Covid-19: Google’s new initiative aims to help hospital ITs

Google last month deployed Nest Cams in some hospitals. The initiative aims to help the hospital ITs to easily share resources.

All you need to know about Google’s Healthcare IT Response Community (Google)

Google is now making it easier for hospitals to share resources through technology. The company's enterprise division is now helping IT at these hospitals set up Android devices. Google is also deploying Pixel phones and Pixel slates at some US hospitals. These devices come with Google Meet video conferencing app pre-installed.

According to 9to5 Google, the company has set up a Healthcare IT Response Community in a bid to deliver a “one-stop” resource to the healthcare firms. The Community will also feature a forum for the admins to get their queries addressed. Google said that its mobile platforms have also joined the initiative to “offer guidance on device selection, managing a device fleet, and supporting deployments.”  

For now, the Community is available via a sign-up form available to healthcare firms and hospitals. Others can also participate in the initiative through a separate registration process.

Google's new initiative comes at a time when the hospitals and healthcare organisations around the world are tackling the Covid-19 pandemic. Technology has become a crucial tool for analysis, data sharing, and more. Google itself has begun deploying Nest Cams in some hospitals. 

The company also launched Cloud Healthcare API last month to facilitate sharing of data between health care apps and solutions that use its cloud solutions.

“The API allows healthcare organizations to ingest and manage key data from a range of inputs and systems—and then better understand that data through the application of analytics and machine learning in real time, at scale. It also enables providers to easily interact with that data using Web-friendly, REST-based endpoints and health plans to rapidly get up and running with a cloud based FHIR server providing the capabilities needed to implement, scale and support interoperability and patient access,” said the company in a blog post.