Samsung backs 'connected care' to mend broken health systems

Acquisition of Xealth part of South Korean tech company's emerging strategy

Visitors at an AI health forum on the sidelines of Samsung Galaxy Unpacked in Brooklyn, New York. Photo: Samsung

Samsung Electronics is betting that digital and connected care will be able to mend broken healthcare systems as it seeks to expand its reach in a category beyond its core businesses.

The South Korean company, in the lead-up to its Unpacked event last week, announced its acquisition of Xealth, a Seattle-based provider of digital health tools, for an undisclosed amount.

The move, Samsung says, will help its connected care ambitions and help to bridge a “holistic approach to preventive care to as many people as possible”.

Scaling connected care is expected to be the next step in the future of health that would help fix broken healthcare systems, industry executives said at a forum on the sidelines of Unpacked.

Dr Hon Pak, head of Samsung's digital health unit, Mike McSherry, chief executive of Xealth, Dr Rasu Shrestha, chief innovation and commercialisation officer of Advocate Health, and Jim Pursley, president of Hinge Health, at a panel discussion on the sidelines of Samsung Galaxy Unpacked in Brooklyn, New York. Photo: Samsung

“Health care is broken and part of the main reason it's broken is … [that] the incentives are misaligned. We know this from our everyday habits; if we are incentivising our kids to do the right things, they will do more of the right things,” Dr Rasu Shrestha, chief innovation and commercialisation officer of Charlotte-based health care provider Advocate Health, said at the forum.

“But if the incentives are misaligned, then the entire system starts to fall apart. So the opportunity here is … a connected ecosystem of devices and data really going after the dignity of those patients and consumers in a much more connected way.”

Research suggests that while conservative care works, it is inconvenient, hard to access and expensive, said Jim Pursley, president of Hinge Health, a Chicago-based software developer. But technology can address this.

“The [good] thing with digital health in general is we've operated historically independent of institutional health care, independent of an advocate,” he said.

Mr Pursley mentioned how tech has transformed the banking industry, with lenders able to provide on-demand services through devices, most notably through smartphone apps.

“The next decade of innovation is … to show that we can integrate with traditional in-person care to create a unified experience for patients, like banking,” he added.

Global investments in the digital health sector hit more than $25 billion last year, a 5.5 per cent annual rise and reversing two consecutive years of a funding drop, according to data from Galen Growth, a Singapore-based industry tracker.

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  A multimedia board shows the history of Samsung Electronics, stretching more than five decades, at the company's Unpacked event in Brooklyn. All photos: Alvin R Cabral / The National

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  Samsung's first mobile phone, the SH-100, was launched in 1988.

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  In the 1990s, Samsung started making multimedia phones, including the world's first mobiles with watch, MP3 and TV.

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  The early 2000s saw Samsung focusing on competitive camera features on its cellular phones.

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  The year 2010 would mark a turning point for Samsung with the launch of the original Galaxy S – which would become the main rival of Apple's iPhone.

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  Samsung stepped up its game throughout the 2010s as it improved the Galaxy S line-up and launched the Galaxy Note.

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  In 2019, Samsung entered the foldable smartphone genre with the first Galaxy Fold, which would soon be followed by the Galaxy Flip.

Samsung is focusing on health and the division has been active in research and development, in addition to signing partnerships and acquisitions to expand its reach. It is linking up with start-ups to develop health services on its Galaxy smartphones and smartwatches.

Samsung's AI push will help its strategy, and further expanding into health care will continue to remain a priority, said Dr Hon Pak, head of Samsung's digital health unit.

“I do feel that in 10 years, We're finally going to get to a point where health care is not about surviving – it's about thriving [using technology],” added Mr Pursley.

400 million Galaxy devices in 2025

Meanwhile, Samsung's plan to distribute 400 million Galaxy devices in 2025 is expected to be boosted by a push into ambient AI, a separate forum heard at Unpacked.

Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 unboxing and review

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That would double the current reach of Galaxy devices, TM Roh, head of Samsung's mobile division, said at the event.

Ambient AI, which combines data analysis, machine learning, data analytics and natural language processing with humanlike behaviour, aims to provide personalised experiences.

In health care, that can translate to improved patient care, operational efficiency and information extraction, according to the Morsani College of Medicine.

Sabrina Ortiz, a senior editor at ZDNet, Jisun Park, corporate executive vice president at Samsung, Mindy Brooks, a vice president at Google, and Vinesh Sukumar, a vice president at Qualcomm Technologies, at a forum on the sidelines of Samsung Galaxy Unpacked in Brooklyn, New York. Photo: Samsung

“Some see AI as the start of a ‘post smartphone’ era, but we see it differently: the smartphone is becoming even more central to an ambient AI experience,” said Jisun Park, a corporate executive vice president at Samsung.

In addition, AI becoming more personalised needs a commitment to protect user information, and ambient AI's privacy, performance and personalisation “go hand in hand, [as] they are not competing priorities, but co-equal standards”, added Vinesh Sukumar, vice president of product management at US chipmaker Qualcomm Technology.