When I began the ‘Themes for 2008’ posting last week with the comment that a trend had started concerning “the positioning of the big players… to take advantage of what many people believe will be the next big consumer-driven wave” I did not expect my comment to be validated so quickly, but up pops news that Bosch in the ‘States has acquired a majority shareholding in the ‘granddaddy’ of the telehealth monitoring companies, Health Hero. If the result is an injection of fresh cash, energy and research and marketing resources, then we can expect to see some interesting new developments.
In acquiring Health Hero, Bosch has formed connections to many other companies with which Health Hero has agreements, such as WebVMC and the American Medical Group Association. (The latter trade association has access to nearly 300 influential member groups, comprising some 67,000 physicians.) Bosch Care Solutions is a supplier (via Wealdon & Eastbourne) on the UK’s PASA National Framework Agreement.
Bosch press release gives the details of the Health Hero acquisition.
Which other multinationals are waiting in the wings? Check out the Continua Alliance’s Board of Directors to see which companies are represented there.
I guess Chubb will loose the distribution rights…