Best Buy announced Tuesday it has struck a three-year deal with Atrium Health, an integrated, nonprofit health system part of Advocate Health, to help enable a hospital-at-home program, reports CNBC. Atrium Health is part of Advocate Health, one of the country’s largest healthcare nonprofits. The consumer electronics retailer will sell devices and its Geek Squad will handle installation for a program that allows patients to get hospital care at home.
Best Buy began setting up virtual-care systems in mid-February for 10 hospitals in and around Charlotte, North Carolina. The company said it aims to have about 100 patients in the program each day — roughly equivalent to a midsized hospital but without a building. Patients will pay Atrium through their insurance, including Medicare or Medicaid.
Total Retail’s Take: The convergence of retail and healthcare continues to be a growing trend. Best Buy has identified an opportunity to join the multitude of big-box retailers entering the healthcare space, moving from installing TVs to setting up remotely monitored hospital equipment in customers’ homes. Best Buy Health’s President Deborah Di Sanzo said with the Geek Squad doing the setup, it leaves the doctors and nurses free to focus on the health of patients. According to a company press release, the goal of the partnership is to enable providers to deliver high-quality care to patients in the comfort of their own homes, while helping reduce emotional and financial burdens on patients and caregivers.
Best Buy is betting on its new health offerings, having acquired three healthcare companies in the past five years: GreatCall, Critical Signal Technologies, and Current Health. Furthermore, the retailer also sells health and wellness devices, including hearing aids and fitness trackers. However, Best Buy is being thoughtful and strategic about moves in this direction, said Di Sanzo.
“We want to create pathways that enable care at home in a more seamless manner,” Di Sanzo noted. “We want to tie technology and empathy together and really help change how healthcare is delivered to people in their homes.”
Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said on a recent earnings call that the company expects sales in its health division will grow faster than the rest of the business this fiscal year.
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