programs.
- Salesforce launched a new machine learning tool, powered by Amazon Web Services, that aims to help healthcare organizations digitize their document management processes on a single platform.
- Google Fit said it will launch new features in March that will allow users to measure heart and respiratory rates with the Pixel phone's camera.
- The Government Accountability Office recommended the Department of Veterans Affairs pause the implementation of its $16 billion Cerner EHR system to perform "critical" tests before deploying the system at any additional facilities.
- Google Cloud began offering healthcare organizations its new Intelligent Vaccine Impact Solution, a digital toolset that delivers data insights on COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts.
- Amazon launched a feature for its Alexa voice assistant that lets users search for places to get a COVID-19 test.
- Google sister company Verily teamed up with Janssen, Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceutical arm, to launch a COVID-19 immune response study.
- Optum led a $13 million funding round for Equip, a startup that delivers virtual eating disorder treatment.
- Apple researchers worked with 15 scientists to design a system within the Apple Watch that tracks Parkinson's disease symptoms.
- University of Washington researchers said Amazon's search algorithm pushes books that promote false claims about vaccines to the top of its generated results pages.
- Google Cloud entered a partnership to integrate its machine learning technology into the cervical cancer diagnostic screening system of medical technology company Hologic.