Best Buy to acquire Current Health as it dives deeper into home health care
Best Buy is betting that a good deal of health care in the future will be based in the home.
The consumer electronics giant said that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Current Health, a U.K. care-at-home technology platform that brings together remote patient monitoring, telehealth and patient engagement into a single solution for healthcare organizations. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Best Buy has made digital-health technology and health-monitoring services a critical feature of its “Building the New Blue” strategy, which targets annual revenue of $50 billion by 2025. In 2018, it acquired GreatCall, which makes easy-to-use cell phones and connected health devices and provides health and emergency response services to seniors, for $800 million. In 2019, the retailer acquired Critical Signal Technologies, a senior-focused health services company.
“The future of consumer technology is directly connected to the future of healthcare,” said Deborah Di Sanzo, president of Best Buy Health. “We have the distinct expertise in helping customers make technology work for them directly in their homes and by combining Current Health’s remote care management platform with our existing health products and services, we can create a holistic care ecosystem that shows up for someone across all of their healthcare needs.”
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Current Health integrates patient-reported data with data from biosensors – including patients’ own continuous monitoring wearable device – to provide healthcare organizations with actionable, real-time insights into the patient’s condition. Leveraging clinical algorithms that can be tailored to the individual patient, Current Health identifies when a patient needs clinical attention, allowing organizations to manage patient care remotely or coordinate in-home care via its integrated service partners.
“Over the coming decade, significantly more healthcare can be delivered in the home,” said Christopher McCann, CEO of Current Health. “We started Current Health to make that exciting transition radically easier for healthcare providers to achieve. Best Buy has unparalleled physical reach, world-class supply chain logistics, and trusted support services–allowing us to provide a high-touch consumer experience, at scale. We’re excited to join with Best Buy Health to move safe and effective healthcare into the home globally.”