Google and Amwell team up to boost telehealth services

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, telehealth use has boomed, and Google Cloud and telehealth care provider Amwell have teamed up to help improve patient and clinician telehealth experiences.

They’re looking to make telehealth a better experience through tech that can automate waiting room and checkout procedures; provide automated language translation services; and assist payers and providers in routine tasks, by intelligently triaging cases and reducing clinician burnout.

In this new partnership, both companies will play a huge role. Google will use Amwell as its preferred telehealth provider while Amwell will use Google as its preferred global cloud provider.

Google Cloud’s artificial intelligence and machine learning tech will aid with intake, inquiries, and triage; natural language and translation services for non-native speakers. G Suite will also play a role, as Google Meet will help improve collaboration among healthcare staff and with their patients. And all of Google’s cloud services will comply with strict HIPAA regulations.

The companies are targeting underserved populations with this partnership, and they seek to digitally serve seniors and patients with chronic illness in a convenient manner without compromising quality or trust.

On top of offering its cloud services to streamline Amwell’s telehealth offering, Google will also invest $100 million into Amwell. These funds will help Amwell evolve and scale its telehealth portfolio to serve the needs of providers, insurers, and patients within current and new markets. This investment will be at a purchase price equal to the public price during Amwell’s IPO.

Currently, Amwell offers solutions for over 2,000 hospitals and 55 health plan partners with over 36,000 employers. It total, it covers over 80 million people worldwide.