Source: Fleck, Anna. Americans Are Skipping Doctor Visits Due to Costs (December 12, 2023). Statista, FED. Available at Statista: https://www.statista.com/chart/31421/share-of-us-adults-without-medical-care-due-to-costs/
Apple
For Apple, the Apple Watch is clearly the most important product in healthcare. This smartwatch has been gaining more and more fans every year since its introduction in 2015. They have various features that can make it easier for users to carry out their daily activities, but also ones that take care of their health. Over time, Apple has tried to turn its watches into something like portable patient health centers. The watch records a variety of data that users can view in more detail in the Health app. With each new generation, different sensors are added to the watch to monitor the health status of users. Some of the most important health-related features include ECG measurements, irregular heart rate alerts, or fall detection. Analysts estimate that Apple Watch sales account for approximately 6% of Apple's total revenue.
Microsoft
Microsoft is avoiding consumer products in healthcare, and is trying to penetrate the healthcare sector mainly through its Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare. With their cloud, they can enable healthcare providers, hospitals and clinics to store and share data. With its tools and applications, Microsoft then seeks to connect this data, streamline workflows, increase productivity, increase healthcare team collaboration, and help them improve their overall outcomes. With this product, doctors can also monitor their patients remotely and conduct virtual check-ups.
Alphabet (parent company of Google)
When it comes to healthcare, Alphabet relies on multiple products. Among the physical ones, Google's Pixel Watch and Fitbit smartwatches and sensors in particular are among them. But it is also developing various apps and services, such as DermAssist, which helps users find out more about the state of their skin and then tries to detect various problems or ailments by analysing it. Like Microsoft, Alphabet is also trying to improve and simplify the work of healthcare providers through its cloud.
Amazon
Amazon, like Microsoft, is trying to penetrate the world of healthcare through services rather than physical products. On its website, it offers the One Medical service for $9 a month, making virtual healthcare available to users 24/7. Another service worth mentioning is RxPass. With this service, users have access to the most common generic medications for a monthly fee of $5. The RxPass subscription includes more than 50 generic medications covering many common conditions. Amazon claims that the average member saves 47% on medications through this service.
Conclusion
The importance and size of the healthcare services and wearables sector is likely to grow. As we have seen from the charts, more of these products are being sold every year and more health-related applications are being created. It would be difficult to predict with certainty which company will be successful in the long term in developing and selling its products and who will be the leader in this field. What we can say, however, is that the companies mentioned in this article are well on their way to being the leaders. Shares in these companies can also be found in our various funds, such as the Fond reálnych aktív or the Fond maximalizovaných výnosov.
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