The Intersection of Google Alphabet and Future Healthcare

Google—perhaps the most valuable brand in the world—recently announced a corporate restructuring with the holding company name of Alphabet. The new structure, strategy and operating details are complex and widely reported in business media and on Google’s own site.

But a corporate powerhouse like Google-now-Alphabet will, according to many observers, have a major influence in healthcare in particular. The new operating structure will help them do big things, in a big way…and prospectively with a faster time to market for industries and for consumers.

What seems futuristic and still beyond the tech event horizon may still take a while, but the corporate announcement points to current and active health examples such as: “Life Sciences (that works on the glucose-sensing contact lens), and Calico (focused on longevity).”

Google, through its various entities and business relations, has diverse health and healthcare interests in the works. Some of those that we know about include:

• Google Glass with application inroads in hospital emergency departments;
• Miniature, disposable sensors for diabetes management;
• Wristband monitors for real time clinical trial data;
• HIPAA compliant cloud platform;
• Genetic and molecular research titled Baseline Study; plus
• Google Ventures has been an active investor in medical and life science companies.

And all of this with the backdrop of Google-the-search-engine, and “Doctor Google.” Local online search has become the front door for healthcare consumers who want authoritative information as well as finding qualified providers and hospitals.

It remains to be seen how long it will take for this Wall Street shuffle to be felt in real-world Main Street. But the intersection of (Google) Alphabet and the future of healthcare is where technology helps inspire medical advances.

The Alphabet holding company (and it's sub-sections) is far from being a healthcare enterprise, but the leaner-meaner corporate restructure will more rapidly bring innovation to individuals, healthcare providers, hospitals and research scientists.

Stewart Gandolf, MBA